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Greg Biffle has an average running position of 7.9 in the last four races at Darlington.Numbers: Darlington
Biffle looks to erase memories of last year's last-place run
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It's been a relatively quiet season for Greg Biffle.
While his Roush teammates have all had their share of headlines in 2009 -- Matt Kenseth wins the first two races; David Ragan has a new sponsor; Carl Edwards' horrific Talladega crash; and Jamie McMurray's possible departure from the team -- Biffle has quietly gone about his business and is currently ranked 11th in points.
The Bif hasn't won a race, yet, but has three top-fives and five top-10s in the first 10 races. Now he heads to Darlington Raceway, a track he has dominated since the historic venue started hosting the Mother's Day event in 2005.
A look back to last year shows Biffle finished 43rd after engine trouble, but that doesn't tell the story of his dominance at the track. He won in 2005, he won in 2006, and he's led more laps (441) than any other driver in the last four races.
But history is against Biffle Saturday night in the Southern 500 (7 p.m. ET, FOX) -- and it's his own.
Biffle has finished last four times in his Cup career -- and no matter how successful he is at that track, his return following a last-place finish hasn't been one to get excited about. But with his past success at the Track Too Tough to Tame, Saturday could be an exception.
Inside the data
Greg Biffle the race at a track after a last-place finish in the Cup Series
New HampshireIn 2003, Greg Biffle made just his third start at the Magic Mile and lost an engine 108 laps in. His return in 2004 wasn't any better as Biffle crashed 30 laps from the finish and finished 35th.
CharlotteIn the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, Greg Biffle finished 43rd after being involved in a crash 45 laps into NASCAR's longest race. His return in the fall looked promising with a top-10 starting position but he finished three laps down in 27th.
DaytonaGreg Biffle crashed out of last year's Coke Zero 400 after just 69 laps. In this year's Daytona 500, he started 35th and salvaged a 20th-place finish.
DarlingtonAfter starting on the pole, Greg Biffle lost his engine last year at the Lady in Black on Lap 234 after leading 95 laps and looking like the car to beat. Will he be able to rebound at one of his better tracks on the schedule?
Did you know?
0.002Margin of victory when Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch at the line in the 2003 spring race at Darlington. The finish is the closest in NASCAR history since it started scoring electronically in 1993.
Necessitous Numbers
2Number of drivers entered in Saturday's race with an average finish inside the top 10 at the track: Denny Hamlin (6.3) and Jimmie Johnson (7.4).
2Only two drivers in Cup history have won 15 races before they were 25 -- Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, who won No. 15 last week at Richmond.
3There are three tracks on the Cup Series schedule where Tony Stewart has not won a Cup race -- Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway.
5Jeff Gordon has finished in the top three in the last five races at Darlington, including a victory in 2007. Ironically, the three races before that stretch he finished outside the top 30.
8In 10 races at Darlington, Jimmie Johnson has eight top-10s including two wins. He has only one finish outside the top 13 and has led at least 17 laps in seven of the 10 races.
9.1Average starting position of the winner at Darlington in the last 10 Cup races. Seven of the 10 winners started inside the top 10. The most wins at Darlington have come from the pole, 18, but the last time that happened was Dale Jarrett in 1997.
26Number of lead lap finishes for Mark Martin at Darlington, a track record.
249Number of laps Ryan Newman has led at Darlington, tops among drivers entered in Saturday's race without a win. Newman has started four of 10 races from the front row, has led in seven races and has five top-five finishes but has never been able to lead when it matters most.
388Congratulations to Jeff Gordon. With his eighth-place finish at Richmond, Gordon passed Richard Petty and moved up to second all-time in lead-lap finishes in the Cup Series with 388. Mark Martin tops the list with 451.
710Number of points Jeff Gordon has earned at Darlington in the last four races, tops among all drivers. In those four races, Gordon has a first, two seconds and a third and has led a lap in all four races. Jimmie Johnson has the second-most points (610) and Matt Kenseth is third (566).
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Darlington Raceway
Drivers with multiple wins at the track
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Pearson | 47 | 10 | 24 | 30 |
| Dale Earnhardt | 44 | 9 | 19 | 24 |
| Jeff Gordon | 28 | 7 | 16 | 19 |
| Bill Elliott | 52 | 5 | 22 | 35 |
| Darrell Waltrip | 55 | 5 | 18 | 23 |
| Cale Yarborough | 49 | 5 | 11 | 17 |
| Bobby Allison | 45 | 5 | 13 | 26 |
| Harry Gant | 31 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
| Herb Thomas | 7 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Dale Jarrett | 36 | 3 | 11 | 13 |
| Richard Petty | 65 | 3 | 25 | 34 |
| Buck Baker | 30 | 3 | 7 | 15 |
| LeeRoy Yarbrough | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Greg Biffle | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Fireball Roberts | 20 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| Terry Labonte | 54 | 2 | 11 | 20 |
| Nelson Stacy | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Buddy Baker | 58 | 2 | 15 | 22 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 10 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Ward Burton | 21 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Jeff Burton | 26 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| Fred Lorenzen | 16 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Sterling Marlin | 46 | 2 | 10 | 16 |
| Joe Weatherly | 14 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
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