Jordan-era Bull teaches Johnson, Gordon playoff toughness

Former NBA big man, Will Perdue, is teaching Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon about playoff toughness. AP

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- As sports fans gear up for college basketball's March Madness, NASCAR fans have their own version as the series heads to Bristol for the first short track race of the season.

On that note, don't be surprised if there's some basketball seeping into NASCAR. Take a look at either Jeff Gordon's or Jimmie Johnson's pit area someday and don't be surprised to see Will Perdue towering over the other crew members.

The 7-foot former Vanderbilt standout played a key role with the 1990s Chicago Bulls, winning three championships with Michael Jordan. He won a fourth with the San Antonio Spurs. Now he has a relationship with Hendrick Motorsports, working with Gordon and Johnson as a "playoff advisor."

Purdue grew up in Florida driving go-karts and quarter-midgets until he literally outgrew them. He met Gordon and his crew chief, Robbie Loomis, at Chicagoland Speedway's first race in 2001. With a newly-adopted Chase format in place, Loomis asked Perdue to speak to the team about competing in a playoffs, and what change it would inspire.

"I flew into Charlotte, met the guys, talked to them about the importance of teamwork and how things would change with the scrutiny involved and how they could prepare for it," Perdue said.

Perdue built his relationship from a crew member's point of view, emphasizing that in his mind Gordon plays the role of Michael Jordan and Steve Letarte is Phil Jackson. The same goes with his involvement on the 48 team with Jimmie Johnson as Jordan and Chad Knaus as Jackson. That must be working because Johnson and Knaus accomplished the "Three-peat" last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Perdue speaks from his experience as a role player with the NBA Champion Bulls and he spends time with the crew members to discuss performance issues and handling pressure.

He also works for ESPN, and once the NBA season is over, he shows up at select NASCAR races. Last season Perdue made 10 Sprint Cup events, including the season finale at Homestead.

"If I were in basketball, I'd be considered the director of player personnel," Perdue said. "I'm outside the box and somebody these guys can talk to. It's a weird dynamic how these teams are set up because you have management and you have employees, so I'm almost like a liaison between those guys to Stevie [Letarte] and those guys to Jeff [Gordon]."

Perdue stresses the mental aspects of the sport, emphasizing that teams need to set big goals, shooting not just for the top 12, but for the No. 1 spot. A perfect example of how his philosophy works came last year. When Kyle Busch was burning the wheels off his car, winning eight of the first 26 races, Johnson's team was systematically working its way into The Chase. Once the final 10-race playoff started, Busch was burned out and the momentum quickly shifted to Johnson.

"The issue with Kyle Busch seems to happen every year with a driver," Perdue said. "This is Jimmie's third championship but he wasn't the hottest driver heading into the last 10 races. It's almost like those guys have developed a formula."

Perdue says there are big similarities both on a gameday basis (one NASCAR race and one NBA game), and over the course of the sports' long seasons. Those similarities make his working between the sports easy.

"What happens in the first 46 minutes [of an NBA game] is something you learn that will work in the final two minutes," Perdue said. "It's the same thing in these races where these guys get answers from other teams, like when somebody takes two tires, they might use that later. Much like the NBA, NASCAR is a copycat. If something is successful for them, we're going to try it."

The basketball analogies go even further from Perdue. He has noticed that some of Johnson's competition in NASCAR has the same look in their eyes that he saw from other teams when he was playing with Jordan and the Bulls. It's a look of fear and self-doubt before the contest even begins.

"It wasn't that other teams didn't have an answer, but they knew they had to play their best game just to have a chance at beating the Bulls," Perdue said. "These teams in NASCAR know that just to have a chance, they have to have the best pit stops, tire combinations and everything has to go right."

While it may seem that Perdue's involvement with a NASCAR team is a real "stretch," the 7-footer makes some good points when it comes to competitive theory.

After all, whether it's the NBA or NASCAR, there is still competitive fire in both, and Perdue is helping to bring the mental approach to a different sport.