"The Biff" couldn't even take one checkered flag through the first 26 races of the season.
None of that matters heading into the second race in the Chase at Dover. Biffle has what the more decorated drivers don't -- the first win in the Chase for the championship, a surprise victory to everyone but himself that stamped him as a legitimate contender to win his first Sprint Cup title.
While Johnson's run for his third straight Cup title and Kyle Busch's push for the championship that would cap a sizzling "regular season," have grabbed the headlines, Biffle believes his steady season can end with a spectacular finish and make the biggest splash of the year.
"It's easy to start looking at the guys who are always in the limelight and look to them for success," Biffle said on Friday. "Some of the guys sort of get overlooked, but that doesn't really bother me any. Certainly, if we end up winning the title, they'll be talking about us, so I know that's what I need to do."
Up ahead for Biffle is perhaps the best track for him to build on the momentum off the win at New Hampshire: he starts fifth at the mile concrete track at Dover International Speedway. He finished third here in June, has reeled off five straight top-10 finishes overall and won the race back in June 2005. Plus, Biffle has two more victories at Dover in the Nationwide Series.
"Certainly past success, that momentum thing, you feel like you can win or be successful at places you've won at in the past," Biffle said.
Biffle -- who has a Truck Series championship and Busch (now Nationwide) Series title -- thought he would have a had at least a couple of more shots at winning the title following his breakout 2005 season. He won six races that season, made the Chase and finished second in the overall standings -- a mere 35 points behind Stewart. The last two years, Biffle struggled with his consistency and was shut out of that final 10-race sprint to the title.
"I'm thinking about what small mistakes I may have made last time and what I'm going to need to do this time to be able to win the championship and not be 35 points short when I get to Homestead," Biffle said. "Hopefully, it'll be the other way around, 35 points (ahead)."
Biffle's win not only snapped a 33-race winless streak, his self-described "textbook pass" down the stretch for the win vaulted him from ninth to third in the Chase standings. He's only 30 points behind co-leaders Johnson and Carl Edwards entering Sunday's race.
Johnson has three career Cup victories on the Monster Mile and Edwards won the September race last year. While Biffle is pushing the leaders hard, Edwards isn't ready to relinquish the top spot after only one week.
"I really enjoyed this week," Edwards said. "It's kind of cool to open the paper and see your name at the top of the Sprint Cup standings. That's a big deal. Where I come from, that's huge."
Edwards, though, won six Cup races this season and was a heavy favorite to win his first championship. Biffle only finished second once and had seven other top-five finishes before New Hampshire. Busch isn't backing down either after a 34th-place finish in the first Chase race that plummeted him from first to ninth.
"Yeah, we fell a little bit behind, but I don't think that's anything we can't make up," Busch said. "I remember we were behind Jeff Burton and Dale Junior both and we caught those guys and took the lead in points and held it for a long time. Hopefully, the opportunity is there for us again."
Not if Biffle can help it. He wants to prove all that talk about being a long shot and a darkhorse is just that -- talk. Another strong run Sunday in the No. 16 Ford will show everyone that his title push is the real deal.
"I'm a big believer in momentum and I feel like that's why we started the Chase so strong," he said. "You've got to have confidence in your team, your crew, everything. Right now, we've got a lot of confidence."
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