BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Jimmie Johnson loves Bristol Motor Speedway. At least, that's what he's telling himself this week.

He's studied video. He's worked with engineers. He's had Hendrick Motorsports teammate and five-time Bristol winner Jeff Gordon drive his car, and studied the driving style of former teammate Kyle Busch. Still, even for a three-time defending series champion, every trip to the Tennessee short track is a slog. Which is why he's turned to his latest tactic -- the power of positive thinking.

“

We try so hard at this track, and that's why our frustration gets so high because we put such an effort into it, and usually end up running bad.

”

JIMMIE JOHNSON

"I've started the whole process of convincing myself I love this track," Johnson said. "My outlook is, I love this place and I cannot wait to get on track."

His results speak otherwise. If there's one place where NASCAR's most dominant active driver seems downright ordinary, it's on the high banks of Bristol. It's one of six Sprint Cup tracks -- along with Chicagoland, Infineon, Watkins Glen, Michigan and Homestead -- where he's never won. He's placed better than 10th just once in his last six starts here, and has a career average finish of 17.4. It's been a struggle since the very beginning, when the then-rookie Johnson tested at Bristol and found himself confounded by the place. The No. 48 team would compare their test data to Gordon's, looking for secrets.

"I couldn't get it," Johnson admitted. "We've tested here every year we've had the opportunity to test, and I've still not been able to find the rhythm that it takes. I've had good runs. I've finished in the top five I think a couple of times, in the top 10. So my outlook really for the weekend is to get to the halfway point. The races that I've had really bad finishes, I may not have had the fastest car, but my frustration got to me, I was caught up in something before the halfway point, and had a bad finish. The races I make it past halfway, we have a good day. Maybe not the day we want, but we leave here with points. And that's really what my mind-set is for this weekend."

It's not due to a lack of effort. Johnson's team has had Gordon shake down its blue-and-silver car. They've spent days studying Bristol data from Gordon and former teammate Busch, who won once on the short track before leaving for Joe Gibbs Racing prior to last year. "We try so hard at this track, and that's why our frustration gets so high," Johnson said, "because we put such an effort into it, and usually end up running bad."

This Bristol weekend has brought mixed results. Johnson qualified third for Sunday's Food City 500, but top-10 starting positions are nothing new for him here. He even won the pole a year ago. In Saturday's final practice, the No. 48 car placed 13th, while Denny Hamlin led the session with a speed of 123.372 mph. (Continued)