Motorsports FanHouse

FanHouse Trackside at the Banking 500

Holly Cain — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Chase for the Sprint Cup

CONCORD, N.C. -- Steady rain kept cars off the track for most of the day at Lowe's Motor Speedway but there was plenty going on in the garage area prior to a scheduled rain-delayed, late-night qualifying session Thursday.

FanHouse is trackside this weekend for the Banking 500, race 5 of the 10-week Chase for the Championship, and caught up with the Chase drivers as they waited out the weather.

Jeff Gordon talked about his back, Carl Edwards announced he's going to be a father and Greg Biffle updated us on his Logano family feud and what he thinks of Michael Vick's return to the NFL.

All the drivers had opinions on Wednesday's NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class announcement and to a man, thought it was a fair and representative first class. Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson will be inducted May 23, 2010.

"I think those five really stand out as making their mark in our sport getting it where it it is today,'' said four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon. "It's just so hard to narrow it down to five.''

Several of the drivers wondered if maybe the first class should have been larger with so many important positions to fill. It might surprise fans, who seem to want a more driver-centric list of inductees, that the current drivers felt strongly that NASCAR executives, engine builders, team owners, crew chiefs and key marketing people should also be included throughout the years.

And they all said Thursday that both Frances were rightly on the list.

"I would have liked to seen them induct a lot more than five the first year because we really needed this thing many, many years ago,'' said veteran Mark Martin. "The old-timers and the founders and all that, they need to be in there, but there are so many people that need to be in that hall of fame that I hope that some of my current buddies are still alive when they get inducted. I'm serious.''

As for what's newsy and noteworthy:

-- Gordon, who is currently fifth in the championship, reported his aching back isn't currently aching.

"I'm happy to report nothing - everything is good, I haven't had any issues," said Gordon, whose No. 24 Chevrolet is carrying the logo for the upcoming movie, "Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen."

Gordon said his current back treatment is primarily a weekly trip to the chiropractor.

"The last little scare was Watkins Glen and I didn't know how long that would take to recover from from that, and I feel like I'm fully recovered.

"It's still there, but I haven't had pain or anything that's been too uncomfortable or any distraction in the car, so I"m happy about that.''

-- Edwards, who got married in January, said his wife Kate is pregnant and that the couple will be having a little girl in mid-February.

"Perfect timing, right,'' Edwards joked. "We'll call her 'Daytona.' "

-- Biffle tried to defuse the situation about his run-in with Tom Logano, whose son Joey was involved in a race tangle with Biffle in last weekend's Nationwide Series race in California. Tom Logano confronted Biffle on pit road after the race and NASCAR confiscated Logano's all-access hard-card.

But Biffle said more was made out of the situation than needed to be and indicated it's not Tom Logano that needs to change his ways as much as Joey Logano.

Biffle said Tom Logano was running down pit road to congratulate his son in victory circle and simply took a brief detour to Biffle's car, "gave me the sign I was number one" and continued on.

"No, he (Tom) hasn't apologized,'' Biffle said. "And I have to say that it really got taken out of context. People blew it up and said there was a fight on pit road and the he was in my window. I don't know that it was that big of deal.''

As for the younger Logano, Biffle conceded he should have given him more racing room but pointed out at least three other incidents where Logano didn't race Biffle and others with the kind of give-and-take respect the sport demands -- certainly what's expected of a young, inexperienced driver.

"I told him, he needs to pay a little more respect to the veterans in the sport,'' said Biffle, who added that Logano still hasn't been receptive to friendly words of advice.

"That's pretty disappointing because I got talked to by Sterling Marlin and a few other guys when I started out and I learned a lot from it. We've all been there and all made mistakes and we all try and look to be better in the future.''

Biffle was also asked during his weekly press conference what he thought about Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick's reinstatement in the NFL. Biffle has a foundation that raises and donates money to animal shelters and animal causes.

"I guess people in this world get second chances, but I guess it's unfortunate that all those animals didn't get a second chance,'' Biffle said.

-- Jeff Burton essentially confirmed that his Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick would be leaving the team following the 2010 season. Harvick told ESPN last week that it was time to "close the book" on his Daytona 500-winning tenure at RCR. Burton said he didn't expect the impending departure to be a negative in the present, however.

"I think everyone has to be professional enough that it doesn't matter,'' Burton said. "It is a stressful situation for he and Richard to deal with and for he and the his team to deal with, no question about it.

"At the same time, I think the hard part is over. ... Sometimes you are just better off going to the dentist and getting it over with. Everybody is understanding that Kevin still has a year left on his contract and he's going to do everything in his power to do the best job for RCR. And RCR is going to do everything in their power to do the best job for Kevin Harvick.

"The reality of it is, if you lose a driver the caliber of Kevin Harvick, we have to have a seat available that a Kevin Harvick-caliber driver wants. The only way we're going to do that is to put a race out there that's highly competitive and shows the people that are looking for rides that you need to come here.''

-- Juan Pablo Montoya was asked about his often heated exchanges with crew chief Brian Pattie during the race.

"We have a very good relationship and it is very open,'' said Montoya, who's ranked third in the championship, just 58 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

"We understand each other and we all have good days and bad days. He tells me, 'sometimes you should shout and then press the button (to talk)' and I told him, 'then what's the point,' '' Montoya laughed.

-- Ryan Newman remained firm in his stance that NASCAR should be more proactive in safety innovations for the restrictor plate race at Talladega Superspeedway. He took some heat last weekend for publicly questioning NASCAR's delayed reaction to a scary, airborne crash on the last lap that sent Carl Edwards' car into the front stretch catchfence and left seven fans injured.

NASCAR will issue smaller restrictor plates for cars at the Nov. 1 Talladega race - reducing engine power by about 10-15 horsepower.

"I didn't get in any trouble (from NASCAR); I would tell you if I did,'' Newman said. "I don't mind being in trouble once in a while as long as it is for the right reason and that is talking about safety.''

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Jeff Burton waits in the garage area before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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Jeff Burton waits in the garage area before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

Juan Pablo Montoya, top center, of Colombia, examines his car with crew members during practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

Jimmie Johnson climbs into his car before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Jeff Gordon climbs into his car before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

Tony Stewart smiles in the garage area before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

Mark Martin climbs into his car before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

UNC-Charlotte chancellor Philip Dubois, left, speaks during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The family of late NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki is donating $1.9 million to the motorsports engineering program at UNC-Charlotte. The trust fund, established by Kulwicki's stepmother, Thelma, was announced Thursday and is the largest gift ever made to the engineering school. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Carl Edwards speaks during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The NASCAR Banking 500 auto race is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

Tony Stewart pauses during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The NASCAR Banking 500 auto race isscheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

Kurt Busch pauses during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The NASCAR Banking 500 auto race is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

FanHouse Trackside at the Banking 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logano Races to Heated Victory as Father's Credential Pulled

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:10:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Sprint Cup, Joey Logano

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Joey Logano simply got mad after Greg Biffle put Logano in the wall Saturday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway.

His father, Tom, tried to get even, and lost his NASCAR credentials in the process.

Joey Logano recovered to win the 300-mile race, pulling away from Brian Vickers over the final two laps to pick up his fifth series win of the year, and second in a row.

Yet while the 19-year-old exalted in Victory Lane, his father was being taken to the NASCAR hauler to talk with Nationwide Series director Joe Balash following a post-race confrontation with Biffle.

