Biffle holds off Johnson to win at Texas
FORT WORTH -- Greg Biffle, an old-school racer with the stubborn determination of a lineman (football or telephone line), finally put the dry spell behind him.
"It's been a while since I've been in victory lane," Biffle said, "but I knew right where it was."
Biffle held off Jimmie Johnson to win the Samsung Mobile 500 on Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
Biffle's only previous win at the 1.5-mile high-speed TMS oval occurred in 2005.
Like Johnson, Biffle's most recent victory came on Oct. 3, 2010, at Kansas, a span of 49 Sprint Cup races over three seasons. Coincidentally, it had been only 12 races since five-time champion Johnson's last win, also at Kansas.
And now, given Saturday's 1-2 finish, it sets up quite the stage for the next race -- at Kansas Speedway.
For the easygoing Johnson, it was another one that slipped away.
For much of the evening, the weather was more unpredictable than the race. At the halfway point, winds were estimated at 16 mph with occasional gusts of 30. The effect of all the turbulence on the cars seemed minimal, though they apparently blew debris on the 1.5-mile track several times.
Not once did a car so much as spin, though one of the only two caution periods in the race -- both for debris -- occurred in the aftermath of Trevor Bayne's contact with the wall.
"Our cars were awfully close," Johnson said. "I got caught up in traffic, and that hung me up."
Following Biffle and Johnson across the finish line were Mark Martin in third, Jeff Gordon in fourth and Matt Kenseth in fifth.
Martin Truex Jr., who started from the pole, remained there for the first 32 laps, his Toyota finally yielding to Greg Biffle's Ford. Truex only regained the lead by escaping the pits ahead of Biffle during the first caution period, for debris in turn two on lap 67.
Biffle, however, quickly regained the lead once racing resumed on lap 72. The debris seekers nabbed their prey again on the 94th lap, apparently finding a sizeable mound of pixie dust on the opposite side of the track.
Track position had been Jimmie Johnson's only obstacle in the early stages, and he proceeded to run away from the race after the second caution period. At the 150-lap point, Johnson led Biffle by nearly two seconds and Matt Kenseth by almost three.
Fourth-place Marcos Ambrose was nearly a half-lap behind when a round of green-flag pit stops scrambled the order for a time. Biffle regained the edge after the pit sequence, and by the halfway point, Truex was back atop the standings, followed by Johnson, Kenseth, Mark Martin and Biffle.
Meanwhile, the struggles of two of the track's standouts was glaring. At the halfway point, Carl Edwards, who began the night with a record three Cup victories at TMS, ran 19th, and the winner of the most recent race, Tony Stewart, was languishing in 22nd.
Johnson retook the lead from Truex on lap 179.
