FORT WORTH, Texas – Jimmie Johnson proved Sunday why he is a seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

The 41-year old driver of No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet overcame the odds to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Johnson passed Joey Logano for the lead on Lap 318 of 334 and pulled away for his first victory of the season and his first since clinching the 2016 Cup championship in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway last November.

But the victory didn’t come easy.

 “I guess I remembered how to drive; and I guess this team remembered how to do it,” Johnson said.  “I’m just real proud of this team. What a tough track and tough conditions. We were really in our wheelhouse and we were just able to execute all day.”

When the chips were down and the cards were stacked against him, Johnson dug deep and used past experience, along with the brain trust of crew chief Chad Knaus, to roll to his seventh victory at Texas and the 81st of his career in 550 races.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

“It was just a really tough day,” Johnson said.  “A lot of just trying to manage the slick surface that we had on the track and the lack of grip that was out there, but kind of once we got about the third run things really started coming together and our car was super-fast.”

Johnson added, “The end of the second stage kind of played a weird game on us with guys pitting and not pitting.  And I still drove up through there, passed all those cars and won this thing.  An awesome car, big thank you to Lowe’s.  Just a spectacular day.”

Johnson, who started the weekend 14th in points, 127 behind championship leader Kyle Larson, struggled in practice all weekend as he tried to adapt to the newly paved and reconfigured track.

During Round 1 of qualifying on Friday, Johnson spun out and flat-spotted the tires.  He had to start 24^th on the grid when his crew later made an unapproved Goodyear tire change related to that incident.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

“On the second or third run I knew we were in good shape,” Johnson said.  “From there, off we went. It was so tough those first 23 laps in traffic. The air was very turbulent, the track wasn’t very clean, and just the way it finished now, I think we could start with what I could show. It will just take a little time for this track to age”

During the early stages of the 334-lap race, Johnson’s in-car drink system failed.  Overheated and dehydrated, he immediately started to feel ill after he climbed out of the car during the Victory Lane celebration.  Johnson was taken to the Wise Health System Infield Care Center and treated for dehydration, which delayed his post-race news conference by almost an hour and a half.

“I got out of the car and I was really hot, and I felt much better there and was on the right path, I felt like,” Johnson said.  “And then I was doing an interview with Claire, and I felt my back lock up and then my chest and my arms, and I was starting to cramp everywhere.  I had three bags of IV and feeling a ton better now.”

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)

Johnson said he was not sure why the in-car drink system failed.

“I don’t know exactly why it wasn’t working, but I have a button, and there’s an electric motor that pushes my Gatorade to a bite valve that I have in my helmet,” Johnson said.  “I pushed the button and nothing happened.  I don’t know why or what failed, but it happened, I guess we had a caution Lap 3 or something, and I pointed out to my guys that my drink system wasn’t working, so I just didn’t have any fluids.  Stage 1 and 2, they handed me a small bottle of Gatorade, which I drank, but the 160 laps at the end or whatever it was, I just didn’t have any fluids at all in the car.”

Johnson added, “I knew I was warm, but I didn’t feel too bad.  When I caught Joey and was racing with Joey, I started cramping pretty good on my left side, my chest and my biceps, my forearm, and I knew I was real low on fluids, and I got out of the car, and I was okay, certainly hot, but then again, when I started doing some other interviews in Victory Lane, big muscles started cramping, and I knew I needed to go get some IV then, some fluids.”

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Sunday’s victory was his second top-10 finish in 2017.  He has won six of the last 10 Cup races at Texas now has 21 top-10 finishes in 28 races at TMS.

“I’m really surprised that we won here.  I feel like the ‑‑ whenever there’s a repave, I think it doesn’t fit my style.  I suffer more than anyone.  I also feel like it kind of lends itself to the new guys coming in, the brave ones, the ones that haven’t hit many walls yet, and to go out and score one for the old guys today feels pretty good.”