The elder Logano approached Biffle's car in pit lane after the race and made at least one hand gesture in Biffle's direction before a NASCAR official intervened.

"A NASCAR official pulled Mr. Logano's annual credential after he confronted the 16 on pit road," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said.

Tom Logano will be eligible to sign for a single-event license while officials review the event and can attend Sunday's Sprint Cup event at the track, Poston said.

Tom Logano was apparently upset about the scrape Biffle and his son had on lap 50. The veteran was challenging for the lead when he hinted over the radio that he was going to put the young driver in the fence.

Moments later Biffle slid up the track while passing Logano on the inside, a move that slightly damaged Logano's No. 20 Toyota. Dave Rogers, Logano's crew chief, called Biffle "a coward" over the radio.

Poston said NASCAR is reviewing the video. Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs had no comment and neither Logano could be reached for comment following the race.

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FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 10: Joey Logano, driver of the #20 GameStop/Brutal Legend Toyota, performs a burn out to celebrate winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Copart 300 at Auto Club Speedway on October 10, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Joey Logano

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Eventual winner Joey Logano in his Game Stop/Brutal Legend Toyota leads the pack, just ahead of Greg Biffle in the early laps of the NASCAR Copart 300 auto race in Fontana, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Greg Biffle in his CitiFinancial Ford makes a pit stop after colliding with Kyle Busch, forcing Busch out of the race, in the final laps of the NASCAR Copart 300 auto race in Fontana, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Busch finished the race, in 14th place. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Leading with just a few laps to go in the race, Kyle Busch in his Z-Line Designs Toyota crashes into the wall in Turn Four, narrowly avoiding other cars, in the NASCAR Copart 300 auto race in Fontana, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Joey Logano holds the trophy as he and crew signify his fifth victory after winning the NASCAR Copart 300 auto race in Fontana, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 10: Brad Keselowski, driver of the # 88 GoDaddy Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Copart 300 at Auto Club Speedway on October 10, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brad Keselowski

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FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 10: Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 CitiFinancial Ford, races Brian Vickers, driver #32 Dollar General Stores Toyota, during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Copart 300 at Auto Club Speedway on October 10, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Greg Biffle;Brian Vickers

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FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 10: Scott Speed (R), driver of the #99 Red Bull Toyota, leads Brendan Gaughan, driver 5-hour Energy ES Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Copart 300 at Auto Club Speedway on October 10, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Scott Speed;Brendan Gaughan

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FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 10: Joey Logano, driver of the #20 GameStop/Brutal Legend Toyota, makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Copart 300 at Auto Club Speedway on October 10, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Joey Logano

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FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the #32 Dollar General Stores Toyota, races during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Copart 300 at Auto Club Speedway on October 10, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

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Tom Logano has been a fixture at the track since his son made his Nationwide Series debut last June. Joey Logano joined JGR's Cup program at the end of the 2008 season and took over as the driver for the No. 20 Toyota in the Cup Series when Tony Stewart left to form his own team.

Joey Logano has delivered on his precocious talent, helping dominate the Nationwide Series along with teammate Kyle Busch.

He qualified on the pole for Saturday's race, but thought his day was done after getting together with Biffle, figuring if he could manage a Top 10 finish, he'd have a decent day.

He got much more than that. While Biffle, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski battled for the lead, Rogers went to work on Logano's car, finally finding the right formula late in the race.

Logano benefited from a late-race collision between Hamlin and Biffle, then caught another break when a late caution led to a green/white/checkered finish. He dominated the restart, pulling away from Vickers for the victory.

"I was going to try to salvage a top 10 out of it and all of a sudden I'm sitting third and all of a sudden I took the lead and I thought 'I got a shot at this thing,'" Joey Logano said. "I can't believe it.

"You don't want to get me mad. I just race harder."

Carl Edwards finished third and pulled within 155 points of series leader Kyle Busch, who exited his No. 18 Toyota early in the race because of a fever.

Hamlin filled in capably for his teammate and appeared to have one of the strongest cars on the track when he found himself stuck between Keselowski and Biffle coming out of Turn Four.

Hamlin and Keselowski had a run-in during the Nationwide race at Dover two weeks ago, and Hamlin admitted he got so caught up focusing on Keselowski he never saw Biffle trying to pass on the outside.

"I was trying, if I hold the line low, (Keselowski) ends up wrecking us anyway," Hamlin said. "Either way it was going to be a bad situation."

Busch, who had won two straight Nationwide races at California, has been fighting flu-like symptoms the last few days but tried to make a go of it. He qualified second and quickly zoomed to the lead but feared he was getting too hot.

"When I get in the car and I get hot, I start not being able to see exactly straight," Busch said. "The car was really good though. ... (but) I didn't feel it was in my best interest or the team's best interest to win this race or keep going. I probably could have."

Busch said part of his concern was being able to recover in time for Sunday's race.

By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Logano Races to Heated Victory as Father's Credential Pulled originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Kansas 400

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:57:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Chase for the Sprint Cup

If there was any doubt about the impact of clean air in NASCAR, Kansas Speedway pretty much cleared it up.

Simply, the undisturbed air that the leader has on the front nose of his race car gives a decided handling advantage. And don't just ask Tony Stewart, but ask the two other drivers that took two tires during the race's final pit stop on lap 239 -- Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart, who got a jump on the lap 241 restart, got the clean air and held off Jeff Gordon and his four new tires while Kahne and Johnson fell to sixth and ninth respectively.

Gordon tried to claw back to Stewart's bumper after working his way past Greg Biffle for second, and appeared to be pulling closer and closer to Stewart. But Gordon reached a point -- at just over a half second behind Stewart -- that he could just go no further. A factor at that point could have been Gordon's tires wearing away due to his hard driving effort, but Stewart's two tires should have equalized out that effect.

Drivers have noted time and time again -- both with the old and new car -- that closing behind another car often causes a dramatic handling shift. A lot of the change has to do with the decreased air on the nose of the trailing race car, causing the tires to have less force pressed into the track.

The lower pressure on the front end can cause the car to feel tight and not want to turn as well with the front tires.

The Kansas Speedway media center is apparently a chair lighter today after a humorous exchange between Stewart and the assembled post-race media.

Prior to Stewart's post-race press conference, Jeff Gordon had answered a question about the championship format and mentioned something along the lines of Stewart having a big lead had the Chase not reset the field.

Well, NASCAR.com's Joe Menzer wanted to ask a question to Stewart related to the topic, and it set off one of Stewart's infamous sarcastic banters with the NASCAR media.

Here's a little bit of the transcript:

Joe Menzer, NASCAR.com: "Jeff Gordon was in here and mentioned--"
Tony Stewart: "He came in here? Jeff Gordon came in here?"
JM: "Yeah."
TS: "Wow."
JM: "I know, you're amazed."
TS: "That's awesome man. I never would have thought Jeff Gordon would have come in here."
JM: "He was sitting right there, I believe."
TS: "He was sitting right here?" (as Stewart pointed to the chair he was sitting in)
JM: "Yeah, man."
TS: "Oh my God, I'm sitting in the seat Jeff Gordon sat in. That's awesome. Can I take this home? I mean I won the race. Can I take this chair home? Alright. I'll send somebody back for it after I leave. Go ahead, I'm trying to contain myself."

