FORT WORTH, Texas -- Don't mess with Jimmie Johnson at Texas.
The driver of the No. 48 Lowe's ProServices Chevrolet took home his record-extending fifth victory at Texas Motor Speedway, leading more than 100 laps at the track for the fifth time in the process.
After celebrating in Victory Lane with crew chief Chad Knaus and the rest of the No. 48 team, Johnson discussed what it meant to finally get a win in the spring event at the track, as his previous four had all come in the fall.
"Texas has just kind of grown for us," said Johnson, who has won four of the last six races at the track. "The spring race has always been tough results-wise, but we've had fast cars, and in the fall we come here and get the finish we hope for. It's nice to get one done in the spring. I think the surface fits my style, fits Chad's, what our team does together. Our cars just perform well on those tracks."
They certainly do.
In addition to Johnson's record five victories at Texas Motor Speedway, he also leads all drivers in top-10 finishes (18), laps led (1,017) and average finish (8.8) at the track. His 12 top-five finishes are good for second in the all-time annals at the 1.5-mile oval.
"This is a racetrack that definitely falls into Jimmie's liking," Knaus said. "It's a good race for us. It's a lot of fun. We like coming out here. Obviously it's cool to see the confetti and the fireworks."
Both Johnson and Knaus pointed to the off weekend as a key to Saturday night's success.
A little time away from the track helped everyone hit the reset button.
"This week was great, man. It was fantastic," Knaus said. "Jimmie came in, he was ready to go. He was energized. The guys came in ready to go and energized. A weekend off I think was good for everybody in the industry, and we came in here on our tiptoes and were ready to go."
The weekend began with Johnson qualifying in the top five, and it ended with the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's ProServices Chevrolet SS making perhaps the move of the race to jump from third place back into the lead.
It came with 14 laps remaining, and Johnson seized an opportunity.
"Unfortunately the (No.) 4 was having some trouble getting by the (No.) 1, and they slid up high through (Turns) 3 and 4 and left the bottom wide open for me," he explained. "I thought I'd at least get the 4 car, and when I came off of Turn 4, I was alongside the 1 and I thought, 'Man, we're going to get them both here.' So that worked out well."
Johnson never looked back, holding on for his second win of the season.
"Just a fun race," he said. "I hope everybody enjoyed it. I know from where I was sitting and the competitors, tonight was a very good night for our sport, a lot of great racing. The surface of this racetrack really allows that all to happen, and we're happy that we're able to come out here and put on a great show."