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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Greg Biffle responds to questions about the newly paved track surface at Darlington Raceway.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, March 29, 2008 Auto notes: Biffle hopes to avoid speed bumps at Martinsville Also items on Martinsvile's trophy and Sam Hornish Jr. Greg Biffle always approaches races at Martinsville Speedway with trepidation. In his first nine starts on the .526-mile, paperclip-shaped oval, "The Biff" had a best finish of 17th in the fall of 2004. But a seventh-place run at the tiny Virginia track last October has Biffle excited, if still a bit nervous, heading into Sunday's Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville. "Martinsville over the years has not been my best track, but certainly the last couple of times I've been there I've gotten tremendously better," Biffle said. "I remember the last race there I was bumping on the back of the 48 car (of Jimmie Johnson) for the lead. So that was a highlight of my career, if you will. ... So I'm really looking forward to going back this week." The Roush Fenway Racing driver is also fired up about getting off to a great start this season. He is second in NASCAR Sprint Cup points after being inside the top 10 in all but one race so far. His lowest finish was a 15th in California, and his last three finishes have been third, fourth and fourth. "I'm just looking to continue that top-five streak," he said. "That's really our focus, and the reality is that if you put yourself in that top five, you're in a position to win, so it kind of goes hand in hand." Biffle isn't willing to say that Martinsville owes him, but it was one of the tracks that cost him a title in 2005 when he finished just 35 points behind champion Tony Stewart. In the last seven races of that year's Chase, Biffle had five finishes of seventh or better. But 20th-place finishes at Martinsville and Texas were his downfall. "Yeah, certainly if I would have gotten a 10th at Martinsville I would have won the title," Biffle said. He blames at least some of his Martinsville problems on his team's inability to make brakes last — a key to running well there. "I think that particular race (in 2005) Matt (Kenseth) finished 18th, Mark (Martin) finished 19th and I finished 20th," Biffle said, referring to other Roush drivers that year. "All of us as a group were not that good at Martinsville, and I still think we have some work to do as a group." After that second-place finish overall in 2005 — a year in which he won six races — Biffle went into a protracted slump, missing the Chase each of the past two seasons, falling to 13th and 14th in the standings. Now, after finishing last season strong and a lot of hard work over the winter, it appears he is back in the thick of the championship battle. But Biffle isn't taking anything for granted. "This sport is so humbling and so tough," he said. "One day you feel like you're pretty good and the next day you're way behind. It is hard to keep a level head and a level playing field and keep consistency. "Our program is really, really running well, (but) I'm really nervous about Martinsville this weekend," Biffle said. "Like I said, that place has not been my best race track in the past, but I'm excited about it now because we ran so well there last time. "Texas and Phoenix, I can't wait. I want to win a race bad. I'm not saying I can't win at Martinsville, but it is more likely for me to win at Phoenix or Texas than Martinsville." TROPHY TIME: Winners at Martinsville receive a grandfather clock and it remains one of the most unique — and coveted — trophies in NASCAR. "Yeah, and I can tell you right where they are at, and they are very special," two-time Martinsville winner Bobby Labonte said. "I've been fortunate enough to win races in NASCAR, and there are some special trophies out there, but nothing may be more unique or full of history than the Martinsville grandfather clock. "You think about how long Martinsville has been a part of our sport, and the drivers who own one or two, and, wow, that's pretty impressive. Richard Petty, think about how many clocks he has. He's not going to forget what time it is. But, really it's a trophy that stands out for sure." ALL'S WELL: The preseason arrangement that gave Kurt Busch's 2007 points to new teammate Sam Hornish Jr. is over. At the first five races, the top 35 in last year's car-owner points were guaranteed a spot in each event. Hornish got the benefit of that, while Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, took his chances on qualifying, knowing that as the most recent former champion out of the top 35 he too was guaranteed a starting spot at the rear of the field. Heading into Martinsville, the first race that the current top 35 is being used, Busch is 10th and Hornish, who has struggled in the races, is still where he needs to be — barely. The former open-wheel champion is 35th, just four points head of Jamie McMurray. Busch is very pleased with his team's performance and the fact that being in the top 35 also guarantees the No. 2 hauler a place in the main garage area. "We shouldn't have problems locating our team's transporter this weekend, and that'll be a pleasant change," Busch said. "It felt a little bit like being a world explorer every week, asking around and even calling (crew chief) Pat (Tryson) on the cell phone to find out where we were parked." The worst moments came at Atlanta, where rain turned their parking area into a mudhole. "Our transporter was parked way back in the far corner of the garage," Busch noted. "It was actually a shorter walk from my coach to the transporter than it was from the transporter to the NASCAR office transporter. "Seriously, though, it was pretty difficult to see our guys have to work outside the garage area under a tent until qualifying was over. With the rain and all, some of the guys resorted to wearing rain boots and all because of all the grass and mud out there. Through it all, the entire team showed so much class. I never heard a single complaint from any of the guys." STAT OF THE WEEK: The Sprint Cup Series races at 22 tracks, of which only Martinsville was part of the sanctioning body's first season in 1948. Fonty Flock won the first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville, a July 4 event that featured mostly Modifieds and included NASCAR founder and president Bill France Sr. among the drivers. He finished eighth. The track opened in 1947 — a year ahead of NASCAR's birth — with just 750 seats. Now, there are 65,000 seats. NASCAR's premier series began racing twice yearly at the track in 1950.

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