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 Johnson's moniker "Six-Time" derives, of course, from the number
of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships he and the No. 48 Hendrick
Motorsports Chevrolet team have won.
But Johnson also is a six-time winner at Texas, and in recent years,
Victory Lane at the 1.5-mile speedway has been an all-but-exclusive
piece of real estate for the 40-year-old driver.
Johnson has won the last three Cup races at Texas, four of the last
five and five of the last seven. Clearly, the old asphalt at TMS
suits him.
"It's just this racetrack," Johnson said Thursday before opening Cup
practice of Saturday's Duck Commander 500 (at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
"I think tracks with an older surface -- the bumpier it is, the more
tire wear, it's just a condition that plays into our wheelhouse. And
we've hit on some things here over the last few trips, and it
consistently works for us, and it continues to put speed and
longevity in the car.
 "We weren't necessarily the best car in all those races, but we were
in the top three, top five. And I truly believe if you run there
long enough, you'll have opportunities to win. And we've been able
to win on speed, and then when being at the right place and being
able to take advantage of things, too."
Johnson was sixth fastest in Thursday's practice, posting a lap at
191.360 mph.
Kenseth would like to regain Texas mojo
Matt Kenseth has an excellent history at Texas Motor Speedway.
Unfortunately for him, it's not recent history.
"Ironically, Texas is one of those places, that when I was at Roush,
it was probably my best track," Kenseth said Tuesday during a
question-and-answer session with reporters at the NASCAR Hall of
Fame. "Even in years when we didn't run good at other places, we
always ran good there.
"I won a couple of times and was in position to win a couple other
times and got beat late."
In fact, before Kenseth left Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the
2012 season, he had two wins and four second-place finishes to his
credit at the 1.5-mile speedway.
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But his last two results in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota are
25th and 23rd.
"Since we've been over here (JGR), it's been a struggle for me for
some reason," Kenseth said. "We haven't really run very well the
last three years there. So I'm looking forward to going back and
seeing if we can make that better.
"We've qualified really well and have had really good speed, but the
races haven't turned out well there. I'm looking forward to getting
there and getting to work to see if we can find something that's
good on long runs but still fires off pretty fast."
True to his word, Kenseth rocketed to the top of the speed chart in
qualifying trim during Thursday's opening Cup practice, but he
didn't stay there. Drivers running later in the session leap-frogged
Kenseth's No. 20, which ended up 11th.
Short strokes
Late in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, Martin Truex Jr.
vaulted to the top of the speed chart with a lap at 192.892 mph,
edging the Team Penske Fords of Brad Keselowski (192.164 mph) and
Joey Logano (192.143 mph). Interestingly, Truex was the only Toyota
driver in the top 10. ... Roush Fenway Racing signed Virginia driver
Gray Gaulding, 18, to a developmental deal, the team announced
Thursday. Gaulding will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut for RFR
on Aug. 19 at Bristol. He'll also compete at Richmond in September.
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