“I’m not leaving my wing man!”
Tom Cruise, aka “Maverick,” uttered these words at the end of “Top Gun.” When the chips were down the hotshot pilot finally balanced discipline and discourse, and the result was his greatest moment.
Maverick learned his lesson largely thanks to Val Kilmer’s “Iceman,” the guy who would never win a popularity contest but ended up hoisting the Top Gun trophy because he never made a mistake.
With all due respect to NASCAR’s original Iceman, Terry Labonte, Jimmie Johnson plays that role these days. And Sunday Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports wing man, Dale Jr., pushed him to Victory Lane at Talladega.
Junior’s winless streak reached 101 races following Sunday’s Aaron’s 499, but he’s now third in the Sprint Cup standings. In the offseason Rick Hendrick made a major switch, putting Junior’s and Johnson’s operations in the same shop. While Hendrick claims …