DARLINGTON, S.C. - Greg Biffle overcame an early slow pit stop Saturday to win the Busch Diamond Hill Plywood 200.
Biffle, driving full time this season in Busch and Nextel Cup, beat Roush Racing teammate Jeff Burton by 3.115 seconds, a full straightaway on the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.
Biffle fell from first to seventh when a lug nut came unglued during a pit stop under caution on Lap 25. But his crew got the 2002 series champion out of the pits just in front of Burton on Lap 101 of the 147-lap event.
"My crew ripped off a great stop and got me out front when it counted," Biffle said. "And it's a good thing because it's hard to pass here and you've got to use up a lot of tire to make a pass.
"Burton's car being so strong, it might have been pretty hard for me to get by him at the end."
He and Burton swapped the lead several times before the last of four caution flags waved on Lap 99 when Mike Wallace crashed. Joe Nemechek stayed on as the others pitted and led when the green flag waved for Lap 105. Biffle and Burton quickly took advantage of Nemechek's worn tires, and Nemechek finished 28th, a lap down.
It was the first racing test of the SAFER barriers recently installed on the outside walls in all four turns on the already narrow track.
There were three crashes in Turns 3 and 4, none caused by the racing groove that is now 30 inches narrower. No injuries were reported, and there were no serious complaints.
"No one should complain that the racetrack is smaller because it's made the racetrack safer," Burton said. "It certainly does impact the way you drive, but it impacts it for everybody."
Pole-sitter remains fast despite car hitting wall
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Nothing is slowing Kasey Kahne these days, not even the wall at Darlington Raceway.
The rookie, the pole-sitter for today's Nextel Cup Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, banged off one of the SAFER barriers during the final practice.
"I got up in (Turns) 1 and 2, and there are some bumps up there," Kahne said. "I was running close to the wall, and it grabbed the wall and slid down it."
Kahne, 23, was third fastest in the opening practice at 166.073 mph, trailing only Ryan Newman at 166.523 and Jamie McMurray at 166.326.
The Evernham team got Kahne's car repaired in plenty of time for the second session, in which he was third again, improving to 169.561.
"The car is fine," Kahne said. "The crew did a great job getting it ready to go back out, and we got out in time for a 10-lap run."
IRL: Dan Wheldon followed his third-place finish at the opener three weeks ago by capturing his first pole for the Copper World Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. He went 174.779 mph on the 1-mile oval. Defending champion Tony Kanaan gave the Andretti Green Racing team a front-row sweep at 174.291 mph, nudging Helio Castroneves (174.168) to third.
FORMULA ONE: Michael Schumacher was on the pole for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
