By GERALD HODGES The Racing Reporter
CNHI
8-11-10 — Greg Biffle, who hadn't won a Cup race since 2008 took Sunday's
Pennsylvania 500 to give Ford its first win of the season.
"It was the engine," said Biffle, who finished nearly 4-seconds ahead of
runner-up Tony Stewart. "The engine was so strong. The car wasn't too good
early on, but the team never gave up.
"It's been tough getting this win."
A wreck involving the No. 2 driven by Kurt Busch and the No. 19 of
Elliott Sadler brought out a red flag with 35 laps remaining in the 200-lap
race.
It apparently was triggered by Jimmie Johnson who was attempting to bump
draft off the rear of Kurt Busch.
"He (Johnson) just drove straight into the rear of my car," said Busch.
Both cars were completely totaled. The motor of Sadler's No. 19 was
knocked completely out and came to rest about one hundred feet from where
his car stopped.
"It knocked the breath out of me," said Sadler, after being released
from the infield care center. "That's the hardest hit I've ever
experienced."
NASCAR stopped the race for over 20 minutes for cleanup crews to remove
the debris and dirt from the track.
All the cars pitted for fresh tires and fuel. Biffle's team elected to
put on only two fresh ones, while several others took four. Biffle returned
to the track in the second spot.
There were 22-laps left when green flag racing resumed. Sam Hornish was
the leader, followed by Biffle, Mark Martin, and Carl Edwards.
Biffle quickly got by Hornish and began to distance himself from the the
rest of the field.
"The team did an awesome job getting us out of the pits on the last stop
as the first car with four tires," said Stewart. "No way we could catch
Biffle. Maybe in another 15 or 20 laps. He was just too strong."
Carl Edwards finished a strong second in another Ford.
"It's been a long day," said Edwards. "We picked up some points today,
and hopefully we can make a good run for the Chase."
Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton,
Martin Truex, and Jimmie Johnson were the remaining top-10 finishers.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 23rd.
Top-15 Chase drivers. Only 12 will be eligible for the 10-race Chase
which begins in four more races. 1. Harvick-3080, 2. J. Gordon-2891, 3.
Hamlin-2820, 4. Johnson-2803, 5. Burton-2757, 6. Kyle Busch-2724, 7. Kurt
Busch-2722, 8. Stewart-2719, 9. Kenseth-2682, 10. Edwards-2666, 11.
Biffle-2652, 12. Bowyer-2564, 13. Martin-2530, 14. Earnhardt-2435, 15.
Newman-2426