Stewart didn't have to send anyone back, as he wheeled the chair off the stage himself after making another comment that he wants Gordon to sign the chair. All reports say that it made its way into the No. 14 hauler and didn't return from it.

So goes the story of Tony & the Chair.

Roush-Fenway Racing has to be walking a little taller after Sunday's race.

Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, the only two RFR drivers in the Chase, wound up 3rd and 10th, respectively. Late pit calls probably took Biffle from the race win, but he's certainly got to be happy with the results.

Edwards wasn't pleased with his car for much of the day, but still salvaged a decent finish at a track that he certainly expects to do better at. Remember, one year ago Edwards made the bonzai move into turn three on the last lap and came up just short of beating Jimmie Johnson for the win.

While those two may be somewhat pleased with their results after a season of struggles -- the team hasn't won a race since Fontana in February -- Matt Kenseth's No. 17 is actually showing life. Kenseth was a contender up front for the second race in a row and looked to be a contender through the stretch until his engine went south.

Jamie McMurray got lapped and David Ragan got caught up in an early wreck, so not all was good for Roush. But baby steps for the team in the right direction are still steps in the right direction.

After receiving an unusual warning about car measurement tolerances from NASCAR last week, the cars of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin were once again transported back to the NASCAR research and development center following the race at Kansas.

And there's a possibility that will be a norm for those two cars for the rest of the season.

NASCAR warned those teams that they were within thousandths of an inch of the maximum allowed body measurements after Dover, and has decided that make sure both the No. 5 and No. 48 stay in conformity. Hence the reason both cars were taken back to the R&D center, which is above and beyond what NASCAR normally takes back.

NASCAR is fully in its right to take any car it wants back for inspection, and if it wanted, it could take every car back to the R&D center for testing after race -- though that's highly impractical.

Normally, the sanctioning body takes just the winner's car and a car drawn randomly back to the R&D center for a tight inspection. Sunday, those cars included Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

Lots of folks have wondered if NASCAR is trying to sweep something under the rug with Johnson and Martin, but honestly, look at the bigger picture. Think about how tight the Chase would come if both teams would have been penalized with points after Dover.

Think Jimmie Johnson & Mark Martin being reeled back to the pack would draw some interest? I'd say so -- and that would be in NASCAR's favor.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Kansas 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AAA 400 @ Dover

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Michael Waltrip, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, Joey Logano

Please follow Joey Logano's actions and keep your hands and feet inside this ride we call Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes at all times.

Michael Waltrip's crash on lap 86 didn't look too vicious compared to Joey Logano's tumbling crash on lap 31, but when you take into account the angle of impact and sudden stop Waltrip's No. 55 experienced, it would easily be the most dangerous of the two.

His Toyota suffered a blown right front tire that uncontrollably rocketed Waltrip into the outside wall. After getting out of his damaged machine, Waltrip was feeling awful thankful for the safety improvements NASCAR has implemented in the past few years.

"I've been racing for a long time and I don't ever take the softer walls for granted," said Waltrip after the hit that left him with a 36th-place finish. "But, at Dover, when you blow a right front -- that's career-ending. We've seen people just not be able to race again because of it. And here I stand talking to you. Dr. Melvin, Dean Sicking, NASCAR, Tony George -- from the bottom of my heart, a guy who has hit real walls before -- I thank you."

Those guys he mentioned were instrumental in getting the SAFER barrier system invented and implemented initially at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and later at every track the Sprint Cup Series races at.

Waltrip's a guy that has turned a lap or two in his career -- over 750 starts, actually -- and for him to acknowledge how much of a difference a safety device made has some significant credence.

For Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle, the Goodyear tires each raced on didn't suffer any problems like Waltrip -- but the two drivers weren't happy with the results.

NASCAR allowed eight drivers to test at Dover in August with the tire supplier because Goodyear was hoping to find a better compound for last Sunday's race. Goodyear had learned several new technologies in its extensive testing at other tracks this season and felt that they could bring a better tire to produce racing.

Denny Hamlin wasn't happy with the tires before the race and the mood didn't change afterwards, either.

"We definitely came out here thinking we could win the race just like any other weekend, but as soon as the green flag fell, I knew we were in trouble," said Hamlin. "It was just a bad day. The tire that we had was so loose that you had to overcompensate so much with the chassis that it just didn't make for good racing, at least from my standpoint."

Hamlin finished 22nd after never contending all day and is 108 points out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup lead.

Greg Biffle had troubles getting a handle on the new tire as well, but was more concerned with an advantage he felt was given to Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya. They were two of the test drivers from August.

"It was a frustrating day," said Biffle. "What's probably most frustrating about the whole thing, and I hate to beat a dead horse, is that the 42 and the 48 and I don't know who else came up here and tire tested, and when we came back, look at the guys that didn't tire test, we ran terrible. It was a completely different tire, it had us off our game right when we unloaded off the truck, we couldn't even make a lap on the track. We got going there toward the end, but not like the guys that tested. That's the whole deal. We had a decent car, but we're not going to beat guys that came here and tested."

Biffle finished 13th.

Another Chase competitor -- Jeff Gordon -- left Sunday's race quite disappointed as well, but it had nothing to do with the tires.

Gordon was upset with finishing sixth, a position much lower than he ran for parts of the race.

"I'm really disappointed," said Gordon. "I feel like we had a second-place car and when you have a second-place car you've got to finish second or contend for the win. We had a problem with a gun on pit road and I don't know what you do about that but we'll try to fix it for the next time. It's just nice to run good. The No. 48 was in a league of their own but I felt like we were second best."

Gordon's title hopes for 2009 are still intact, though the deficit of 122 points he faces is tough road climb in 8 races when the Chase leaders are looking nearly bulletproof. He'll need to make up ground and not lose it this weekend at Kansas.

Did you catch the in-car camera of Kyle Busch when he hit the wall on lap 207? Something wasn't quite right with the whole ordeal.

Busch first hit the turn one wall with his No. 18 before also impacting the turn two wall. Nothing strange there, right?

Busch then accelerated down the back straightaway with obvious tire and suspension damage and made more contact with the turn three wall before turning on to pit road. Generally, a slow and cautious approach is used to get a car back on pit road in such an instance.

For a guy that is known to have some tremendous car control, it was interesting to see Busch stuff it in the fence three times in one lap. Was he doing it intentionally to finish off a car that had already been wrecked?

I suppose that's something only he knows.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AAA 400 @ Dover originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greg Biffle Chats Live With FanHouse

Holly Cain — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:45:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle

Greg Biffle is joined FanHouse for a LIVE chat Saturday afternoon -- just a few hours before climbing behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Biffle, a former NASCAR Camping World Truck series and Nationwide Series champion, earned his first career Sprint Cup victory in this race in 2003. He has 14 career wins and finished runner-up to Tony Stewart in the 2005 Cup championship. He's currently ranked ninth in the season standings with five top-five finishes.

Read a wrapup of the chat after the jump.

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=0d2b61c605" &amp;amp;gt;Greg Biffle Live Chat&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Greg Biffle Chats Live With FanHouse originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ryan Newman Live Chat from Daytona

Holly Cain — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup

Join driver Ryan Newman trackside at Daytona International Speedway Friday at 3 PM ET for a live chat with FanHouse readers. Newman, who drives the No. 39 U.S. Army-sponsored Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, is ranked seventh in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. The 2008 Daytona 500 winner enters Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 with eight top-10s, and his best showing in Daytona's summer race is 11th. This is your chance to catch up with one of the season's biggest success stories.

