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Biffle hopes he turns a corner
NASCAR Nextel Cup qualifying
Date published: 5/6/2006
By JIM McCONNELL RICHMOND--Greg Biffle could be excused for thinking some unseen force is out to get him. Six months after finishing second to Tony Stewart in the 2005 Nextel Cup standings, Biffle has endured a run of bad luck that is unprecedented in recent NASCAR history. He led the most laps at California before a blown engine left him with a 42nd-place finish. Kurt Busch wrecked him at Texas and he wound up 42nd again. He ran in the top 10 all night at Phoenix, but ran out of gas and settled for 15th. Another blown engine led to a 38th-place effort at Talladega. Nine races into the 2006 season, a driver most expected to challenge for his first Cup title sits 23rd in the point standings. But Biffle isn't about to let the early adversity get him down. "I've really got a great level head," Biffle said yesterday after earning the pole position for tonight's Nextel Cup Series Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway. "The only thing I can do is just be excited about tomorrow night and look forward to this. I've got to put that big shield up from what happened last week, what woulda, shoulda, coulda and might have happened. The best remedy for me is being in the race car because then I'm not thinking about it." In what has become a theme for Biffle's No. 16 team this season, even winning the pole became a struggle yesterday. His car wasn't running well early in yesterday's final practice session and his crew had a problem with a jack, causing them to be late for inspection. But the car eventually came around--Biffle's fastest practice lap was his 49th of 50--and he nipped Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin for the pole near the end of yesterday's time trials. Biffle's best lap was 127.395 mph. Martin clocked in at 127.029. Casey Mears, Brian Vickers and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five qualifiers. Defending champion Kasey Kahne will start sixth. "Being a one-day show, these guys have a lot of pressure on them, especially with the races we've had leading up to this," Biffle said of his crew. "There's just a lot of pressure to perform perfectly and not make any mistakes and they did it for me."
Date published: 5/6/2006
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