Backstretch Motorsports

LOUDON, N. H. — Greg Biffle, a true, hard-charging stock car driver,
hasn’t been talked about that much in the buzz leading up to NASCAR’s
Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship. Some might say he was “The
Forgotten Man.” Not anymore. Biffle won Sunday.

He made the top 12 with an up-and-down season and started getting up
to form in the races leading up to Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New
Hampshire Motor Speedway.

On Sunday, he grabbed his first victory since last year at Kansas
Speedway, the 13th of his Sprint Cup career. Biffle passed two-time
champion Jimmie Johnson with 11 laps remaining and held Johnson off
for the win.

Carl Edwards was third, Jeff Burton fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
placed fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Kurt Busch, Martin Truex
Jr., Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

Eight of Sunday’s top 10 finishers are eligible for the championship.
Pre-race favorite Kyle Busch had a terrible day and wound up numerous
laps behind in 34th position. A series of mishaps ruined his day.

Former champion Matt Kenseth also had a miserable day, the victim of a
multi-car crash that stopped the race for 10 minutes or so after 220
of the 300 laps had been completed. Kenseth wound up 40th. The red
flag waved while officials cleaned up debris from the 220th lap
accident.

The crash started when former Indy winner Sam Hornish Jr. ran out of
room on the bottom of the track and bumped Kyle Petty, triggering a
melee that also involved Casey Mears, David Gilliland, Kyle Busch, and
Kenseth.

Jeff Gordon, a four-time champion, wound up 14th and Clint Bowyer,
another Chase driver, was 12th.

Edwards showed what he had pretty early, zipping to the front on the
eighth lap.

Points leader Busch suffered a sway bar problem and dropped back in
the field. His crew fixed his car when NASCAR called a competition
caution at lap 35 to allow the teams adjustments.

The track was very green at the start after a drenching overnight rain.
Edwards still led on the restart at lap 44. Stewart, Johnson, Kurt
Busch and Hamlin were in the top five.

The younger Busch, a favorite to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase
for the Championship after pacing the field through its first 26
races, had dropped to 43rd position by the time his crew fixed his
problem. Busch didn’t help himself when he passed several cars when
coming into the pits, which cost him a lap. Busch had eight wins and
a 30-point lead as the first race of this year’s Chase unfolded.

Johnson took the lead from Edwards on the 65th lap and Stewart moved
up to second.

On lap 84, Busch lost control out of turn two, spun and was hit by
Jamie McMurray, which pretty much ended Busch’s chances for the day.

David Ragan also spun after being hit in the rear during the accident.
Johnson still led on the restart, with Earnhardt right behind him, but
Earnhardt took over shortly.

At 150 laps (halfway), it was Earnhardt, Biffle, Johnson, Kurt Busch,
Hamlin, Burton, Edwards, Montoya, Bowyer and Truex Jr.

NASCAR Race Number 27
Unofficial Race Results for the Sylvania “300″ - Sunday, September 14, 2008
New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, NH - 1.058 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 300 Laps - 317.4 Miles - Purse: $5,383,710

