Gordon says teams learn by spying on one another

Jeff Gordon

Is subterfuge the secret to catching the Joe Gibbs Racing juggernaut during the Chase for the Sprint Cup?

Jeff Gordon said Hendrick Motorsports has kept a close eye on the competition to set the benchmark for improving in the 10-race playoffs. "We know what we're lacking," he said Thursday during Chase Media Day.

"You know what you've got to do to make your car better. How you do it is another challenge, and you learn from your competitors. We have spies everywhere. We constantly are looking at our competitors. "We feel like, right now, we're bringing the absolute best car we've had all year to (Chicago), and we'll do that for nine more weeks after that."

Teammate Jimmie Johnson joked, "I didn't know we had spies. I hope they found something cool!" when asked whether Hendrick had conducted successful reconnaissance on the competition, but he conceded the tight confines of the garage help in confirming the benchmark. "When we park next to each other, everyone is looking at each other's cars, and you can see things," Johnson said.

"The photos we receive during practice, you can see the attitude of the car, and how low it is, and speculate on springs and stuff going on, but it takes so many small details to separate yourself and find an advantage.

"I know our guys are digging deep, and I'm not sure if it's been the spying aspect, but I know our engine shop is bringing more and more every week. They're highly motivated. Our engineering staff is all hands on deck. (Team owner) Rick (Hendrick) has made it clear we're going to get better and finish the Chase stronger than we started. Hopefully it's with a championship." NBC Sports