this is an article i found on AOL from the AP.......pretty funny to see it in print after we were discussing it in here.
CONCORD, N.C. (May 3) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Jimmie Johnson an "idiot," and blamed the Nextel Cup series points leader for causing a 25-car accident at Talladega Superspeedway.
"If there was one idiot out there it was him," Earnhardt said during a break Tuesday in a test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "To be honest about it, I think Jimmie Johnson caused about all the wrecks out there."
Both Earnhardt and Johnson were at the center of the massive accident in Sunday's race at Talladega that wiped out half the field and ranked as the second-largest melee in track history.
Earnhardt was behind Mike Wallace on the front straightaway when he used his car to push Wallace ahead. The practice is called "bump drafting" and the drivers had been asked by NASCAR in their prerace meeting to be cautious when doing it.
But when Earnhardt used his speed to get Wallace moving faster, Wallace wiggled just a bit. Johnson drifted up the track at the same time and ran into the side of Wallace.
The contact sent Wallace careening into the wall, and 24 other cars piled up behind him.
Earlier Tuesday, Greg Biffle blamed Johnson for the six-car accident that knocked Biffle and Earnhardt out of contention in the closing laps. Johnson bounced off the wall, and when he tried to save his car by moving back down the track, the cars piled up around him.
Johnson deflected criticism for both accidents, saying the first was a series of events that culminated in the big wreck and the second was "hard racing."
"I think that our wreck on Sunday was a racing incident," Johnson said. "If you took one of those components out of what took place to start that big wreck, it wouldn't have happened. It's hard racing.
"You're an inch and a half apart from one another, cars bouncing all over. They're hard to drive."
Johnson, who leads the Nextel Cup standings by 130 points over Kurt Busch, has been criticized recently by his fellow competitors for his driving style.
Jeff Burton was angry with Johnson after Bristol, where Johnson hit him from behind and sent him into the wall. And Tony Stewart has been feuding with him on and off since Daytona, when Johnson blocked him up and down the race track in the closing laps.
Then, two weeks ago in Phoenix, Stewart said Johnson hit him to cause a spin that also wrecked Rusty Wallace.
"I don't know what he was doing," Stewart said after the race. "He was running guys up and down the racetrack."
Both Johnson and Stewart said at Talladega that everything was fine between them.
Jeff Gordon, Johnson's car owner and teammate, defended his protege Tuesday and said Johnson is upset about all the criticism.
"I talked to him and I know he's feeling really beat up over it," Gordon said. "But he really feels like it wasn't his fault. To blame one person in that accident is very unfortunate because I don't think it was any one person."
Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Burton are saying Johnson has been careless lately. I actually dont have as much a problem with him doing as I do with him not owning up to it......if you are agressive, fine. Just don't do it and then say it wasn't your fault.
i just read Marty Smith's column on Nascar.com and he was talking about the wrecks and plate-racing in general. in there, he said that Sterling Marlin blamed Jr. for the big 25 car wreck but what was classic was that Kyle Busch blamed his teammate J.J.
Maybe you should read you own article, 1 driver blamed JJ for the big wreck....JR, the guy EVERYONE on the broadcast who actually saw it said caused it. Your heading other driverssssss blame Johnson but yet only 1 does, your buddy.....
add Biffle to the list as well. yesterday, he was quoted as saying "if Johnson hadn't been in that race Sunday, the two big wrecks wouldn't have ever happened." He also went on to say that he thinks the 48 is a good driver, he just got careless and impatient on Sunday.
I just don't see it....Jr. bumps Wallace forward and Johnson comes up the track and causes the big one. So the truth is that Wallace actually caused the crash. If he was a better driver he would of been able to keep the car straight instead of wrecking.....
