Biffle Wins Bizarre Kansas Race
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Greg Biffle won one of the most bizarre and weirdest NASCAR Nextel Cup races in a long, long time.
Sunday’s scheduled 267-lap race at Kansas Motor Speedway had two red flag periods, totaling three hours, and 12 cautions. After the second red flag period ended, NASCAR announced the race would be shortened to 225 laps. Later, it cut it even further to 210 laps.
NASCAR has a firm policy of not ending a race under yellow, but the 12th and final caution came out on lap 206, and officials allowed the final three and one-half laps to be run under yellow.
And the winning driver didn’t cross the finish line first.
“We reduced the number of laps for the safety of the drivers,” said NASCAR official Robin Pemberton. “There were several contributing factors, but it was getting too dark for the drivers to see well.”
The win was Biffle’s first victory since the season-ending race at Homestead, Fla., in November 2006. He passed Kevin Harvick on lap 173 and held it until the race ended.
Early into the race, rain forced NASCAR to put out the red flag for 45 minutes after a brief shower.
Green flag racing resumed until lap 148, when it was stopped again.
It appeared Tony Stewart would be the winner after the race was stopped for the second time. Buckets of rain came down, with considerable thunder and lightning, which emptied the grandstands.
Several drivers went to their motor coaches and showered, believing that was the end of the race. But after 2 hours and 15 minutes the track was dry enough to continue racing.
Before the race went back green, NASCAR announced the race would end on lap 225. The leaders were Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
During lap 158 there was a multicar pileup after Ken Schrader’s No. 21 Wood Bros. Ford got loose. The cars driven by Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland and David Reutimann sustained heavy damage, while Tony Stewart’s No. 20 had damage to the left front fender.
When racing resumed, the fender was rubbing the tire on Tony Stewart’s No. 20. On lap 175, the tire went flat. He slowed and was rear-ended by Kurt Busch. Tony Stewart’s car was shoved into the outside wall. Carl Edwards, who was running behind the two, got caught up in the wreck.
“I did everything I could do to avoid Tony, but there was nowhere for me to go,” said Edwards. “I guess there are more important things in life, but this was pretty bad. I’m not going to let this get me down. I’m going to ride my motorcycle home to Columbia (Mo.), and next week, we’re going to run our best at Talladega.”
The 11th caution of the race came during lap 184 after Jamie McMurray and Denny Hamlin got together. When the race went back green on lap 189, the leaders were Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.
During this caution period, NASCAR told teams the race would end on lap 210.
Jimmie Johnson, who qualified for the pole, had to start from the rear of the field after crashing his car in practice and had to go to a backup car.
Johnson avoided all the wrecks and by lap 195, he was running third behind Biffle and Bowyer.
The race’s 12th and final caution came on lap 206 after Juan Montoya hit the wall.
Even though NASCAR said it would not end a race under caution, it decided to call it because of darkness.
The pace car picked up the field after lap 206. Greg Biffle did not maintain the pace car’s speed and coasted across the finish line behind Bowyer, Johnson and several other drivers.
His No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford had run out of gas.
Because the caution had come out earlier and frozen the field, NASCAR said Biffle was the winner.
Jimmie Johnson disputed that decision, saying, “He was clearly out of gas. You’ve got to maintain pace car speed, and it was clear to everyone he couldn’t. If he could have he would have stayed on the bumper of the pace car to the finish line. Therefore, I finished second behind the 07 car.”
NASCAR didn’t see it Johnson’s way, and Biffle celebrated in victory lane.
Seven Chase drivers, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin, were involved in major accidents that affected their Chase standings.
Top 10 finishers in Sunday’s LifeLock 400: 1. Greg Biffle, 2. Clint Bowyer, 3. Jimmie Johnson, 4. Casey Mears, 5. Jeff Gordon, 6. Kevin Harvick, 7. Reed Sorenson, 8. Elliott Sadler, 9. Kasey Kahne, 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Top 10 Chase leaders after 3 of 10: 1. Johnson-5,506, 2. Jeff Gordon-5,500, 3. Bowyer-5,497, 4. Tony Stewart-5,389, 5. Kevin Harvick-5,380, 6. Kyle Busch-5,370, 7. Edwards-5,364, 8. Truex-5,348, 9. Kurt Busch-5,329, 10. J. Burton-5,320, 11. Matt Kenseth-5,287, 12. Denny Hamlin-5,258.
Top 10 Busch Series leaders: 1. Edwards-4,207, 2. Reutimann-3,511, 3. Kevin Harvick-3,389, 4. Leffler-3,345, 5. Ragan-3,149, 6. Hamilton Jr.-3,149, 7. Biffle-3,058, 8. Ambrose-2,944, 9. Leicht-2,937, 10. Matt Kenseth-2,911.
2008 Cup Schedule Released
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule includes a 36-race slate that kicks off with the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 17, at Daytona International Speedway.
Following the “Great American Race,” the series travels to Southern California, then to the glitz of Las Vegas before returning to the Southeast for races at Atlanta and Bristol. The first scheduled off date for the series will be in March during the Easter holiday.
Following the race in Martinsville, the series makes another swing to the Southwest, racing at Texas and Phoenix in early April. The second scheduled off weekend occurs in mid-April.
“By running five consecutive points events before the first scheduled break in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the 2008 schedule is designed to be even more fan-friendly,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.
Another adjustment to the 2008 schedule is that the Chicago race will be run Saturday night.
Bobby Labonte, driver of the No. 43 Petty Racing Dodge, gave his views on the schedule: “I don’t think it has caught anyone by surprise. There was already some talk about eliminating that off weekend early in the year. It probably makes sense to keep our momentum going when we start the season.
“The Daytona 500 has such a huge buildup to start the year, that hopefully we can continue all the excitement through California and Las Vegas. It’s going to be a bit challenging to race California and Las Vegas back-to-back, but everyone will be in the same situation.
“The Chicago date is a good move. I don’t think you find too many people who argue about racing on Saturday night. It gives us an extra day at home and allows us more time with our families. It’s going to be pretty fun, too.
“It’s important to keep the fans happy. They want to see us race every weekend, but that’s tough on the teams. It’s a good balance right now, and the Chicagoland change is good for both fans and the teams.”
Weekend Racing Schedule
The Nextel Cup cars and Craftsman Trucks are at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. The Busch Series has the weekend off.
Saturday, Oct. 6
Craftsman Trucks 250, race 20 of 25; Starting time: 3:30 p.m. (EST): TV: Speed Channel; Distance: 94 laps; Defending champion: Mark Martin.
Sunday, Oct. 7
UAW-Ford 500, race 30 of 36; Starting time: 1 p.m. (EST); TV: ABC; Distance: 188 laps; Defending champion: Brian Vickers.
Racing Trivia Question: How many years has Denny Hamlin driven in the Nextel Cup?
Last Week’s Question: Which Cup team does David Ragan drive for?
Answer: He drives the No. 6 Roush Fenway Ford.
