DAILY COLUMNS
THIS WAS THE STORY, ALONG WITH A VICTORY LANE PHOTO OF
GREG BIFFLE, THAT WAS SENT OUT SATURDAY NIGHT,
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BIFFLE IS BATTLING BACK
By Gerald Hodges/the Racing Reporter
DARLINGTON, S. C. -- Greg Biffle may have shaken the “monkey” off his back Saturday night at NASCAR's toughest race track, as the Roush Racing driver held off a hard-charging Jeff Gordon to win the Nextel Cup Dodge Charger 500 in a Ford.
After suffering an unbelievable string of bad luck in a majority of the races this season, prior to Darlington, Biffle stayed up on the wheel throughout the grueling, 367-lap event to move his No. 16 National Guard team back in contention for the championship.
Biffle and his team decided to take a chance and made their final pit stop three laps ahead of all the other lead lap cars. The strategy gave him fresh tires and a jump on the competition for the last long run.
“I felt like we needed to take a chance,” said Biffle. “I felt like we had so much bad luck, that it’s not possible for us to pit three laps before everyone and the caution is going to come out.”
The move paid off, but as the laps wound down, Biffle had to keep an eye on Jeff Gordon, who filled his rear view mirror, as the leaders navigated through the late race traffic.
“I was praying for help, I was begging, let them give me a lane,” he continued. “A lot of guys did show me respect out there.”
Gordon, a six-time Darlington champion was also looking for his first win of the season. During the final 25 laps, he cut into Biffle’s lead, but was never able to pull right up on his rear bumper, in order to make a pass.
With two laps left, Gordon was within 0.225-seconds and got one good run at Biffle. But the front two ran up on Ken Schrader, who was battling to stay on the lead lap.
“You've got the two leaders battling and we've got a run on him,” Gordon said. “You would expect him to give us plenty or room. He did give the 16 (Biffle) plenty of room...but he ran along beside me and the air was pushing me toward the outside wall. That ruined any chance I might have had. But if I hadn't hit the wall earlier that might not have been a factor.”
The win moved Biffle up to 14th in points, and just 97 out of qualifying for the Chase.
Biffle’s teammate, Matt Kenseth was third, while point’s leader Jimmie Johnson came home fourth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fifth.
Despite fighting the flu bug, Dale Jr. ran among the top-five for much of the night, climbing as high as third. It is his second career top-five at Darlington and first since the 2002 season. It moves him up one spot to fifth in the Nextel Cup point standings.
Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-10.
Tony Stewart remained in second place despite his 12th place finish, a bad night for the two-time champion who never got a handle on his Joe Gibbs Chevy. Stewart spun once but kept his car out of Darlington's famous walls.
Pole sitter Kasey Kahne ran hard but had problems and wound up 21st.
Top-10 Nextel Cup Chase Contenders: 1. Johnson-1686, 2. Stewart-1593, 3. Kenseth-1592, 4. Martin-1487, 5. Earnhardt-1460, 6. J. Gordon-1391, 7. Kyle Busch-1388, 8. Kahne-1379, 9. Harvick-1365, 10. Burton-1295
SWEET DEAL FOR
Dale Jarrett,
one of NASCAR’s fading Nextel Cup drivers has reached an agreement to drive for
Jarrett, a former series champion, will drive a car owned by Michael Waltrip.
“When Michael called me, I thought about it quite a while and I saw this as a new challenge,” said Jarrett. “To help build something new like this is pretty exciting.”
Jarrett's deal means that Toyota will have a former Nextel Cup champion in its ranks as it enters the Cup series in 2007. Jarrett, the 1999 champion who has won 32 races in NASCAR's top series, has said he wants to race for two more seasons after this year.
It also means Toyota won’t have to race their way into the first race of the season, the Daytona 500, as Jarrett can use his championship provisional to insure Toyota a starting spot.
BIG BUCKS AT CHARLOTTE
Lowe’s will pay out some big-time purses during May.
Six races will be run at Lowe's Motor Speedway and The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway between Friday night, May 19, and Sunday evening, May 28, and each carries a record purse with a total of $14,227,498 up for grabs.
Already one of the richest races on the NASCAR circuit, the $6,432,681 in total awards for the Coca-Cola 600, which will be run Sunday, May 28, is $153,032 more than was posted for last year's event and $2,095,632 more than competitors raced for in the 600-mile event just five years ago.
“These are some impressive numbers as the prize money for our races continues to escalate, but money is only part of what these guys race for,” said H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway. “I think we could pay nothing for the Nextel All-Star Challenge and the racing would be just as furious.”
Drivers participating in the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge and the NASCAR Nextel Open on Saturday night, May 20, will be competing for a record $4,200,450 with the Challenge winner guaranteed a minimum of $1,005,000.
In addition to the posted prize money, $1,780,853 in television awards for the All-Star Challenge will be distributed through the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Car/Champion Owner Program.
Busch Series drivers will compete for a record $1,227,316 during the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 on Saturday night, May 27, and the Quaker Steak & Lube 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event on Friday night, May 19, adds $524,098 to the total prize money.
Top-10 Busch Series drivers: 1. Harvick-1945, 2. Bowyer-1598, 3. Hamlin-1566, 4. Edwards-1559, 5. Kyle Busch-1490, 6. Menard-1483, 7. Biffle-1469, 8. Yeley-1432, 9. Leffler-1322, 10. J. Sauter-1302
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