Greg Biffle led 1,322 laps in 2005. Credit: Autostock

Biffle's season not worthy of title, but close

Six wins put Biffle in hunt, but notable flaws kept him from Cup

It was, quite simply, the year of Biffle.

Greg Biffle. The man who had closed the season with a bang in 2004 opened the 2005 season as if he wanted to win every race. When he didn't win, he was incredibly frustrated, but he had six weeks where he was perfectly content.

Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Greg Biffle in 2005 Race Start Finish Daytona 23 25 Fontana 5 1 Las Vegas 3 6 Atlanta 6 3 Bristol 10 9 Martinsville 8 29 Texas 5 1 Phoenix 3 41 Talladega 29 13 Darlington 3 1 Richmond 9 6 Charlotte 29 6 Dover 2 1 Pocono 23 30 Michigan 25 1 Sonoma 41 14 Daytona 18 36 Chicago 6 11 Loudon 9 5 Pocono 7 17 Indianapolis 31 21 Watkins Glen 3 28 Michigan 31 6 Bristol 4 3 Fontana 4 2 Richmond 2 3 Loudon 26 4 Dover 18 13 Talladega 8 27 Kansas 8 2 Charlotte 21 3 Martinsville 22 20 Atlanta 16 7 Texas 7 20 Phoenix 4 2 Homestead 7 1 Average 13.2 11.9 California kidBiffle gets his first win of the season at Fontana Strong finishBiffle wins at Miami for the second consecutive season Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

He won six times in 2005. It could have easily been 10.

Biffle exploded onto the scene with an astounding 13 top-three finishes, coming within a whisker (35 points) of matching Jeff Gordon's feat of winning the title in just his third full season.

No, Biffle didn't have the season that Tony Stewart put together. But it was close.

Biffle has long been known to be an abnormally talented driver, but the rules changes NASCAR implemented before the season only served to showcase those abilities. With a shorter spoiler and softer tires, Biffle gave 'em hell, especially in the first half, when he won five of the first 15 races.

"Ending up second in points was just incredible. Six wins. Just an amazing season for us," said Biffle. "It makes it hurt that we lost by 35 points."

Biffle failed to finish only one race -- he blew an engine at Phoenix in the spring -- and his 1,322 laps led and 15 top-fives were second only to Stewart.

Stewart was in Biffle's crosshairs throughout the final weeks of the season, but a pair of 20th-place finishes thwarted Biffle's title hopes. The final cut was Texas, where loose lugnuts forced him off the lead lap and out of the title chase with two weeks to go.

"It's something I'm going to think about for a long, long time," said Biffle. "I lost the [Craftsman Truck Series] championship by eight points in 1999 and lost one this year by 35, and we lost over 50 with the loose wheel."

Biffle was upset about Texas because his team, Roush Racing, was far and away the best outfit at figuring out the high-banked 1-mile to 2-mile tracks, which make up a large portion of the schedule. Biffle won all six of his races on these types of tracks.

"I can't be disappointed with second, geez, it has just been a phenomenal year. 17th [in points] last year to second," he said.

Still, there were disappointments. Biffle didn't record a top-10 finish at either road course or restrictor-plate track, and he also struggled at the larger flat tracks like Pocono and Indianapolis.

On the short tracks, Biffle excelled, although a late-race decision to stay out cost him a sure win at Bristol in the spring. He finished ninth there after leading 91 laps.

"So there's a lot of races that we gave up a tremendous amount of points, besides that loose wheel," said Biffle. "But that kind of sealed our fate there."