Gordon calm over Busch comments

Gordon said he could understand his teammate's frustration after losing the race to Jamie McMurray, but explained that his car was not working well on the inside line Busch was running at the end of the race, making it very difficult for him to draft with the No. 5 car.

"I think that was a little bit of frustration from, you know, I think he had such a great car and a shot at winning that race," Gordon said. "You know, I think that if he was driving my car he'd understand that I didn't really have the opportunity to get down there and help him as easily as it may have looked.

"My car just didn't work good all night on the bottom groove. I had to stay up top. So there wasn't really much I could do for him. And I will admit there were some times throughout the race where I felt like he could have helped me, I could have helped him, and that did not work out.

"But I'm moving forward from that, and that happens all the time, every time you're at a restrictor plate race, whether it's your teammates or other guys out there."

Busch also said at the post-race press conference that he got "blown-off" by Gordon when he went to congratulate him.

"Walking down pitroad saying congratulations to Jeff Gordon I got blown off," Busch said on Saturday night at Daytona. "So I guess I'm the outsider looking in and I'm probably not going to be invited in the team meetings next weeks, so I think bliss is over at Hendrick Motorsports for Kyle Busch. We'll get ready for 2008."

Gordon denied having acted liked that, and insisted that he will support Busch and his team until the end of the year, before the 22-year-old leaves the Hendrick stable to make room for Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2008.

"After the race I was doing an interview, he came by and kind of grabbed me on the shoulder and said 'good race' or something, and I gave him a thumbs up. So I'm not exactly sure where that came from on the blowing him off," Gordon added.

"But I'm obviously, a huge supporter of that 5 team and what they're doing. And you know, we've got a lot of things that are going to happen this year also moving forward. It's only in our best interest to work together and make the best of the situation.

"You know, I've just got to guess that the heat of the moment, that maybe Kyle said some things that maybe he wished he hadn't. But yeah, I love racing with him, and I look forward to working with him the rest of the year as best I can."

Busch is currently eighth in the Nextel Cup standings and scored earlier this year the first Car of Tomorrow victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.