CONCORD, N.C. -- The Lone Star State and Jimmie Johnson have gotten along quite well in the past four years.
The all-time wins leader at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson has won each of the last three fall races at Texas -- in 2012 from the pole and in 2013 and 2014 after rolling off the grid third.
Then earlier this season, Johnson found Victory Lane for his first-ever win in the spring race at the track. That made for four wins in the past six races in Fort Worth, Texas.
He led 742 combined laps in the wins -- 55 percent of the total laps run.
"As far as how we perform here at Texas, I think it’s -- this is a racetrack that definitely falls into Jimmie’s liking," No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus said after the most recent win in April.
Johnson already leads all drivers with five career victories at the 1.5-mile oval, and Sunday he'll look to extend his lead in the wins category with a third consecutive victory at the track.
“The last race in Texas showed some pretty fantastic racing," Johnson said. "The surface of this racetrack really allows for that to happen. It’s going to be an exciting race and we are going for three in a row there."
Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with an average starting position of 8.4 at Texas -- the only active driver with an average starting position at the track inside the top 10.
Much of that success comes from "how the track has evolved," Johnson said, including the bumps on the track, which help put wear on the tires.
"Texas has just kind of grown for us," Johnson said. "I think the surface fits my style, fits Chad's and what our team does together."
"It is a lot of fun to drive."