Greg Biffle took the win at New Hampshire for the first round of the ‘08 Chase to the Championship in the NA$CAR CUP SERIES. Biffle passed Jimmie johnson with 11 laps to go to claim his first win since Kansas in ‘07 nearly one year ago.
“I feel better than I ever have about running these next (nine) races,” Biffle said. “I’m physically, mentally prepared for what we got coming up.”
Cousin Carl Edwards was 3rd, Jeff Burton 4th, and Dale Earnhardt, jr. in 5th.
If you are wondering what happened to Kyle Bush, he had a tough day at the office. About 18 laps into the event he brushed the wall coming off turn 4. On the radio, he informed the crew he thought he had a broken sway bar. As he fell back through the field, he tried to nurse the car to the first caution.
NA$CAR put out a mandatory caution after the leader completed lap 35. The wild child in his haste to get on pit road passed cars under caution. NA$CAR ticketed the #18 for a lap penalty. From there the day went from bad to worse for the JGR team. Bush finished 34th and fell from first to 8th in the standings. Kyle Bush was not in the mood to answer questions. After a brief meeting with Joe Gibbs, Bush left the track without comment.
Tony Stewart and Clint Boyer, both in the chase, also left the track without being interviewed by media.
Stewart went a lap down midway through the race when he was tagged by NASCAR for speeding while exiting pit road during a green-flag pit stop. He eventually got back on the lead lap and rallied for an eighth-place finish.
“Last week it was a mistake in the pits. This week it was a mistake on the driver’s part,” Stewart told a Toyota representive after the race.
When I predicted that Bush would stumble, I didn’t expect it in the first round. That must be a gut check for Bush and his chief, Steve Addington. I don’t think he is out at this point. he has used his mulligan. Others will have their trouble before it is over.
Sunday morning started out with rain showers over the speedway. The track was able to be dried to get the race in after all. So, we are on to Dover for the second race in the Chase.
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