Biffle snags fourth victory of season, closes on Johnson

DOVER, Del. – Greg Biffle says taming The Monster Mile is no easy chore — even though it appeared that way as he cruised to his fourth victory of the season Sunday in a crash-littered MBNA 400.

“I almost wrecked a couple of times, but was able to save it,” he said after his surprising run toward the top of Nextel Cup competition got a boost from the lopsided victory. “I got it where the wheel wouldn’t turn, and I got completely out of the gas. It was a miracle that I kept it off the wall.”

Biffle did crash once, but it was after the race: As crew chief Doug Richert was explaining that Biffle “drove the wheels off the thing,” the winner smacked the wall hard during his burnout celebration.

Car owners don’t appreciate such damage to their expensive equipment, but Jack Roush was in a forgiving mood.

“It was excusable euphoria,” he said.

When it mattered, Biffle was close to perfect, a driver taking advantage of NASCAR’s new aerodynamic package that practically forces the racers to manhandle loose cars if they’re to win.

“He’s not happy unless he’s sideways, and he was, several times,” Richert said.

Biffle’s series-leading fourth win of the season closed him within 46 points of pacesetter Jimmie Johnson. The victory in the $5.5 million race was Biffle’s first at Dover International Speedway and the seventh of his career.

In a race slowed seven times for 33 of its 400 laps, Biffle won in part because he avoided traffic problems that resulted in hard crashes. Among those taken from the field were four-time Dover winners Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd, and Ken Schrader and Dave Blaney.

Until this year, Biffle was largely overlooked among drivers for Roush Racing, which also fields cars for NASCAR great and four-time Dover winner Mark Martin; series champion Kurt Busch; former champion Matt Kenseth; and exciting youngster Carl Edwards.

But Biffle, 20th and 17th in the final standings in his two years on the circuit, leads them all this season.

The success of the organization comes as no surprise to Roush, mainly because he has drivers who like loose setups.

“Loose is fast,” he said. “I’ve got a business partner who says it ain’t bragging if you can do it.”

And they have been – on the track and in the garage.

Biffle said the Roush organization’s tightknit approach is behind its success. For example, his car wasn’t so good leading up to the race – until Kenseth’s team prepared it with a new shock package.

“That’s what teamwork is all about,” he said.

Biffle’s Ford beat the Chevrolet of Kyle Busch by 4.281 seconds. Martin was third, followed by Johnson in a Chevy and Rusty Wallace’s Dodge.

The winner averaged 122.626 mph with nine lead changes.