Also, 2003 Daytona race winner Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, will join FanHouse for a live chat at 3 PM ET on Saturday.

Chat with Ryan Newman after the jump.

&lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;altcast_code=6b31cec6e4" &gt;Ryan Newman Live Chat&lt;/a&gt;

Ryan Newman Live Chat from Daytona originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Lenox Tools 301

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:47:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Sprint Cup

The Essentials

Race: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

Where: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 2:00pm/EDT
TV/Radio: TNT, PRN Radio
Twitter: Updates at FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 67 degrees, 80% chance of rain
Distance: 301 laps (318.46 miles)
Pole Winner: Tony Stewart
2008 Winner: Kurt Busch

The Storylines

You may have heard or seen some reports this morning connecting Danica Patrick to NASCAR in a very big way, that also heavily impacts the sport's most popular driver. But here's one word of advice: don't read into it quite yet.

The latest rumor has indicated that one-time IndyCar winner Danica Patrick is a shoe-in to Hendrick Motorsports for a Sprint Cup ride in 2010, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. shuffles to a Hendrick satellite team with JR Motorsports moving up from the Nationwide Series.

Why should we hold off on putting full faith behind this possibility? Well, just look at the effort Hendrick has been putting into getting Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 program to match up with the performance of his three other HMS teammates. It's been an astronomical effort of the entire Hendrick brain trust, and moving Junior to a JR Motorsports ride would put that all for naught.

Plus, if it's taken this much effort to get a solid NASCAR driver in Earnhardt Jr. to be competitive in the best cars available in the Cup Series, it's hard to believe that there's much left to take an IndyCar driver with as much stock car experience as your average racing writer and make her competetive in America's most competitive form of racing.

If you're a Danica fan, hold your excitement, and if you're not, don't worry too much.

TNT's Bill Weber won't be in the booth for Sunday's race -- or Monday's if the forecast of rain, rain and more rain pans out -- after the network abruptly announced Sunday morning that a private matter will keep the play-by-play man out of the booth.

Obviously, we've got no clue what the deal is, but it may be important to note that births or deaths in the family or another type of emergency is typically announced when something like this happens. Take that how you may, and I'm sure we'll find out more after the race. NOTE: The Charlotte Observer is now reporting Weber was involved in a 'loud confrontation' at a Manchester, N.H. hotel over the weekend.

TNT pit road reporter and SPEED's motocross announcer Ralph Sheheen will handle the duties at New Hampshire.

Taking a look around New Hampshire's Magic Mile, the owl-sighted fans might notice that the catchfence around the speedway has been completely replaced by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., to bring the track's fencing system in line with the other tracks in the SMI portfolio.

The fence now hangs 21.5 feet above the racing surface, some five feet higher than the previous fence. The fence also curves over the racing surface further to help prevent large pieces of debris from entering the grandstand. Additionally, the lower portion of the fence is reinforced by six strands of 5/8-inch steel cables while the top features strands of 3/8-inch.

There's also been changes to the infield layout, and track management made sure to note that the fencing was not a response to the incident involving Carl Edwards getting into the fencing system at Talladega Superspeedway in April, and instead was planned in the master plan of improvements for 2009 at NHMS.

The Prediction

Geoffrey Miller: Greg Biffle

FanHouse Warmup: Lenox Tools 301 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roush Team Targets Michigan Speedway

Holly Cain — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing, Sprint Cup

What with Tony Stewart going it on his own just fine, thank you; Kyle Busch smashing trophies in victory lane; Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggling to live up to his hype; 50-year old Mark Martin winning races; and Hendrick Motorsports being, well ... Hendrick Motorsports, the once dominant Roush Fenway Ford team finds itself on NASCAR's attention periphery here at the midseason point.

Three of Roush's five drivers are currently ranked among the championship top-12, but only one -- Matt Kenseth -- has reached victory lane.

Roush drivers have led laps and led them late -- Carl Edwards at Talladega, Greg Biffle at Dover, for example -- but inevitably another story seems to come along and swipe the checkered flag and the spotlight.

Of course, that could all change this Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, where Roush Fenway Racing owns 11 victories -- eight in the past 10 years.

"I think we're a little under the radar obviously," said Greg Biffle, who's ranked seventh in the standings. "The 16-team, we tend to fly under the radar a little bit more. We're there every week, right there, right there. ... And tend not to make too much racket, which does and doesn't bother me that we don't get the attention.

"Pretty much everything I saw and read after the Dover race was about Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson -- 'two of the best drivers in the world, did you see em?' "

"I wasn't even mentioned," Biffle said smiling. "It was like I wasn't even there. I was the one leading. Tony and I battled for position, then he got by me. ...Then the 48 got by me.

"I don't let that bother me, it's just where the storyline is. Sometimes we'll be the storyline and sometimes we won't."

Latest NASCAR Images

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, pulls away after making a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Jaime L. Mikle/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: A NASCAR racing lollipop is held in the street before Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Jaime L. Mikle/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Brian Vickers, driver of the NASCAR #83 Red Bull Toyota, makes a full pit stop with the Red Bull Racing pit crew on 7th Avenue in Times Square on June 10, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for Red Bull) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

Getty Images for Red Bull

FILE - This is an April 19, 2008 file photo showing Colin Braun posing for photographers after winning his first pole position in his three-year career, during the NASCAR Nationwide qualifiers in Mexico City. Braun figures there couldn't be a better time for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory than in Saturday's race at Michigan International Speedway. The 20-year-old Braun, in his second full season driving trucks for Roush Fenway Racing, would love to be the driver to give team co-owner Jack Roush his 50th series victory. (AP Photo/Miguel Tovar, File)

Tony Stewart (14) drives from the garage area for practice Saturday, June 6, 2009, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Darian Grubb had no intention of leaving his engineering job at Hendrick Motorsports. But when Tony Stewart called him with an offer to be the crew chief of his upstart team, Grubb couldn't say no. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

More often than not, the Roush team is the storyline at Michigan, a driver-favorite 2-miler where the Roush Fenway team has scored at least one victory in the past seven consecutive years -- a track record. The last time the Cup Series raced here (August, 2008), all five of the Roush Fords finished in the top-10.

And as far as team founder Jack Roush is concerned, there's no finer place for the success. He lives outside Detroit and his ROUSH Industries engineering company is headquartered a half hour away from the track. He got his first Michigan win two decades ago with a 30-year-old Martin.

"It's just fun to race in front of the home crowd and we have a history of being successful based on the foundation that Mark Martin put under us 20 years ago," said Roush, who counts a 1997 win during Ford Motor Company's 100th anniversary celebration as his most memorable victory here.

Edwards, Biffle and Kenseth -- who are ranked sixth, seventh and eighth in the championship -- are among the leaders in nearly every statistical category at Michigan in the last four years and considered heavy favorites this weekend.

Edwards holds the top driver rating at MIS, Kenseth is third and Biffle fourth. Edwards, who has two wins in nine Cup starts here, is also tops in Average Running Position (seventh), Laps Run in the Top 15 (90.2 percent) and Fastest Race Laps (134).

"Trust me, I want to win so badly," said Edwards, who won at Michigan last August and is coming off a runner-up effort at Dover on Sunday.

"Even though it's only been 13 or 14 races [since a win], it feels like forever. But I think if we just keep our heads down, I think we'll get what we deserve. And definitely points feel good."

