Jimmie Johnson spends a lot of time with his team owner/friend/teammate Jeff Gordon, constantly picking his brain and asking questions.

This weekend was no different. And while Gordon managed to offer enough advice and information to help Johnson to a second-place finish at Martinsville Speedway (a runner-up finish behind Gordon, no less), it's a lesson Gordon has tried to impart upon Johnson since last year that might prove to be the more important lesson in the end.

Gordon likes to say if you hang out at the front long enough, eventually you'll win. And while Johnson has certainly shown that, winning three times this year, the idea is perhaps more suitably applied to his championship hunt.

After finishing fifth in his rookie campaign last season, Johnson has experienced no sophomore slump and is again sitting at fifth this season. While the Cup circuit is abuzz with Matt Kenseth's consistency this year and his run to the title, and Ryan Newman's fuel mileage strategy and eight victories, Johnson has managed to fly just below the radar for much of 2003 season. But his patience, and knack for knowing when to take what the race track gives him, makes him a threat to win every weekend and establishes him as a potential threat to win the title every season.

Johnson doesn't mind that others are stealing the spotlight he owned for so much of last season. He just hopes that one day, soon, he steals it back.

"There's always going to be someone who wins the most races or that is the champion or that is the dominant guy," Johnson said. "That's just part of it. There's always going to be that person that's the one you want to knock off the top. I just hope it's us one of these years."

The way things are going so far in his career, the likelihood of that coming true seems pretty high. For the second year in a row, Johnson's team has provided him with one of the best cars week-in and week-out and Johnson has used that trademark patience to avoid trouble or, sometimes, bounce back for a high finish after getting bit.

Sunday was an example of the latter. Johnson got caught up in a wreck when, while negotiating Turn 4 at the half-mile Virginia race track, the competition went at least four-wide with one car spinning and another fishtailing. Johnson had nowhere to go and a weekend that started off badly looked like it would end even worse.

	Johnson finished second at Martinsville on Sunday.

"It just got bottle-necked and we were all trying to stop," Johnson said. "I was going around the outside of the 42 and somebody tried wedging themselves between Jamie (McMurray) and the car that was spinning. We were essentially four or five wide and got clipped and turned around from that.

"I've been struggling this entire weekend. The fastest I was all weekend was 24th or 25th on the board, and to be able to get things figured out and sorted out on how to drive the track and finish second is such a cool accomplishment. It means a lot to me. This is one of the places that is hardest mentally to drive, and even after being spun out and all kinds of crazy stuff happened to us today, we still ended up with a good finish."

Johnson's response to the question of how he was able to salvage a high finish isn't surprising: "It boiled down to being patient and going when you could."

Some drivers win with fuel mileage. Others have great luck. Johnson succeeds in part because he drives for a well-financed team that gives him outstanding equipment; in part because his crew chief is willing to take calculated risks and work tirelessly to find innovative race strategies; and, in part, because of that trademark patience of his.

Gordon is familiar with it. He was concerned when Johnson showed up to Martinsville, a track already identified as one of his weak links, and struggled. But he wasn't too worried. He's seen Johnson turn bad situations around before. He knew it could happen again.

"We were strong all weekend and Jimmie struggled most of the weekend, but he was great today and I knew he would find his rhythm and find what he needed once he got into the race and they did," Gordon said.

In fact, once Johnson found that rhythm Gordon started to get worried about something else: "Don't think I wasn't concerned about him, because I saw how his car came on strong there late in the race and I didn't know if we were going to be able to hold him off or not," he said.

Of course, Gordon was able to hold Johnson off and collect his second victory of the season. But the competition will be hard-pressed to keep holding Johnson and Co. at bay. Johnson concedes that it would take a near-miracle for him to win the title this year. But he still wants to contend for at least second this year and keep banging on the door to the title in the future.

	“	There's always going to be someone who wins the most races or that is the champion or that is the dominant guy. ... There's always going to be that person that's the one you want to knock off the top. I just hope it's us one of these years. ”
		— Jimmie Johnson

"Since the midway point, I think the top 10 in points has really been the way we've been finishing on the track and it's been pretty competitive," Johnson said. "From my standpoint, I'm looking in the mirror behind me (on Sunday) and I see Ryan Newman and Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. I think, 'Oh great, I'm ahead of them and I'll gain a couple of points.' But in front of me is Jeff and I lost some to him. I guess we're slowly chipping away at Matt's lead, but the top five or six in the points keep finishing that way on the track.

"I think it's going to continue to be like that. The final results in the championship are going to boil down to who doesn't make a mistake in the end."

No one can say for sure how the race to the finish will turn out, but you can bet Johnson won't beat himself. He's too patient to try to take more than he thinks he can get. That's precisely why Gordon thinks Johnson has as good a shot as anyone -- be it Kevin Harvick, Junior, Newman or even himself -- of winning the race for second place this year.

"Those guys are really tough," Gordon said. "You know they'll be tough every weekend. I'm real proud of the way they're running, and I'm excited to see (them compete in the future)."

Rupen Fofaria is a freelance writer living in Chicago and a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at rfofaria@espnspecial.com.