AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Calling it "miscommunication" and a positive learning experience, Jeff Gordon said Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway that having Dale Earnhardt Jr. drive the No. 5 Chevrolet last weekend after Kyle Busch left the track was a unique situation that probably won't occur again.
But it certainly was a surprise, according to Gordon.
"I was shocked," he said. "One, that somebody asked him to get in and there was even a reason for him to get in. The other is that they agreed to do it.
"I thought it was really cool, though. I think that's an awesome thing that he did for [crew chief Alan Gustafson] and speaks a lot about Junior -- and the smile on his face when he got out of the car shows a lot about him as well."
Speaking for the first time on the topic, Busch said it was a lesson learned.
"I don't feel like I let my teammates down and they tell me that I didn't let them down," Busch said. "The biggest thing I learned was there has to be more communication, not only from the team to me, but from myself. I didn't go to the team and ask if we were going to get back out.
"That is partially my problem, but we want to make sure we have it straightened out for the future."
Gordon said nobody should read anything into Junior's decision to become a Hendrick teammate for the final few laps at Texas.
"If you can't find your driver and there's been a miscommunication, then you've got to react," Gordon said. "What we do at Hendrick is we put cars out there that are hopefully capable of winning and we never stop working on getting the most points that we can until that checkered flag waves. That's what Alan was doing and I commend those guys for that.
"It was just a miscommunication from what I hear. They all learned that, 'Hey, don't let the driver go without telling him what he should do' and the driver knows 'I'm not leaving until I know what's going to happen.' That's the bottom line to the whole thing."
So, if the situation ever came up, would Gordon ever volunteer to finish a race for another team?
"No, probably not," he said. "If I was out of the race, I'd probably want to go home.
"It'd be different if it was Tony Stewart's car and it was in one piece and he was sick or something. I want to drive a car when it's running good at a track that he runs good at."
But it certainly was a surprise, according to Gordon.
"I was shocked," he said. "One, that somebody asked him to get in and there was even a reason for him to get in. The other is that they agreed to do it.
"I thought it was really cool, though. I think that's an awesome thing that he did for [crew chief Alan Gustafson] and speaks a lot about Junior -- and the smile on his face when he got out of the car shows a lot about him as well."
Speaking for the first time on the topic, Busch said it was a lesson learned.
"I don't feel like I let my teammates down and they tell me that I didn't let them down," Busch said. "The biggest thing I learned was there has to be more communication, not only from the team to me, but from myself. I didn't go to the team and ask if we were going to get back out.
"That is partially my problem, but we want to make sure we have it straightened out for the future."
Gordon said nobody should read anything into Junior's decision to become a Hendrick teammate for the final few laps at Texas.
"If you can't find your driver and there's been a miscommunication, then you've got to react," Gordon said. "What we do at Hendrick is we put cars out there that are hopefully capable of winning and we never stop working on getting the most points that we can until that checkered flag waves. That's what Alan was doing and I commend those guys for that.
"It was just a miscommunication from what I hear. They all learned that, 'Hey, don't let the driver go without telling him what he should do' and the driver knows 'I'm not leaving until I know what's going to happen.' That's the bottom line to the whole thing."
So, if the situation ever came up, would Gordon ever volunteer to finish a race for another team?
"No, probably not," he said. "If I was out of the race, I'd probably want to go home.
"It'd be different if it was Tony Stewart's car and it was in one piece and he was sick or something. I want to drive a car when it's running good at a track that he runs good at."
