Notes: Biffle ends M'ville woes with top-10 finish

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Greg Biffle is one driver who hasn't solved Martinsville. That's why he was elated by his 10th-place finish Monday -- his second top-10 in 15 races at the short track.

To finish where he did, Biffle had to overcome a pit-road speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the field for a restart on Lap 243.

"I tell you what, it was kind of a spectacular day for us," said Biffle, the only driver to finish in the top 10 in each of the six races this season. "We were up and down, up and down. I don't know how I got caught speeding on pit road. I didn't think there was enough distance to get going that fast.

"That really hurt us because we spent the whole rest of the day getting our track position back. I feel like we had a top-10 car probably at best [Monday], but that is a great run for us here --unbelievable."

Video: Biffle goes for a spin

Frustration hounds Busch

Kurt Busch has one victory at Martinsville, but no top-10s since he joined Penske Racing to start the 2006 season. Monday's race brought more frustration. Busch led 19 laps early but fell victim to a loose wheel that required an unscheduled green-flag pit stop on Lap 386.

"Man, I just can't seem to ever catch a break here at this old place," Busch said after the race. "We led early, and then the handling started going away. [Crew chief] Steve [Addington] and the guys started working with some wedge and track bar adjustments that brought the car back to life."

Busch was running sixth when he was forced to pit under green for the loose right-front wheel. He eventually regained the two laps he lost but finished 23rd.

"Just a typical Martinsville race for us," said Busch, who enters the off-week sixth in the Cup standings, 122 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

Old Timer's Day

Former NASCAR stars Buddy Baker, Harry Gant and Ned Jarrett returned to Martinsville Speedway this weekend as guests of track president Clay Campbell.

Gant, a three-time winner on NASCAR's oldest, shortest circuit, said he hadn't been to the track since 1994 and was surprised by all the changes in and around the 0.526-mile oval.

"The track has changed so much I couldn't hardly find my way in the gate to figure out where I was going," Gant said Sunday in the media center, which he surmised was probably three times larger than any media center in the sport during his long racing career.

With rain falling and drivers wearing knit caps and winter coats for driver introductions, the old timers were asked to recall their coldest days in racing.

"Just after Daytona when we used to go to Rockingham," Baker said of the track in Rockingham, N.C., which stopped hosting races in NASCAR's premier series in 2004.

"I can remember going back home after the first day of practice and I woke up and it was snowing, and I said, 'Well, there's no need in hurrying back to Rockingham,'" Baker said.

His leisurely day was interrupted when his team called to say the race was still on.

"Lucky I had my uniform with me," he said, adding that he drove to the track, parked his car and hopped in his race car just in time to hear, "Gentleman, start your engines."

"That's how close I was to missing it," he said.

Baker's one win at Martinsville came in 1979.

"I can remember just one little grandstand over here and down the back straightaway, and if you were beating Richard Petty, the people would stick their hands through the fence and let you know what they thought of you as you went by," he said. "I do remember that."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.