AUTO CLUB 500: BIFFLE BAFFLES THE OTHER DRIVERS TWO RUNS FROM LAST JUST ENOUGH TO EDGE JOHNSON.

Byline: Louis Brewster Staff Writer

FONTANA - Greg Biffle drove the race of his life Sunday afternoon, and he needed every bit of skill to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup Auto Club 500 ahead of a fast-closing Jimmie Johnson.

In the closest of the 10 Cup races at California Speedway, Biffle crossed the finish line 0.231 seconds ahead of Johnson in front of a crowd estimated at 95,000. It was Biffle's fourth career Cup win, at a track on which he won both Busch Series races in 2004.

``This was the toughest of my life to earn, out of my victories,'' said Biffle, who drove the National Guard/Post-It Ford owned by Jack Roush. ``We overcame more today than I ever have in a race car.''

He had to come from the back of the field on two occasions, both after pit stops. The driver from Vancouver, Wash., nearly went down by a lap and was on the tail end of the lead lap in the middle of the 250-lap race when he was caught on pit road.

``I came back from 30th - twice,'' Biffle said. ``I had to pass every car and earned it. That's why I freed the car up so much, because I was back in traffic. And when I went out front, it was so dang loose I couldn't drive it, just couldn't drive it.

``But we were able to hang on to it.''

Roush teammate Kurt Busch, the defending series champion, finished third, and two other Roush drivers - Carl Edwards, in fifth, and Mark Martin, in seventh - finished near the front. Matt Kenseth, the fifth Roush driver in the 43-car field, finished 26th, a lap down.

It was the first time three Roush cars appeared in the top five since March 23, 2003, at Bristol, R.I. The last time Roush had four drivers in the top 10 was the second Michigan race last summer.

Jamie McMurray was fourth in a Dodge, with Kevin Harvick sixth in a Chevrolet. Elliott Sadler, winner of the fall 2004 race at California Speedway, Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace rounded out the top 10.

Biffle passed Busch coming out of Turn 4 on lap 227 and never looked back. His biggest lead was 1.547 seconds over Busch 21 laps from the finish, before Johnson started his rally to record his second consecutive runner-up finish in the event.

``Man, I wanted to win at home so bad,'' said Johnson, from El Cajon, who got around Busch on the 249th lap. ``We put all our effort there at the end. We got out of sequence, we did a fuel-only (pit stop). We suffered pretty bad from it. And then, on the restart, we started off 10th or so and got in a battle with a bunch of lapped cars ... and knocked me up in the marbles, and I had to start over.

``I was surprised I even got back up to where I did. The Roush cars and a lot of those guys stayed up there the last (pit) stop. It worked for them because of the four-tire guys got hung up in traffic. If we just had another corner I think there would have been a different outcome to this race.''

Not surprisingly, Biffle didn't agree.

``Ninety percent of the time, the fastest car out here doesn't win,'' Biffle said. ``In this case, the fastest car out there today did. It was close, but I was doing everything I could. I was doing what I knew best to do, and that was to try not to make a mistake, (whether) you call those making mistakes or you call it just getting every ounce that you can out of the race car.

``I got every ounce I could out of that race car today.''

Busch got a close look at Biffle's efforts at the end.

``He was running at a stronger pace but wearing his stuff out,'' he said. ``He actually rubbed the fence off (Turn) 2, and you could smell it. I was like, 'That's Biffle.' I just ran out of tire and ran out of time.

``It was a great race. That's what it's supposed to be when guys are on different programs and it all comes together out at the end.''

For many, the question was whether to pit on the last of the seven caution periods, on lap 218. Biffle opted not to, and those who did had to choose between taking on two or four new tires.

``We did none, and we should have done four,'' Wallace said. ``We got our butts beat because of that.''

The real shocker of the race was the dismal showing, aside from Johnson, by cars with Hendrick Motorsports engines. Three drivers with Hendrick power lost their engines, including Jeff Gordon, who finished 30th, two laps down.

MB2 Motorsports, which leases engines from Hendrick, fared no better. Joe Nemechek, who led three times for a race-high 63 laps, lost the lead on lap 177 when his engine expired; he finished 39th, six slots below teammate Scott Riggs.

Louis Brewster, [phone]

l-brewster(at)dailybulletin.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) BIFFLE SCRAPES BY

Despite hitting wall, he holds off Jimmie Johnson to win Auto Club 500 in Fontana

(2) Greg Biffle, left, finishes the Auto Club 500 ahead of Jimmie Johnson in the closest of the 10 Cup races at California Speedway.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer

Box:

NASCAR-Nextel Cup Auto Club 500 Results