Biffle concurs.

"Big picture, we're right there," said Biffle, adding with a laugh. "We're not lousy by any means."

Roush Team Targets Michigan Speedway originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Drivers React to NASCAR's Drug Testing

Holly Cain — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:32:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Sprint Cup

Mark Martin was worried about taking an anti-inflammatory pill so the 50-year old veteran driver called up the head of NASCAR's new drug testing program to see if he could take an Advil without violating policy.

Greg Biffle was concerned enough about taking a simple over-the-counter pain medicine to help with an injury, he just opted to tough it out.

We still don't know what Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield tested positive for two weeks ago, resulting in him becoming the first Cup driver indefinitely suspended under a new random drug testing policy. And it has prompted many drivers to publicly ask for a definitive list of can-dos and should-nots.

More Coverage: No Need to Reveal Mayfield's Test

The sport's most famous driver has a simpler way of looking at it.

"The policy is a rule and don't violate it and that's that. ..." Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "Don't take drugs. ... Regardless if you drive race cars or not, it's a dumb idea.

"Don't be ignorant."

And really isn't that what this all comes down to.

NASCAR's new drug testing policy includes random in-season testing for the first time as opposed to only testing under reasonable suspicion as it has done the previous five decades. Names are generated by a computer and typically a half dozen drivers are tested during each race weekend.

Obviously the list of banned substances would include any illegal drug like marijuana or cocaine. And it would include any prescription medicine that impairs your judgment. If the prescription has one of those little red stickers suggesting you don't operate machinery while taking the medicine. ... that would include driving 180 mph in a stock car race, too.

It gets a little more complicated with nutritional supplements and allergy medications, but each driver has the cell phone number for Dr. David Black, who is overseeing the testing program and who claims to be available around the clock for questions.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, for example, takes Allegra daily for severe allergies and said Friday that the drug policy program was fully aware of that. Gordon, however, also said he hasn't been tested randomly yet.

"It would be nice to know if I took too much Robitussin, if that was going to be something that was going to test positive and if that is considered a false positive," driver Ryan Newman said.

Providing the competitors with a list of banned substances -- as NASCAR does for crew members -- seems like a practical first step and it shouldn't be taken as a direct threat to the benevolent NASCAR dictatorship.

It's just the fair thing to do. The drivers can hand the list to their doctors and know specifically what to avoid and NASCAR has given fair notice.

Common sense goes both ways.

Why not test the drivers' A and B sample at the same time. If there's no appeal anyway and suspension comes only after a B sample also fails, let's cut to the chase.

Almost a full week passed between Mayfield's A sample coming back positive and then -- upon Mayfield's request -- testing the B sample he gave at the same time.

If NASCAR thought there was something questionable in Mayfield's system, why would they even allow him to take practice laps at Darlington, much less try to qualify for the race?

Talk about reasonable suspicion. To me, that is the most egregious part of this whole situation.

Mayfield has driven for some of the most respected team owners in NASCAR -- men like Roger Penske and Ray Evernham who hold high character standards. Most of his fellow drivers have withheld judgment because they don't know the full story yet.

"Everybody wants to know what the hell Jeremy did," Earnhardt said. "That's his business and NASCAR's business, and they'll handle it."

NASCAR isn't talking specifics and unless Mayfield, 39, reveals what he took and takes his case to the court of public opinion, we'll never know if this was a policy that worked well or needed a tweak.

The bottom line is, if a driver has a question, he should err on the side of caution.

This is the last thing NASCAR wants dominating headlines during its All-Star race weekend so there's no motivation in acting without certainty.

Drivers React to NASCAR's Drug Testing originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 15 May 2009 20:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Montoya Wins Pole at Talladega

Holly Cain — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:06:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Sprint Cup, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- He's won the Indy 500 and Formula One jewel, the Grand Prix of Monaco, but Columbian Juan Pablo Montoya figures winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway ranks right up there on a list of impressive racing feats.

Certainly, it is another shot of adrenalin for the newly merged Earnhardt-Ganassi operation, which also won the pole position for the season-opening Daytona 500. It's been a big week for owner Chip Ganassi, who's Grand-Am sportscar team won the pole in Virginia and whose IndyCar Series team is coming off a win at Long Beach on Sunday.

"Getting our first pole is big,'' said Montoya, who is driving the No. 42 TUMS-sponsored Chevrolet. "It takes the weight off of everybody's shoulders. It shows where the team is heading. This is pretty cool and hopefully, it is the first of many."

Montoya will start alongside Ford driver Greg Biffle in Sunday's Aaron's 499. His Earnhardt-Ganassi teammate Martin Truex, the Daytona polesitter, will start third. Another Indy 500 winner, Sam Hornish Jr., turned in the best qualifying effort of his brief NASCAR career and will start fourth. Clint Bowyer rounds out the Top 5.

Former Formula One driver Scott Speed was the top qualifying (eighth place) rookie. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 11th.

Montoya and Talladega seem like an unlikely fit -- NASCAR's only foreign-born driver succeeding at its most All-American of tracks; the series biggest (2.66-miles) and most unpredictable venue (116 lead changes in two races last year).

But Montoya finished third in his stock car debut here in a 2006 ARCA race and was runnner-up in this race last year. He was leading at Talladega's fall 500-miler before getting collected in a late race multi-car accident.

"I really get a kick out of it,'' Montoya said of the restrictor-plate racing at Talladega and Daytona. "It's not about the fastest car, it's about making the right decisions.''

Latest NASCAR Images

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart climbs out of hi race car after qualifying for Sunday's Aarons 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. on Saturday, April 25, 2009. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya, of Colombia, talks with reporters after winning the pole for Sunday's Aarons 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., on Saturday, April 25, 2009. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya, of Colombia, races during qualifying for Sunday's Aarons 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. on Saturday, April 25, 2009. Montoya won the first pole of his NASCAR career on Saturday (AP Photo/Glenn Smith)

Miss America 2009 Katie Stam, left, poses for a snapshot with driver Tony Stewart during qualifying for Sunday's Aarons 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., on Saturday, April 25, 2009. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 25: Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 3M Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2009 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Greg Biffle

Getty Images for NASCAR

TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 25: (L-R) Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 3M Ford, talks with Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 DEWALT Ford, during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2009 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Greg Biffle;Matt Kenseth

Getty Images for NASCAR

TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 25: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #09 Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2009 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Brad Keselowski

Getty Images for NASCAR

TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 25: Max Papis, driver of the #13 GEICO Toyota, smiles during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2009 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Max Papis

Getty Images for NASCAR

TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 25: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #9 Budweiser Dodge, waits on pit road during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2009 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kasey Kahne

Getty Images for NASCAR

Typically drivers don't put a lot of emphasis on qualifying. Starting position at Talladega means very little in forecasting finishing positions because of drafting and the ability to run four- and five-wide.

For that reason, none of the usual favorites -- such as points leader Jeff Gordon, or his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, were overly concerned about an off-day in qualifying. Gordon will start 14th, Johnson, 36th, the first time he's started outside the top-10 this season. Defending race winner Tony Stewart qualified 29th. All four of the Richard Petty Motorsports cars will have to start from the back of the 43-car field because of engine changes.

"This place is always about being in the right place at the right time,'' said Stewart, who is trying to become the first owner-driver to win in the Cup Series in 11 years.

