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Biffle Will Try To Beat The Odds

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By HOLLY CAIN, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 18, 2007

HOMESTEAD - Three different NASCAR Nextel Cup champions in the past three years have been crowned following dramatic and unpredictable outcomes in the season finale, the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

One thing has been a constant.

While the fireworks are flashing and the crowd cheering the newly anointed series champ on the track's front straightaway, Greg Biffle has stood atop the race winner's platform hoisting a trophy.

Sure, Biffle has had to share the spotlight with the championship coronation. Biffle will go for his fourth consecutive win at Homestead today.

"When you win a race internally it's a victory no matter what the headlines say," said Kurt Busch, who won the 2004 championship while his then-teammate Biffle won the race.

Should he pull off the odds-against feat, Biffle will join an elite list of only seven drivers in NASCAR history to win four consecutive events at a track on the current schedule.

It's only been done twice in the past 20 years. Jimmie Johnson was the last to do it in 2004-05 at Charlotte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed his four-peat at Talladega, Ala., during the 2001-03 seasons.

In fact, this event - with all that's on the line - is arguably the ultimate wild card. There are competing storylines with the championship race within a race. But there are many more drivers who are trying to salvage a season - keep a sponsor or keep a job. And you'd better believe the motivation affects the aggressiveness.

It creates a unique dynamic and has actually made Biffle's winning streak that much more unlikely.

"The odds are against you for sure," Biffle said. "But at least we feel like we show up with the adrenaline and I have a lot of confidence when I come here."

A victory this go-round at the 1.5-mile track would certainly validate a frustrating season for him. Two years ago he led the series with six wins and finished only 35 points behind Tony Stewart for the championship.

This year he's 15{+t}{+h} in points coming to Homestead and has only one win - Sept. 30 at Kansas City - to balance out seven finishes of 30{+t}{+h} or worse.

Far from feeling over-shadowed by the championship showdown, Biffle considers this one of the most coveted trophies on the schedule. And he's got quite a collection.

"The thing about the last race is that I'm the most recent winner until the checkered flag at the Daytona 500," Biffle said. "I think it's the longest period of time you can cherish a win for.

"It does a lot for the team over the winter. You show up at the garage for winter testing and you've won the last race. That does a lot for a guy."

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