Busch Grand National Series

Biffle by a Nose at IRP

CLERMONT, Ind. (Aug. 3, 2002) - Whew! It was a close one, but Greg Biffle held off a hard-charging Jason Keller and beat him to the line by 0.147 seconds to take the checkered flag in the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP). Not only did Biffle make his fourth trip to Victory Lane in 2002, but he did it starting from the pole position for the second time this season. The other came at The Milwaukee Mile on June 30. Track position meant everything at IRP, and Biffle maintained it on the track while the Grainger over-the-wall crew made it happen on pit road.

Biffle paced the field for the first 43 laps of the 200-lap event. The Grainger Ford was extremely loose exiting the corners during the early laps of the race, however, and as a result Biffle fell back to third where he would run until the second caution on lap 61. During the caution period, Biffle took the opportunity to pit for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. The crew performed the service and sent him back out in sixth place. Biffle was actually the second driver to leave pit road, but a few competitors chose not to pit during the caution, which dropped him back a few positions.

Racing resumed on lap 66, and Biffle quickly moved into fifth where he would remain through two cautions on laps 71 and 79. Biffle turned the heat up when the field went back to green on lap 91 though, and by lap 97 he moved into second place and would hold the position through an extended green flag run. It looked as though Biffle would go on to finish the race in second, but the fifth caution on lap 169 changed everything.

Randy Goss radioed to Biffle that there were only 30 laps left and that he felt he should stay out for track position. Biffle agreed and originally planned to do so, but he saw Keller turn on to pit lane and decided to do the same. Biffle brought the No. 60 Grainger Ford to a stop and the Grainger crew went to work. They clicked of a 15.34-second stop and beat the No. 57 team off of pit road, which would be the deciding factor.

Biffle started the next run on lap 175 in sixth place with Keller tucked right on his bumper. Both of them lost positions when they pitted because some opted to stay out for the ever-important track position. It did not matter though, because with the new tires they moved right up to the front of the pack. Biffle took the lead for the final time on lap 190, and he held off Keller to the finish line. The pit stop proved to be the key element, and if Biffle had come out behind Keller on that final stop, the Grainger team would have had to settle with second.

The Grainger team gained five points over second place in the overall Busch Series standings with their win at IRP. Biffle now has an 82-point lead over Keller heading into the next event at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 17. Biffle will also attempt to make his second career Winston Cup start in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan on Aug. 18.

"Man that was close! Jason (Keller) and those guys are having a great season, and they're right there every week," said Biffle. "It's hard to celebrate when you win a race and only gain five points over the guy you're racing for the championship. I'm very excited with the win though, and the guys did and incredible job in the pits. Track position meant everything tonight, and they got me in front of the 57 when it mattered. Jason had a better car than I did on that last run, but he couldn't get by me because it's pretty hard to pass here. He could get a run on me low, but he would have to come out of the throttle about mid corner to keep from sliding up into me. I could get back into the throttle exiting the corners before he could, and that made all of the difference. I don't think I could've gotten by Jason if the roles would have been reversed. I really enjoy racing against him though, and tonight was a lot of fun.

"Thing are going pretty well for us right now, but we can't let our guard down. We want this championship, but there are a couple of other teams out there that want it just as bad. We've just got to keep showing up at the track and doing the best we can every time. There are still plenty of races left, and I think this one is going to go down to the wire."