"You can run your guts out all day and still end up 25th. It doesn't matter," Stewart said. "This is one of those deals you just have to be there at the end. You have to put yourself in a position at the end to be up front. It doesn't matter what happens on lap 20, it doesn't matter what happens on lap 100.''

Montoya seems to have figured that out in his two years of Cup competition and is already considered a favorite in this race.

"We're working to get wins,'' Montoya said. "We're working to get poles, to get noticed, get in to the Chase and be a contender. We're doing that.

"What really helps is building momentum for the team, that goes a long way. Anyone involved with this team is celebrating right now.''

Montoya Wins Pole at Talladega originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gordon Snaps Losing Streak in Texas

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:47:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports

For the first time since October 2007, we don't have to hear about Jeff Gordon's winless streak.

Gordon went from worst a year ago at Texas Motor Speedway to first on Sunday to win the Samsung 500 and cement the No. 24 as a legitimate championship contender.

"How ironic is this that we go on this streak and end it at Texas?" asked Gordon in victory lane following the win in which he led a race-high 105 laps.

Ironic, indeed.

Before Sunday, Jeff Gordon had two tracks on the Cup Series schedule he had never won at including TMS and south Florida's Homestead-Miami Speedway. And a year ago, Gordon endured one of his worst-career races at the Fort Worth track with a 43rd-place finish after crashing a car that wasn't even in the same performance zip code as the rest of the field.

Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson completed a HMS 1-2 sweep for the ninth time in their careers with Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle coming home third. Tony Stewart finished fourth and Matt Kenseth fifth.

Teammate Johnson didn't make things easy for Gordon in the closing laps, despite taking a win of his own just a week ago at Martinsville Speedway. When the green flag fell on what ended up being the 500-miler's final restart, Johnson looked ready to pounce after Gordon shot out to a lead of nearly 1.5 seconds.

Johnson, though, started to close until the lead stabilized as the laps wound down. Then, Gordon caught some lapped traffic that allowed Johnson to close within a half-second of the leader. The lap counter, though, was in Gordon's favor as he managed to keep a winning distance until the checkered flag fell on an afternoon that might serve as a warning shot to the rest of the field that 2009 will mark a serious effort to get the No. 24 back in championship form.

Now, heading to the season's second off-weekend thanks to the Easter holiday, Gordon holds a lead of 162 points in the point standings over Johnson with Kurt Busch third, 180 points back. More importantly, Gordon would now start the Chase for the Sprint Cup just ten points behind Kyle Busch [two wins in 2009] and tied with the rest of the season's one-race winners.

The race marked a nice turnaround for the Roush Fenway group after tumultuous run in the past two weeks at Bristol and Martinsville with two cars in the Top-5. It could, though, have been better, until a pit road blunder for Carl Edwards on the final pit stop sent the No. 99 from the race lead to deep in the lead-lap pack. He managed just a 10th-place finish to continue an otherwise mediocre season.

Kyle Busch was a non-factor all day (except when he nearly took out then-leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. on an ill-advised four-wide move on a restart) after cutting tire early under green flag conditions. The cut seemed to have occured after Busch got irritated with John Andretti and sideswiped the No. 34.

Busch finished 18th after finally earning his way back to the lead lap late in the race.

Stay with FanHouse for plenty more coverage about all of the happenings at Texas Motor Speedway.

Gordon Snaps Losing Streak in Texas originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fishing Mishap Costs Greg Biffle Race

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:51:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup

A little off-week fishing turned into a big headache -- or rib-ache, if you will -- for Roush Fenway Racing's driver Greg Biffle.

Biffle, slated to drive in both the Sprint Cup Series' Food City 500 on Sunday and the Nationwide Series' Scotts Turf Builder 300 on Saturday for RFR, will now sit out the Saturday event to rest a sore set of ribs after the No. 16 Ford driver fell awkwardly -- he termed it a "freak accident" -- while trying to get off a boat Tuesday night.

Judging from his remarks Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway's half-mile, Biffle wasn't too proud of the way he injured himself.

"I wish I had a better story, I really do. Me and a couple buddies went out fishing on Tuesday night and we were just messing around in our cove right there and we came back to the dock," said Biffle. "I jumped over to the dock and the boat was kind of drifting out a little bit. One guy had the front corner and I said, 'I'm gonna jump back over and grab a rope and then jump back again.'

"It was about 11:30, so there was a little bit of dew in the air and the platform must have been wet, and when I jumped over it just shot my foot out from underneath me. It turned me around backwards and put me right on my side and on my back on the edge of the boat."

In other words, Biffle is a human like the rest of us and just slipped. Ow.

Fortunately, Biffle isn't going to be running 500 laps in the driver seat of a stock Ford Fusion, and instead will have a seat that has been custom-formed to the contour of his frame.

"I went down yesterday as a precaution and got in my Martinsville car because the Bristol car had already left, and I feel better in that seat than I do sitting in anything," said Biffle. "I drove over there in my truck and I actually feel better sitting in that seat (race car seat) because it's hard foam and it's molded. It doesn't create any pressure points."

As for the Saturday Bristol race, teammate Matt Kenseth will jump in the No. 16 in place of Biffle, and the pair will switch a race date later in the season, possibly the Nationwide event at Daytona. Biffle has no concerns that he'll be able to complete Sunday's race.

Fishing Mishap Costs Greg Biffle Race originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greg Biffle Earns Tough Vegas Win

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:17:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Nationwide Series

Did you get a chance to catch that Nationwide Series race from Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon?

When the checkers fell, Greg Biffle was left out front -- literally, as just 10 cars finished on the lead lap -- to snap his 76-race drought of winning in the series.

But in between, the 209 laps that made up the Sam's Town 300 turned out to be quite hairy for a number of drivers.

By the time the race was just 28 laps old, four yellow flags had waved with Scott Speed and Kyle Busch taking the brunt of the action after Busch got loose while racing for the lead under Kevin Harvick. Busch spun up the track in Turn 4 and a trailing Scott Speed -- the race's pole sitter -- smashed head-on into Busch's No. 18.

Both were done for the event, and joined a list of 15 cars that failed to complete 151 laps of the race.

Mike Bliss and Denny Hamlin got caught up in another incident in the race's waning laps after Hamlin brushed the turn 2 wall. As Hamlin circled the track and went into turn 1, the car failed to negotiate the corner and Hamlin slowed dramatically. Mike Bliss, who led 16 laps, couldn't avoid Hamlin's car and plowed into the rear bumper of Hamlin's Toyota.

The race saw two red flags and Biffle nearly ran out of fuel on the final green-white-checkered finish after the race went an extra 9 laps. His No. 16 stumbled with low fuel pressure and Carl Edwards snuck alongside for the second-to-last lap. Edwards couldn't hold off Biffle when he gained regular fuel flow and Biffle cruised to the victory on the last lap.

Greg Biffle Earns Tough Vegas Win originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Notes and Quotes From Daytona: Friday

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:20:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Here are a few rumblings from Friday, the calm before the storm at Daytona.

DIS: Tournament Fishing Venue - Friday morning, the Darrell Gwynn Foundation and the Spediatrics unit at Daytona Beach's Halifax Hospital got a nice boost thanks to a nice use of Lake Lloyd -- the six-acre infield lake dug out to produce DIS's high-banked corners.

