Johnson: "Certainly, that was my fault"

Jimmie Johnson had already left the track at Talladega when Jeff Gordon went on his post-race rant about his Hendrick Motorsports teammate following the race, but late Tuesday, he accepted blame for the incident.

Gordon was involved in a multi-car accident shortly after losing track position when Johnson swerved into him to avoid a slower car. "The 48 is testing my patience, I can tell you that," Gordon told reporters afterward. "It takes a lot to make me mad, and I'm pissed right now."

Johnson agreed that the fault was his due to a mistake in getting around the slower car of Greg Biffle. "I misjudged the closing rate," Johnson told the Associated Press. "We all make mistakes, I am no different. Certainly, that was my fault. I made the mistake there."

Johnson was involved in another accident later and finished 31st.

"I would have stuck around if I knew what was waiting for me," added Johnson, while playing down talk of a rift between the two men after back-to-back race weekends in which they have clashed on the track.

"There's no doubt after the fact that frustrations are high, the wreck just compounded it," Johnson said. "I think he [Gordon] was speaking out of frustration."