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.

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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.

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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.

Entering last year, one of Johnson's goals was getting that first career victory at Bristol. It was one of the few boxes he didn't check off during his historic pursuit of Cale Yarborough's three-peat. Johnson's emphasis on Bristol was evident in the 96 laps he made in final practice, more than only two other drivers.

"I look at it as those guys, when they get challenged like that, man, they go after it," Gordon said. "Just like on the road courses. When Jimmie first came to Hendrick Motorsports, he wasn't as competitive on the road courses and they looked at that as a real challenge and have stepped up to the challenge, in my opinion. I think Bristol has kind of always been one of those places that he feels like it is not his best track, and is something that challenges him and he has to work a little bit harder at. Some of these tracks it comes natural to some, and others it doesn't. It doesn't matter what setup you have, it is not always about that. This has been one of those places for Jimmie. Fortunately for him, this track is not in the Chase. It doesn't seem to affect him when it comes to the championship."

The strange thing is that no one is better than Johnson on another Sprint Cup short track, half-mile Martinsville Speedway -- where the series champion has won five times, including four of the last five times out. But according to Johnson, the approaches on those tracks could not be more different. At Bristol, Johnson said, drivers are on the gas more in the corners than in the straightaways, a fact that's always thrown him. On race runs, drivers are coming off the throttle even before they've reached the start/finish line. The rhythm of the place is something he's never quite figured out.

"It just doesn't work for me," Johnson said. "I don't know why, but it's backward."

Elsewhere from Happy Hour:
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has scored more points over the last 10 races at Bristol than any other driver, seems poised for another strong effort Sunday. The Hendrick driver was sixth-fastest in final practice, turning a top lap of 122.748 mph in his No. 88 car.

• Richard Childress Racing, which swept the top three places at Bristol last spring, placed three cars in the top 10 in final practice Saturday. Kevin Harvick was fastest of the group in seventh, while Casey Mears was eighth and Clint Bowyer ninth. The lone exception in the RCR camp was Jeff Burton, the defending race winner, who was 20th.

• Front-row starter Ryan Newman backed up his qualifying run in final practice, recording the second-fastest lap behind Hamlin. Pole-sitter Mark Martin was further back in 14th. Martin, 35th in owners' points, needs a good finish Sunday to avoid having to qualify on speed when 2009 points go into effect next week at Martinsville.