Dirty air disturbs Biffle's early-race domination

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Greg Biffle had the dominant car for the first half of Sunday's Pure Michigan 400, leading 86 laps from the pole. However, he wound up a disappointing 20th when his No. 16 Ford failed to respond when faced with traffic, particularly in the final 30 laps of the race.

Biffle was running second behind eventual race winner Kyle Busch when the caution came out for debris on Lap 102. Crew chief Matt Puccia went with a traditional four-tire stop while several other teams gambled with a two-tire stop, putting Biffle back in the pack -- and in dirty air -- for the first time all day.

Biffle battled his way back into the top 10 -- and was running sixth on the next-to-last restart with just over 30 laps remaining -- but when the green flew, he faded quickly.

"I don't know what happened," Biffle said. "I am not sure. I have a feeling we kind of got a bum set of tires and then we got off on our adjustments.

"It was really, really tight and we adjusted on it. And then I think I was too loose the rest of the day. But I really don't know what happened to be honest with you. I really don't know right now."

His ninth finish of 20th or worse this season leaves Biffle 13th in the standings, 58 points behind 10th-place Tony Stewart. And without a victory in 2011, he trails race winners Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard and David Ragan in the battle for the two remaining wild card spots.

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