#16-Greg Biffle was about as close to total domination as you can get today at Texas Motor Speedway as he led 7 times for 219 laps on the way to victory in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500. And, when you figure he had to drop to the back at the start, impressive is the first word that comes to mind. Using a backup car after wrecking in practice yesterday, Biffle picked up his second win of the season (he becomes our second two-timer this year) and the 5th win of his Nextel Cup career (he’s in a seven-way tie for 60th on the all-time list). Win #77 for Roush Racing was worth $522,250 (yikes!!) from the over $6.8M in posted awards.
#42-Jamie McMurray (2nd) had his best finish since he was runner-up at Martinsville last October.
#41-Casey Mears (4th, and also in a backup car) tied his career-best finish today. He was 4th at Watkins Glen last August.
#40-Sterling Marlin (5th) had his best finish since he was 4th at Martinsville last October.
#15-Michael Waltrip (6th) had his best finish since he was 6th at Loudon last July.
#19-Jeremy Mayfield (11th) had his best finish since he was 6th at Martinsville last October.
#31-Jeff Burton (12th) had his best finish since he was 6th at Phoenix last November.
#66-Hermie Sadler (29th) had his best finish since he was 23rd at Talladega last October.
STREAKIN….Jimmie Johnson has 13 Top-10’s in a row.
Greg Biffle has 5 Top-10’s in the last 6 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is a tie between Jamie McMurray (+29) and Jeff Burton (+29), followed by Casey Mears (+28), Matt Kenseth (+21), and Mike Bliss (+20). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Kasey Kahne (-32), followed by Tony Stewart (-21), Elliott Sadler (-20), and Jeff Green (-20). This is the second BD of the season for Kahne.
Greg Biffle cut 25 points off Jimmie Johnson’s lead today….its now 135. The “Stayin’ Alive” line is up to 17, and if Johnson keeps stringing these Top-10’s together we can forget that 400 point codicil in the “Chase” rules. We had three drivers move forward six spots in the points today. Sterling Marlin, Casey Mears, and Michael Waltrip all made the advance. Two drivers (Tony Stewart & Jeff Green) moved six spots in the negative direction. As for the privileged list for next week (regarding qualifying), Mike Wallace has earned the final exemption while Bobby Hamilton Jr will now have to time his way into the field. Bobby Labonte will still be in line for the Champions Provisional (should he need it).(Stock Car Fans)(4-17-2005)
