| | | | | | PRELUDE TO SUCCESS | Winner of Atlanta Motor Speedway often wins Texas | |
| | Reid Spencer / Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service In each of the past three seasons, the winner of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway has gone on to win the following week at Texas Motor Speedway.
Only once, however, has a driver who has gone back-to-back at Atlanta and Texas gone on to win the championship. Jimmie Johnson's double last year was part of a four-victory string that propelled him to the title, but Carl Edwards in 2005 fell short of his championship bid. And though Tony Stewart also won both of those races in '06, he did not qualify for the Chase and therefore was not eligible for the championship.
Greg Biffle, second in the championship standings and 149 points behind Johnson, would like to be the fourth Atlanta/Texas double winner, and he thinks the remaining tracks in the Chase are favorable to him. That should come as no surprise, given that Biffle won three straight races at Homestead-Miami Speedway from 2004-2006.
"Whoever runs good here (Atlanta) is bound to run good next week and at Homestead, and I feel like we're gonna run good here," Biffle said Friday morning. "We know the 99 (Carl Edwards) is gonna run well and we know the 48 (Johnson) is probably gonna be strong.
"We know the 31 (Jeff Burton) will run well. We expect to see the same guys run well that have been running well, and I think it's gonna be a direct indicator to see who runs well next week and the rest of the Chase, really."
Biffle, second-place Burton (152 points behind) and fourth-place Edwards (198 behind) will need their best efforts at Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead to threaten Johnson, who is seeking a record-tying third straight Cup championship.
| | Posted October 30, 2008 , 1:11 am EST
Last Updated October 30, 2008 , 1:31 am EST | | | | | | | | | | |
