Biffle surprises in Chase opener

Greg Biffle celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The victory propelled him from ninth to third in the Chase standings. (AP photo / September 14, 2008)

LOUDON, N.H. - Greg Biffle began the Chase for the Sprint Cup as a long shot.

At best.

Winless for almost a year and seeded a distant ninth in the 12-driver field, he was hardly considered a serious contender. But Biffle never counted himself out, believing a strong run yesterday at the Sylvania300, the opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, would put him in position to race for the title.

Biffle used what he called a "textbook pass" on Jimmie Johnson with 12 laps left to break a 33-race winless streak and vault all the way to third in the Chase standings. He trails co-leaders Johnson and Carl Edwards, his teammate at Roush Fenway Racing, by 30 points.

"I felt like we were a definite threat for the Chase if we made it because of the momentum we've had and how good the [Chase] racetracks are for me," he said.

Johnson, the two-time defending NASCAR series champion, seemed to have the first round of the Chase locked up after leading a race-high 96 laps. But Biffle was saving his Ford, hopeful that a late caution or two would give him the chance he needed to win.

He got it when Patrick Carpentier spun late, setting up a restart with 13 to go. Biffle slid past Johnson on the next lap to grab the surprise win and leave Victory Lane with a noted swagger. It was his first victory since Kansas last September.

"They named me 'The Biff' and then they said I was a dark horse. Now I don't know what else they're going to call me," he said. "The horse rode today, didn't it?"

Johnson finished second and said he knew Biffle would make a run on him after David Ragan and Carpentier brought out a pair of cautions with less than 20laps to go.

"Short runs is what hurt me the most. I felt a little vulnerable, and sure enough he got by," Johnson said. "But the big picture, second place is not a bad day."

Edwards finished third and was followed by Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as Chase drivers swept the top five spots.

Kyle Busch, the regular-season points winner, had a poor day from the start. He broke the sway bar on his Toyota just minutes after the race began, and he struggled to keep his car off the wall as he tried to nurse it to the mandatory first caution at Lap 35.

Busch barely made it and fell two laps off the pace - one lap because of a penalty - and restarted in 43rd place. He was in a later wreck and finished 34th.

After starting the Chase with an 80-point cushion, he tumbled all the way to eighth in the standings.

Still, no one was counting out the most dominant driver this season.

"We just have no clue what's going to happen with the races to come," said Johnson, who finished 39th in the 2006 Chase opener but rallied to win his first title.

Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, also had a strange day but was able to salvage a top-10 finish. He ran up front early and was in second when he bumped into Johnny Sauter as he left his pit box during a routine stop.

Stewart had to return to the pits for a quick repair, dropping to 35th when the race restarted on Lap 89. He motored through the field into the mid-20s, but he was later assessed a penalty for speeding off pit road.

"Sorry, guys," he radioed his team after the second pit-road penalty.

"Don't give up, yet," crew chief Greg Zipadelli coached him. "We've still got half a race to go."

The errors came a week after Stewart was critical of Zipadelli's crew for a slow pit stop that cost him the lead and possibly a win at Richmond. Still, he jumped one spot in the standings to seventh and trails the leaders by 73 points in his final season with JGR.

Related topic galleries: Joe Gibbs, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, NASCAR

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