BROOKLYN, Mich. - Greg Biffle was proud of himself for an unlikely reason after winning the NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway.
"The guys did a great job and I didn't make any mistakes, which is pretty unusual for me to race an entire day and not make any mistakes," Biffle said after pulling away from teammate Mark Martin for an easy victory Sunday in the GFS Marketplace 400.
Biffle, the only driver to win the Busch and Craftsman Truck series title, has struggled through most of his 65-race Nextel Cup career, finishing 20th in points last year as a rookie and failing to become a contender this season. He had just one top-10 finish in the first 19 races of 2004.
But things began to change this month, with finishes of fourth at Pocono and sixth at Indianapolis before a 35th-place run a week ago on the road course at Watkins Glen.
"It's been tough at times this season, but I knew we could be in Victory Lane this year," Biffle said. "We've got this 16 car ironed out."
Martin and crew chief Pat Tryson chose to take only two tires on their final pit stop, while Biffle and the rest of the leaders took four. That gave Martin track position, but he was unable to come close to chasing down Biffle's Ford.
Biffle pulled steadily away from Martin's Taurus in the closing laps, beating his Roush Racing teammate to the finish by 8.216 seconds - nearly half the front straightaway on the 2-mile oval.
"I was a little bit concerned because you never know what Mark Martin has up his sleeve," Biffle said. "He's always an aggressive race car driver. ... Thank goodness he took two tires. I knew it was over then."
The driver from Vancouver, Wash., led a race-high 73 of the 200 laps and averaged 139.063 mph, slowed by a Michigan record-tying nine caution flags.
Martin, who won this year in Dover, and is making a strong run at a spot in NASCAR's 10-race playoff, lost ground when he was penalized after a crewman failed to get a lugnut tightened on his left rear tire during a pit stop on the 130th lap. The four-time series runnerup, leading before that stop, fell to 23rd for the ensuing restart.
Martin didn't fault his team: "Everybody has problems and mistakes, including the driver. I pile this thing into the concrete once in a while, too."
There are three races remaining before the field is set for the Chase for the Championship, with the top 10 drivers racing over the last 10 events for the title. After the race Sept. 11 in Richmond, NASCAR will reset the points, with the leader only five ahead of the runnerup and 45 in front of the 10th-place driver.
The points race tightened Sunday when Jimmie Johnson - who took the lead with a fourth-place run here in June and led by 232 just three weeks ago - had an engine failure for the third straight week and finished 40th. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon moved to the top.
In the battle for the bottom of the top 10, Martin moved to 12th, 33 points behind Kasey Kahne. His fifth-place finish moved Kahne ahead of Evernham Motorsports teammate Jeremy Mayfield into 10th.
There are several within sight of the top 10, but Biffle is well out of the running in 18th, 370 points behind Kahne.
"We're going to win more races this year and we're going to be competitive for the top 10 and the championship next year," Biffle promised.
