Don't call him a darkhorse, Biffle in Chase to win Chase

LOUDON, N.H. -- It came with 12 laps to go on a day seemingly reserved for someone else who made a whole lot more sense.

Two-time defending points champion Jimmie Johnson, coming off back-to-back race victories, had led more laps than anyone else and appeared to be comfortably in front of his closest pursuer in Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Greg Biffle, who had been stalking Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet in his own No. 16 Ford fielded by Roush Fenway Racing, knew better. Biffle was certain he had something for Johnson, and with 12 to go he finally gave it to him -- passing him smoothly and swiftly between Turns 3 and 4 on the 1.058-mile track (watch video).

"I don't want to brag, but it was a textbook pass," Biffle said later. "I got in the corner good. I got after the throttle early. I got close enough to him that I got a little bit of air off the back of his car, or he got to the gas a little fast because he saw me there.

"As soon as I got the opportunity to have a little run, I got my nose inside of him, got him a little loose. This nose pushes a lot of air out the side. So I got some side force on his bumper. Then he was loose in that gray [stuff at the top of the track] coming off the corner, and couldn't get the gas down. That gave me the run down the straightaway to clear him."

Go ahead, Greg. Brag.

You deserve to do whatever you want after sweeping to victory in the opening race of the 2008 Chase and giving NASCAR precisely what it needed at exactly the right moment -- a fresh face in Victory Lane.

In a season that had been dominated by three drivers, Johnson among them, this is what the Chase required to make it more interesting for all of the competitors and the fans. It was Biffle's first win of the season -- his first in 33 races, to be exact -- but it vaulted him to third in the points behind Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards, who has six wins and was ecstatic to finish third in what he considered a sub-par car Sunday; and Johnson, who has four wins and had to resign himself to second Sunday.

Much the same way as Clint Bowyer last season, when Bowyer was the last driver to clinch a spot in the Chase but then won the Chase opener at New Hampshire to put himself in the thick of the title hunt, Biffle took advantage of the system and now is looking to build on it. (Continued)