Johnson's anger toward Vickers shows lack of respect

	It appears Jimmie Johnson likes Brian Vickers right where he has been most of this season, in Johnson's rear-view mirror. Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

Team pecking orders in racing are nothing new. In Formula One, for example, it's pretty standard that there's a hierarchy between the two drivers on the team: No. 1 and Never As Good.

After being wrecked by teammate Brian Vickers on Sunday while making a pass for the lead on the final lap at Talladega, it appears that's the type of dynamic Jimmie Johnson's looking for in NASCAR.

"Knowing the situation we're all in, I would hope that someone would be a little more patient than they were back there," said Johnson after the now-famous wreck that also collected Dale Earnhardt Jr. and handed the win to Vickers, who was running third at the time. "I know [Vickers] was trying to get his first win, but he was in position to finish second or third the way that was."

Everyone understood the hidden meaning of that quote. In the hunt for a championship, Johnson wanted Vickers to play the good teammate, lying back and making sure the Lowe's Chevrolet snagged the best finish possible at the checkered flag. Vickers' winning the race became secondary to Johnson's performance in the Chase; his sole purpose was to ensure that the No. 48 car came back to the garage in one piece.

Johnson's feelings for Vickers haven't been very charitable since the youngster opted out of his contract to move to Toyota for 2007, and the Hendrick organization has followed suit. Locked out of team meetings for the past couple of weeks, Vickers has been isolated; men who were once good friends with him are suddenly turning their backs.

Johnson's rebuff comes three weeks after another soon-to-be former teammate, Jeff Gordon, a mentor to Vickers and a poker buddy off the track, criticized him for racing for position late in the race at New Hampshire. With an attitude similar to Johnson's, Gordon claimed, in no uncertain terms, that Vickers should be a friendly foe, not an on-track obstacle that could possibly harm his chances at the championship.