BRISTOL, Tenn. -- It was a "frustrating Friday" for Jimmie Johnson at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS failed to make it out of the first round of qualifying, setting himself up with a 28th-place starting position for the race.
But that didn't leave Johnson discouraged.
"Saturday, Sunday seems to go a lot better for me once I kind of get into the rhythm of the track and get in race conditions," he said.
And then there's last week's result.
“It’s always great to come back to the racetrack after a win," he smiled.
Still, Johnson acknowledged that Bristol has "been a tough track" for him over the years.
In 26 starts at the short track, Johnson has earned one win and one pole position to go with eight top-five finishes and 14 top-10 finishes. In total, he has led 833 laps at Bristol.
"We have been a top-five car typically and then that one weekend we had a race-winning car and were able to take advantage of it and get the win," Johnson said of his history at Bristol. "When I look at this track I love what this track is about. I love the history of it. I love to watch races here. I had a blast once out there. I mean it’s always fun in the car, but when you have a chance to win races it kind of spoils you. I want to be more competitive here, just because I think so much of the track."
Johnson said that the physical drain is taken up a notch during short-track racing, but there is an emotional toll as well depending on how the car is running at various points in the race.
"A half-a-tenth makes all the difference in the world," he explained. "If you are a half-a-tenth off and the guys are coming from behind, it is so frustrating, so stressful. It’s a very difficult point in the race car and kind of dealing with all of that and the anxiety is high. If you are half-a-tenth faster than the cars around you, man, it’s great. You are having a blast. It’s amazing how little will make a huge emotional impact or emotional difference.”
Johnson said he will have to battle some of that Sunday as he will roll off the grid 28th, but like teammate Jeff Gordon, he believes that the length of the race will help him to overcome the starting position.
“If you can stay on the lead lap and deal with the attrition, you’ll be in decent shape," he said. "We won’t have any favors on pit road. In some ways it’s nice that we qualified so bad that we might find an opportunity on pit road to make up somewhere and work some slower traffic that way, but we’re in a big hole. There’s no way around it. But it is a long race. You can still salvage a nice finish here out of being smart and running a strong race and that’s what we’re going to have to do.”