Featuring drivers like Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and others, the Hot Rods & Reels NASCAR Drivers Charity Fishing Tournament -- sponsored by Miccosukee Resort & Gaming -- saw NASCAR's wheelmen take to the water in an armada of bass fishing boats.

Within the first 20 minutes of the contest, Edwards' boat had landed three largemouth bass -- a great start in the 90-minute competition.

Award for the best casting ability? Naturally, it has to go to Martin Truex Jr., who drives the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy.

Tom Cruise returns to Daytona
Friday morning, officials at Daytona confirmed that actor Tom Cruise will drive the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro pace car before Sunday's Daytona 500.

Cruise, who acted in the NASCAR-themed Days of Thunder from 1990 with Nicole Kidman, attended last year's spring event at Auto Club Speedway and the Champion's Banquet in New York City as a guest of Rick Hendrick.

Mark Martin a "bad dream," Biffle says
"It's like a bad dream," said Greg Biffle when asked if former teammate Mark Martin's ranting and raving about how good his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car and team is.

A broken record, if you will.

But for Biffle, he isn't offended by what could be viewed as a knock against the Roush Fenway organization. Those comments are just who Mark is, he says.

"He's being positive and that's Mark Martin -- being positive," said Biffle. "When he went over to DEI it was the chance of a lifetime and they were the best cars in the garage. I don't know. I think it's the same thing now, but I would have to say that Hendrick probably has the best stuff in the garage with Jimmie [Johnson] winning the championship three years in-a-row."

Cup, Truck veteran Brenden Gaughn introduced as Nationwide rookie
Las Vegas, Nev. native Brendan Gaughn has raced full-time in both the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series. But in 2009, Gaughn will campaign for the first time in the Nationwide Series with Rusty Wallace Racing.

And so, the 33-year-old will compete with six other drivers for the title of Raybestos Rookie of the Year. The average age of the seven drivers? 24.5 -- higher thanks to Gaughn.

"The gray in my beard isn't going to match the beard that some of these guys can't grow," joked Gaughn.

Notes and Quotes From Daytona: Friday originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roush Fenway Racing Extends Matt Kenseth, Appears to Leave Out Jamie McMurray

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:26:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing, NASCAR Silly Season, Sprint Cup

Matt Kenseth's contract at Roush Fenway Racing got extended Thursday afternoon and that was seemingly bad news for his teammate Jamie McMurray.

Kenseth got a new "multi-year dear" from RFR to keep him as the driver of the No. 17 Ford for well past 2010, when his current contract was set to expire. Terms weren't disclosed by the team, but I'd imagine the contract puts Kenseth in a position to make RFR his final place of stock car employment with either a heavily extended contract from his current one or one loaded with options.

Kenseth, a native of Cambridge, Wisc., turns 37 in March.

For teammate McMurray -- who's been nothing short of a disappointment during his time at RFR but showed some flashes of brilliance towards the end of the 2008 -- Kenseth's re-signing might be a nail in the coffin for his future at RFR.

NASCAR has mandated that by 2010, all Sprint Cup teams must have no more than four drivers in a stable. RFR currently has five.

The RFR other drivers, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan, all seem to have the cards stacked in their favor for 2009 and beyond.

Biffle, who had some questions during the early part of 2008 after several part failures and other team problems kept him from winning races, re-signed with RFR in July to a contract throught 2011. Edwards obviously isn't going anywhere with his near-championship run in 2008 and has a contract through 2011 and Ragan hasn't officially inked a contract to the best of my knowledge for 2009 but he has a "multi-year" deal with sponsor UPS starting next season.

So, Biffle plus Edwards plus Kenseth plus Ragan equals four drivers locked in at RFR for well past the 2010 NASCAR cutoff deadline, and seems to leave McMurray without a RFR-associated ride in 2010 once his current contract runs out.

An option appears to be at Jack Roush's disposal, however, if he decides to keep McMurray around after 2009 -- especially if the Jopin, Mo., driver can pile together a season-full of finishes like he had to close out the 2008 season. Roush has a significant alliance with Yates Racing, and if needbe, I can certainly see McMurray's services getting transferred to the satellite operation.

Roush Fenway Racing Extends Matt Kenseth, Appears to Leave Out Jamie McMurray originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Biffle is Boomin' as Roush Dominates Dover

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:31:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup

It wouldn't have been too incredulous to say that season-long favorites Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards or Jimmie Johnson would have won the first two races of the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

But Greg Biffle? Come on.

I would have called it a crazy guess, and after Sunday's race at Dover, I would have looked like the dumber person in the conversation, though that's not much a surprise. Biffle, though, definitely fits the "surprise" bill.

Biffle is now two-for-two to lead off the Chase but thanks only to his No. 16 Ford being able to fend off teammates Matt Kenseth (2nd) and Greg Biffle (3rd) in the closing laps of the Camping World 400 to accentuate one of the most enjoyable races of the 2008 season.

Looking back to Richmond just two weeks ago, the duel between Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart was an exciting one, but the 20-or-so lap show put on by the Roush Fenway Racing trio easily topped that. It all started with roughly 25 laps to go as the three drivers could have easily tossed a single picnic blanket over them as they crossed the start/finish line.

From there, three-wide racing was the name of the game for several corners and two-wide racing was even more common. Edwards appeared to fall off some from Kenseth and Biffle with about 15 laps to go but soon roared back into contention by coming out of nowhere and nearly taking the lead as the Top-3 positions kept changing.

Finally, Biffle got in front of both of his teammates and was able to drive off with eight laps to go as tire wear began to take effect. Biffle would keep the No. 16 in the lead and out of trouble for the rest of the way and led his 29th and final lap as the checkered flag waved at the flagstand -- sealing his second win in two weeks and second of the season.

Interestingly, Biffle still isn't the Sprint Cup point leader in the Chase despite winning the two races as teammate Edwards took sole command of the top spot by 10 points over Biffle and Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson lead 81 laps and finished fifth and Mark Martin, who finished fourth, filled in the Top-5.

Biffle is Boomin' as Roush Dominates Dover originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Round 1: Chase Winners, Chase Losers

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:46:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup

It's hard to believe it -- doesn't it feel like Ryan Newman won the season-opening Daytona 500 like a week ago? -- but the 2008 edition of the Chase for the Sprint Cup is now officially at full throttle following Sunday's first round of the ten race swing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Unless you were living under a rock Sunday or perhaps digging out from Hurricane Ike, -- which, obviously, is a perfectly good excuse to miss the first race of the Chase -- Greg Biffle made a quiet, yet steady, statement that he's in no mood to be counted out of a championship run.

Naturally, Biffle's win Sunday at New Hampshire -- his first since Kansas in '07 -- will put him towards the top of the "Chase Winners" category because, well, you can't do a whole lot better than win a race (but I do give him props for the direct shot with the champagne spray in the picture. That takes talent!). The real importance of this post, though, is to summarize how the rest of the Chasers handled their first foray into the 2008 championship battle.

Did Kyle Busch -- who led the point standings nearly all year -- prove his worth? Was Clint Bowyer ready to take off his disguise of barely making the Chase (he finished third in the championship battle a year ago) and put on his "I'm here to play for keeps" hat? And what about Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Was he ready for his first Chase with Hendrick Motorsports?

