Biffle changes his luck

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Stuck in one of the unluckiest ruts in recent NASCAR history, Greg Biffle was in serious danger of missing out on the playoffs.

Although it seemed his season was slipping away, he never panicked, even after empty gas tanks, flat tires and blown engines sabotaged every good run his team put together.

His patience is now paying off.

Biffle finally broke through Saturday night, racing to his first win of the season by holding off a late charge from Jeff Gordon at Darlington Raceway.

“I think positive,” Biffle said. “I never let myself get too down, and I knew that we were going to be able to snap out of it sooner or later.”

It came in the form of a second straight win at Darlington, and in dominating fashion. Biffle led 170 of the 367 laps in the Dodge Charger 500, but still never felt that comfortable with his lead.

And why would he? He’d been the driver to beat at least four other times this season, only to have some freak mishap spoil his day. The bad breaks had been maddening for the driver who finished second in the standings last season and won a series-high six races.

So he took a gamble this time, deciding to make his final pit stop three laps ahead of all the other contenders. It gave him fresh tires and a jump on the competition for the last long run. It was a huge risk because if the caution came out before everybody else pitted, Biffle would fall at least one lap down.

“I felt like I wanted to take that chance,” Biffle said.

It paid off, even though Biffle had to keep a close eye on Gordon in his rearview mirror while navigating through traffic.

“I was praying for help, I was begging, ‘Let them give me a lane,’ “Biffle said.

Gordon, a six-time Darlington winner who also was looking for his first victory of the season, used the final 25 laps to chip away at Biffle’s lead. Gordon cut the margin down to just about a second over the final few laps and had a clear shot at running Biffle down with one to go.

But he never could pull onto Biffle’s rear bumper – partly because he couldn’t cleanly pass the lapped car of Ken Schrader – and Biffle held on to beat Gordon by two car lengths.