Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last five races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Credit: Autostock

Johnson's challenge: Get back to the front

Jimmie Johnson is the reigning king of Charlotte, with three consecutive victories -- four total -- seven consecutive top-10 finishes and an average finish of 7.4.

But he'll have his hands full when the green flag drops Saturday night (7 p.m. ET, NBC). Johnson blew up the engine in his No. 48 Chevrolet during Thursday's second practice -- he posted a session-best speed of 193.216 mph -- and the crew changed the powerplant, relegating Johnson to a back-of-the-pack starting position despite qualifying third-fastest.

Inside the Chase Point standings after Kansas Pos. Driver Pts. Behind 1. T. Stewart 5,684 -- 2. R. Newman 5,609 -75 3. G. Biffle 5,596 -88 4. R. Wallace 5,594 -90 5. J. Johnson 5,592 -92 6. C. Edwards 5,589 -95 7. M. Martin 5,571 -113 8. M. Kenseth 5,568 -116 9. J. Mayfield 5,527 -157 10. Ku. Busch 5,460 -224

Nonetheless, Johnson is at ease. He enters the UAW-GM Quality 500 fifth in the standings and 92 points behind leader Tony Stewart.

"I see that the teams are a little bit more relaxed [this year] in the first few races," said Johnson, who is the defending race winner. "Last year, everybody felt that the champion was going to be a team that made it clean through the final 10.

"This year, I think the teams are a little bit smarter and everybody has realized that last year everybody had a problem. So I don't see the intensity level as high as the first few races. Now as we get toward the half-way point in the Chase ... the intensity level is going to ramp-up and catch up for everybody."

Johnson's record at Lowe's Motor Speedway -- four wins, five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in eight starts -- clearly is t he cream of the Chase crop.

"I think over time we've all realized that if it's a ballgame or even racing, that there are certain stats they continue to produce," Johnson said. "We look at those things and it helps us prepare for the race coming up. At Charlotte, I've been waiting for our success to slow down there. I thought it would be that way in the spring. We got off to a slow start but by the end of the night we made the right adjustments and ended up winning the race.

"Going to Charlotte, there is really only one direction for us to go -- and that's not winning. If that happens, so be it. But I really feel comfortable and confident about our chances there. We tested in the Busch car there and ran a 28.70 -- the fastest I've ever been around that race track. And that was on 50-lap tires at the end of a run. ... I think we're going to go back there and definitely be in the top five."

However, Johnson isn't the only Chase driver who knows his way to Victory Lane. Four other championship hopefuls also have won at the 1.5-mile track, including four for Mark Martin. Three of Martin's victories have come in the fall race, and his 15 top-five finishes are the most of any active driver at the track. Toss in two all-star race wins, six Busch Series victories and one IROC checkered flag and .... well, Martin seems to have a handle on the track.

"I tell you what, I love Lowe's Motor Speedway," Martin said. "In my opinion, it's the greatest place to race in the world. I can remember the first time that I ever went there in 1981 and thinking 'wow' this is just like a small quarter-mile track somewhere, except it's huge, but you could race just like that.

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"Every time I go there, the first thing I do after the first lap is radio the team and tell them how awesome that track is. We had a great test there a couple of weeks ago and I can't tell you how excited I am about getting back there.

"Last Sunday [at Kansas] was a great win for this team and Charlotte couldn't come at a better time," said Martin, who is seventh in the standings and 113 point behind. "We had a good car [at Charlotte] in the spring and we got caught up in somebody's wreck late in the race.

"Hopefully this time we'll be able to avoid that and finish it off. Tony [Stewart] has a pretty good lead on all of us, but it's really tight after that. We just have to keep fighting and see what happens."

Other Chase drivers ...

Tony Stewart: "[The track] is temperature sensitive, and depending upon when we practice and what time of day we make our runs, you kind of have to plan ahead for knowing what the track is going to do. If the car's not driving perfect in practice that doesn't mean it's bad, because you know the track is going to cool off. You don't want to adjust a whole lot because you might overcompensate for a condition that's not even going to be there when the race starts. So, you really have to plan ahead."

Ryan Newman: "Well, we've proven that we have a fast car at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Alltel Dodge has been great every time we've gone to the track. We keep qualifying well, but just can't get that elusive win for Roger Penske. We're disappointed with our finish last weekend in Kansas [23rd], but we're not letting that get us down. We're still second in points and we've still got a shot at this championship. If that was our one mulligan then I think we'll be OK. We just can't have any more finishes like that."

Greg Biffle: "I had my best ever finish at Charlotte [sixth] in the spring but the track is obviously a lot different. We're taking a car that we've had success with but we'll have to find a whole new approach. We tore up two cars in the test there, so we're going to have to be a little cautious all around. We'll keep a close eye on the tire wear and I may have to change my driving style a little to fit the new track surface. I hope the fans get to see some good, safe racing this weekend."

Rusty Wallace: "What's so cool is that we're coming back into Charlotte primed and ready to add even more success to all that we've already enjoyed through the years. ... It's really neat to be heading back to Charlotte in the thick of things in the Chase. We've been running strong all year long and we're confident we can maybe even turn up the wick a little more this weekend. With D.J. [Dale Jarrett] winning at Talladega and Mark [Martin] taking the win at Kansas, maybe there's some kind of trend going on for us older guys."

Carl Edwards: "Charlotte's going to be a tough track. I'm not really sure what to expect but when you have guys like Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart wreck two cars each during the test, it makes me a little nervous. I think we have a really good car though and I really do like Charlotte. I think running the Busch race will help me adjust to the track surface. We'll see what happens. It would mean a lot to me to have a good run this weekend and try to move up in the points."

Matt Kenseth: "Charlotte has always been one of my favorite tracks, partly because I got my first Cup win there. But the track was definitely different when we raced there in the spring after they redid the surface. We had a hard crash that night and that's certainly something that we don't want to repeat. I still think it would be better if they started over and re-paved it and got it back the way it used to be, but I think it'll be much better than it was in May. We bringing a strong car that we've had success with this season, so we should be competitive."

Jeremy Mayfield: "We ran pretty well at Charlotte in the 600. We finished with a strong fourth after starting in the back. This Dodge crew fought back all night to bring us to the front. Our Dodge Chargers have been fast on the mile-and-half tracks this year, and in each race our pit stop average has improved. I believe we are going to be front contenders before the end of the night. .. I enjoy the Charlotte night race because it starts later -- we don't have to deal with starting in the afternoon and finishing in the dark. The track changes too much then, and with all of the additional changes that Humpy [Wheeler, track president] has made to the track it's going to create enough of a challenge."

Kurt Busch: "We tested here a few weeks ago, and like everyone else we have to adjust to what seems like an entirely new track. This new track is definitely different; it's more like Texas than it is like Charlotte now, so we've got to revert back to some of those notes and combine that with what we learned in testing. It seems like every race during the Chase so far we've had a car capable of winning, but we've either suffered from tire problems or accidents. We have terrific cars for these remaining races, so we're looking for a good run at a track that has not always been our best."