Johnson admitted to being somewhat taken aback by the staggering success he has achieved behind the wheel of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet over the course of the year, a sentiment shared by crew chief Chad Knaus, a man instrumental to his title challenge.

“It was obviously a phenomenal race,” Knaus enthused of his charge's performance. “The Lowe's Chevrolet was great all day, and Jimmie did a great job of driving.

“Quite frankly, the biggest reason we're successful in the Chase is the work regiment we have at Hendrick Motorsports. The time we're able to give them [the crew] to have time off to get rested, and the work ethic that Jimmie has, I think pays dividends.

“I love every aspect of my job. The thing I'm proudest of if you look over our history as a team is we've been able to battle for the championship every year. The thing that is the coolest about it is we haven't battled the same team. I love that we've got staying power, and that's got a lot to do with the guys back at the shop. They continuously work and evolve with what we've got.

“When the chips are down and the pressure is on, our guys step up. It's been a trademark of our team – whenever something bad happens or if we get behind in a race, they rally and want to do well. They want to prove their worth.

“We've been in this championship hunt for a lot of years. We've learned, we've observed, we've paid attention and we've watched what other people do. I've been fortunate to work with Rick Hendrick and learn the most valuable thing you can learn, and that is simply to use the people you've got to the best of their ability and the success will come.

“We're having fun – there's not a lot of stress right now. Everybody is doing everything to the best of their ability, and as long as you're doing that, you feel good inside. The stress doesn't build up as bad. I think we've got a little magic – if somebody could bottle it up and sell it, it would go for millions.”

As to the showdown with Gordon in only a handful of days time, Knaus was in fighting mood, and confident of extending his and Johnson's victorious streak with the pair's first triumph together at the Florida track.

“We go with the same mentality,” he underlined. “We'd love to win at Homestead because we've never won there. The car we're taking is the same car we won with in Atlanta and Texas – a pretty phenomenal race car. Jimmie responds to pressure – he's the best out there – and we've got the best equipment. We've got to go there and try to win the race.”