As if he needed it, questions are extra motivation for J.J.

Want to motivate Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus? Just doubt them.

After a stroke of fortune in Fontana on pit road helped Johnson be in position to win at Auto Club Speedway, some believed Lady Luck had more to do with his win than anything.

The 48 team came roaring back to Victory Lane the following Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"Luck didn't have us lead 101 laps," Johnson said after the Vegas win. "Luck didn't hold off the 29 car [Kevin Harvick]. Luck put us in position, I'll be the first to admit that, but I still had to win the race."

Johnson was looking to answer his naysayers again this week went he came into Bristol Motor Speedway with a 15.9 average finish in 16 career starts and without a win at the Tennessee short track. While conversation leading into the race centered on the Brad Keselowski-Carl Edwards controversy and whether Kyle Busch could win a third consecutive race at the track after sweeping in 2009, Johnson was clearly under the radar.

Until Sunday, when he erased Bristol from the list of tracks where he'd never won a Sprint Cup race. A bold four-tire pit stop stole the victory away from Kurt Busch, who had dominated the day and appeared headed to a second consecutive victory.

"We worked hard for this and to be competitive at this place," said Johnson, who celebrated his 50th career win. "I think we've shown everyone we can be competitive anywhere and this team will go out there every week with one goal in mind -- to win."

That's what Johnson has been doing right out of the gate this year. Sunday's victory was his third in the season's first five races, and with Martinsville Speedway looming -- he has won five of the past seven races there -- there's a very good chance the 48 car will be sitting in Victory Lane again next Sunday.

Don't doubt it.

Fast five

Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson keep proving their doubters wrong. (AP)

1. The "new" Bristol proved to be a little of the old and new. Since the track was reconfigured a few years ago, multiple grooves have merged and drivers have had a chance to race side-by-side. But some fans longed for the days when the only way to pass someone was to move them out of the way. The extension of the SAFER Barriers this year made the racing surface a little narrower, and Sunday's race saw more use of the chrome horn then in recent trips to Thunder Valley.

2. Roush Fenway Racing finally made some noise Sunday with three drivers in the top 10. Matt Kenseth is now only a point out of the lead, trailing Kevin Harvick, and both Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards turned in strong performances. If the Roush brigade can come through next week's trip to Martinsville -- not one of the team's strongest tracks -- in good shape, it can make more noise in April at Phoenix, Texas and Talladega, where RFR has shined in past years.

3. The Sprint Cup Car of Tomorrow's rear wing era began and ended at Bristol. The new Cup car made its debut at Bristol in the spring of 2007, and with NASCAR's decision to replace it with a more traditional rear spoiler beginning next week in Martinsville, Sunday's race was the last for the much-maligned wing. A two-day test at Charlotte Motor Speedway this week is expected to give drivers and teams a better idea on how the spoiler will affect that car's handling.

4. Who had the worst weekend in Bristol? My choice has to be Clint Bowyer, who had an engine expire and wound up finishing 40th, ending a hot streak by the Richard Childress Racing driver to start the season. Then to add insult to injury, the Emporia, Kan. native had to endure the No. 1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks going down to Northern Iowa in the NCAA tournament Saturday.

5. Bristol didn't sell out and there were large sections of seats visibly empty around the cavernous stadium, which has the third-largest seating capacity in NASCAR at 156,000, trailing only Daytona and Indianapolis. A sketchy weather forecast no doubt slowed down Sunday's walk-up sales, but track officials expect a sellout when NASCAR returns for the traditional August night race later this summer.

Speed Sounds

"To lose to the 48 sucks, but that's the way it goes. We fought hard." –- Kurt Busch

"I don't know if it was the fumes or something in my drink bottle or what, but 60 laps into the race I felt like I was going to throw up." -– Jamie McMurray

"I owe an apology to Mark Martin. It sounds stupid because everybody makes an excuse, but I was having trouble with my radio." –- Greg Biffle

"It is just a shame. Man, I think we had a car that I really believe could contend to win." -– Mark Martin

Downshifting

Mark Martin: The veteran definitely had one of the fastest cars of the day but got tangled up with Biffle just past the midway point, which triggered a massive 13-car pileup. Martin's battered machine finished the day 35th and dropped him to 16th in the point standings.

Kasey Kahne: Two trips into the wall, one for a cut tire, rendered Kahne uncompetitive all afternoon. A 34th-place finish adds up to a 23rd spot in the Sprint Cup standings for Kahne, who was visibly upset after the race, adding more speculation to whether he'll be back in the RPM fold in 2011.

Marcos Ambrose: He impressed last year with two top-10 runs in his first two starts at Bristol, but after getting caught up in the Martin-Biffle-sparked 13-car accident, Ambrose leapt around with a car that looked more like an open wheel modified and finished 33rd.

Charging ahead

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Despite a pit road speeding penalty, Junior kept his composure and notched a top-10 finish. His seventh moved Earnhardt into the eighth spot of the point standings.

Jamie McMurray: The Daytona 500 winner complained of nausea when he inhaled fumes from the track jet driers during the race's first rain delay. But McMurray fought back from those symptoms and gave Earnhardt Ganassi Racing a solid eighth.

Kevin Harvick: Didn't show the kind of prowess he usually displays at Bristol and fought through a variety of problems to somehow manage an 11th-place finish. That was good enough to stay on top of the standings, and as he did when things weren't going well at Atlanta last time out, Harvick and crew chief Gil Martin showed they are a championship-level team, fighting back from adversity.

Sneak peek

The second straight short track lies ahead with next week's Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500, which will mark the beginning of the spoiler era. Jimmie Johnson has won two of the past three races at Martinsville.