It came close to happening again Tuesday morning.

After a slight slip, Carolina Panthers receiver Devin Funchess nearly lost to quarterback Cam Newton:

Now, the word “again” could be a bit controversial because the two disagree on the all-time results of their now traditional pre-practice race.

“I have,” Newton says when asked if he’s ever beaten Funchess. “A couple times, really.”

But Funchess claims if they’ve raced 100 times ...

“I’ve won 100 of 100,” he says. “People could say questionable 99.”

That race in question came on the first Wednesday of training camp:

“Look, first off, the angle was terrible. He took off well before me,” Funchess says with a laugh. “I didn't lose. If anything it was a tie.

“He always takes off, and I kind of give him a head start. But (that race) was even. I think we tied.”

With OMEGA busy at the Rio Olympics that day, there wasn’t an official timekeeper in Spartanburg. So the results remain a mystery. But the by-product of the daily competition is what Funchess was looking for midway through his fledgling rookie season.

“I was just trying to find my way and trying to juiced because they say you're going to hit a rookie wall, but I didn't want to hit it,” Funchess says.

“So we started that off and we've been doing it ever since. It just gives us the comfortability with each other — just a big brother, little brother thing.”

And the little brother even throws his big bro a bone.

“I always give him the head start,” Funchess says. “He looks for me in the huddle. I used to just break and then take off, now he looks for me and takes off before me.”

Then you run him down?

“All the time.”

Newton famously — or infamously — doesn’t like to lose. Funchess claims he’s just as competitive, a trait that does him well as soon as the practice horn sounds.

“When I was growing up, I never let anybody beat me,” Funchess says, “so I can't let Cam start beating me now.”