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 9 16 Greg Biffle Dish Network Turbo HD Ford 300 190 5 $233,575 Running 3 58
2 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 300 180 10 $221,911 Running 4 96
3 2 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 300 170 5 $179,150 Running 2 61
4 7 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 300 160 $159,708 Running
5 4 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 300 160 5 $113,125 Running 2 79
6 20 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 300 150 $101,125 Running
7 18 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 300 146 $128,108 Running
8 8 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 300 147 5 $131,561 Running 1 1
9 6 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 300 138 $121,016 Running
10 11 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 300 134 $132,111 Running
11 13 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 300 130 $113,716 Running
12 5 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 300 127 $96,225 Running
13 21 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios Racing/Betty Crocker Dodge 300 124 $118,161 Running
14 10 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 300 121 $125,911 Running
15 27 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 300 118 $80,225 Running
16 24 28 Travis Kvapil Valvoline Ford 300 115 $106,239 Running
17 22 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Juicy Fruit Slim Pack Dodge 300 112 $106,058 Running
18 15 8 Aric Almirola U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 300 109 $112,008 Running
19 33 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 300 106 $95,708 Running
20 43 70 Johnny Sauter Haas Automation Chevrolet 300 103 $81,200 Running
21 28 15 Paul Menard Menards/Sylvania Chevrolet 300 100 $85,000 Running
22 30 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 299 97 $103,914 Running
23 29 01 Regan Smith # DEI/The Principal Financial Group Chevrolet 299 94 $86,850 Running
24 23 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Dodge 299 91 $102,445 Running
25 32 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota 299 88 $92,458 Running
26 38 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam/Operation Homefront Dodge 299 85 $97,758 Running
27 35 00 Michael McDowell # Champion Mortgage Toyota 299 87 5 $86,533 Running 1 1
28 14 6 David Ragan AAA Insurance Ford 298 79 $80,525 Running
29 37 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft Ford 298 76 $90,545 Running
30 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Mobil 1 Dodge 298 73 $117,225 Running
31 39 10 Patrick Carpentier # Berlin City Auto Group Dodge 298 70 $71,950 Running
32 40 96 Joey Logano Home Depot/DLP HDTV Toyota 297 67 $79,200 Running
33 31 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 297 64 $81,497 Running
34 1 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 288 66 5 $88,800 Running 1 3
35 16 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 287 63 5 $78,600 Running 1 1
36 17 12 Ryan Newman Kodak Dodge 285 55 $112,450 Engine
37 25 5 Casey Mears Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet 269 52 $88,175 Running
38 34 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 264 49 $69,975 Accident
39 19 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 230 46 $77,850 Running
40 12 17 Matt Kenseth Carhartt/DeWalt Ford 228 43 $117,341 Accident
41 26 38 David Gilliland Ford Drive One Ford 228 40 $69,530 Accident
42 41 45 Chad McCumbee Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge 228 37 $69,405 Accident
43 42 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 218 34 $69,665 Accident
Race Comments: In front of an announced sellout crowd of 101,000 - Greg Biffle won the Sylvania 300, his 13th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag no one droppped to the rear.
Failed to Qualify: (2) Tony Raines, #34; Carl Long, #46.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 00 Mins, 34 Secs. Average Speed: 105.468 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.505 Seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 37 laps: Laps: 37-40 (Competition); 84-88 (#6,18,26 accident backstretch); 215-220 (Debris); 223-228 (#78 accident frontstretch); 230-234 (#5,17,38,45,83 accident turn 4 [RedFlag-10:38-Lap232]); 267-271 (#84 accident frontstretch); 281-283 (#6 spun backstretch); 285-287 (#10 accident turn 2).
Lead Changes: 14 among 8 drivers: Kyle Busch 1-3; C. Edwards 4-37; M. McDowell # 38; C. Edwards 39-65; J. Johnson 66-84; T. Stewart 85; J. Johnson 86-88; D. Earnhardt Jr. 89-157; J. Johnson 158; B. Vickers 159; G. Biffle 160-164; D. Earnhardt Jr. 165-174; G. Biffle 175-215; J. Johnson 216-288; G. Biffle 289-300.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) C. Edwards 5,220;(2) J. Johnson 5,220;(3) G. Biffle 5,190;(4) D. Earnhardt Jr. 5,170;(5) J. Burton 5,170;(6) D. Hamlin 5,148;(7) T. Stewart 5,147;(8) Kyle Busch 5,146;(9) C. Bowyer 5,137;(10) K. Harvick 5,134;(11) J. Gordon 5,121;(12) M. Kenseth 5,043.
DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Jeff Burton, #31 DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Greg Biffle, #16
EA Sports Move of the Race : Greg Biffle, #16 Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Carl Edwards, #99 (126.14 mph, Lap 96)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Jimmie Johnson, #48 Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Kurt Busch, #2
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Martin Truex, Jr, #1 (-.734 seconds) Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Regan Smith, #01
Sunoco Diamond Performance : Greg Biffle, #16 USG Improving the Finish : Johnny Sauter, #70 (23 Places)
WIX Lap Leader : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (96 Laps)
Next Race: Sep. 21, 2008 - Dover International Speedway