It's all here, folks, so jump on in and find out who were your Chase Winners and Chase Losers following Sunday's first round at New Hampshire:

Round 1 Chase Winners

Greg Biffle (Finished 1st) - There's really not much more to say here than what you've already seen. Biffle won the event and put himself in position to make a run at his first championship. Actually, make that last line "put himself in GREAT position to a make a run at his first championship".

Jimmie Johnson (Finished 2nd) - Johnson seemed to have his third win in-a-row in the bag until Biffle got the better of him with about about ten laps to go. That second place finish, though? Good enough to put him in a tie for the Chase lead with our next guy on the list.

Carl Edwards (Finished 3rd) - No, Carl wasn't doing his victory backflip after Sunday's race in New England, but his third place finish has him toe to toe with Jimmie Johnson for the Chase lead. If nothing else, Edwards raced about as well as he needed to to find the right momentum early in the ten race stretch.

Jeff Burton (Finished 4th) - I called Burton a guy who was "Just In It" in the Calling the Chase feature from last week that previewed each Chase contender, but Burton made me look pretty dumb on Sunday. I gave Burton that outlook for the Chase because he is just so, so quiet when it comes to running well -- just like he did with his solid run on Sunday -- that he fooled me into seeing only an average season. He's now 50 points back of first in fifth place and ready to strike with stealthy precision.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Finished 5th) - I'd definitely put Earnhardt Jr. into the winner slot just for the reason that he finished in the Top-5 in his first Chase race under the Hendrick Motorsports banner. To me, that shows that he doesn't feel over-the-top pressure to succeed and watching him lead 79 laps early in the race before falling off on the handling in the middle stages of the race showed that he's not forcing the issue. Instead, the No. 88 is racing like it has all year long.

Tony Stewart (Finished 8th) - Stewart had karma come back and bite him on the you-know-what Sunday afternoon after he ripped his crew for inefficient work in the pits a week ago at Richmond, as he was penalized for going 50.3 miles per hour down the 45 m.p.h. pit road. It was purely a driver mistake and it cost him dearly by putting him a lap down under green flag conditions. With the tables even across the team now, Stewart rebounded and scored an impressive eighth-place finish.

Denny Hamlin (Finished 9th) - Hamlin lamented the fact that his car just doesn't seem to get the same type of gas mileage as his teammates (he did say that it very well could be his driving style) after having to pit late in the going of Sunday's race to avoid running out a fuel and losing costly points. For a team that likes to shoot from the hip and go for broke, it was a solid move that kept him in solid Chase contention.

Kevin Harvick (Finished 10th) - If there's a definite reason why Harvick makes the "winners" it's because he's finally allowed wife DeLana back at the track and in the pit after a few races of playing the superstition card with her not being there.

Round 1 Chase Losers

Clint Bowyer (Finished 12th) - Bowyer had the type of the day that barely got him into the Chase with his 12th-place run on Sunday, and that certainly isn't going to put him in contention for a championship come November. Frankly, I think a lot of people expected more out of the No. 07 car after he had a very fast piece according to the time sheets in the two practices on top of winning the race a year ago.

Jeff Gordon (Finished 14th) - A 14th-place run wasn't at all indicative of the race car that Jeff Gordon had on Sunday, but rather, it was just another tale in the rather lame season Gordon has been a part of in 2008. JG was eyeing a sure-bet Top 10 run until Patrick Carpentier spun in front of him late in the race. Gordon made an impressive swerve to miss him, but flat-spotted his left side tires and forced him to the end of the lead lap cars. He surged in the final laps to 14th but a finish like that won't win him a championship.

Kyle Busch (Finished 34th) - I think it's very easy to classify Busch as, by far, the biggest Chase loser of the weekend thanks to his broken sway bar early in the race. Call it karma or call it bad luck, but it seemed like only a matter of time until Busch & Co. truly fell off their high horse when it mattered. The biggest key for Busch now -- because he's certainly not out of contention -- is to show the mark of a true champion and rally back to the front.

Matt Kenseth (Finished 40th) - Kenseth likely wasn't expecting to finish the first race of the Chase in the same points position that he began it in (12th or last), but a wreck that was none of his own doing dug him a nice, deep whole for the remaining nine races. That 40th-place finish hurt, but the 177-point deficit was the fork in the chest for this Chase contender. Don't expect a huge rebound because even Matt isn't feeling one.

Round 1: Chase Winners, Chase Losers originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Biffle Makes Case for Championship Run, Wins First Chase Race at New Hampshire

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:36:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup

Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Jimmie Johnson started Sunday's first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the odds-on favorites to battle for the championship.

And then Greg Biffle showed up, took the spotlight, and won Sunday's Sylvania 300 by passing none other than Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps.

The win was Biffle's first since his somewhat controversial win a year ago during the Chase at Kansas Speedway, or a span of 33 races. More importantly, though, the win jumped Biffle in the Chase standings six spots to third, just 30 points back of new co-leaders Carl Edwards and Johnson.

Biffle didn't lead the most laps (Johnson did), but jumped out front on lap 289 for the final 11 laps as he held off Johnson who started to close on Biffle because the No. 48 Chevrolet was stronger on longer runs.

Outside of Biffle and Johnson, the rest of the Top-5 included Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Following the first round of the ten-race Chase, the point standings took a little bit of a jumble thanks to Biffle's win and Kyle Busch suffering through a horrible day in what was supposed to be the beginning of his march to crown off an impressive eight-win season to this point.

Johnson & Edwards -- the Chase co-leaders -- have that 30-point advantage on third-place Biffle and 50 points on Dale Earnhardt Jr. & Jeff Burton. Busch fell to 8th in the standings from first place at the start of the day.

Biffle Makes Case for Championship Run, Wins First Chase Race at New Hampshire originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Calling the Chase: 9th - Greg Biffle

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:02:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup

The NASCAR season truly kicks in Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup begins. From now through Friday, FanHouse will preview each of the 12-drivers and evaluate their championship chances.

9th - Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford

Starting Deficit: 80 points

2008 Stats: 8 Top-5s, 11 Top-10s

2008 Regular Season Point Standing: 8th (-598)

2007 Chase Result: Did Not Qualify

Chase Chances: Biffle appears to be the best candidate in 2008 for a "sleeper" run at the championship. While he hasn't put together any wins in 2008, he's been nipping at the heels each week of teammate Edwards and could easily rise to the top as the series heads to the 1.5-mile tracks that he so often has a great feel for. A sluggish Chase run is definitely not in the cards for the No. 16, and certainly don't be surprised to see "The Biff" in contention with less than a handful of races to go.

Prediction: In It to Win It.

Calling the Chase: 9th - Greg Biffle originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live Bloggin' Alert: Chevy Rock & Roll 400

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:15:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, NASCAR Live Blogging, Sprint Cup

"Yo Biff - I heard FanHouse is running a live blog on Sunday afternoon for the race, and since you're locked in already to the Chase, I was thinkin' 'bout catchin' some of that. Whaddya think?" - Greg Erwin

So, in all likelihood (though not completely impossible), Greg Biffle's crew chief Greg Erwin probably wasn't talking about the live blog coming your way Sunday afternoon here at FanHouse, but that's not really too important.

What is important is that you need to sign up for your very own e-mail alert for Sunday's live blog so you can join in on the fun! So what are you waiting for? Go for it, sign up below and make sure you're back here on Sunday afternoon -- even if you've got to watch your favorite NFL team on the locals because we've got you covered here at the 'House!

See ya'll Sunday!

Live Bloggin' Alert: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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