Biffle on pole for tonight’s Sprint Cup race

Associated Press

DARLINGTON, S.C.

Sprint Cup points leader Greg Biffle feels he’s running like he used to at Darlington Raceway and that’s bad news for the rest of the Southern 500 field.

Biffle earned his second pole at Darlington and the 11th of his career with a fast lap of 180.257 mph Friday to squeeze past the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne.

“I said it three times, I’m having such a great time driving these race cars,” Biffle said. “This is what a racecar driver looks forward to in showing up every weekend and having a fast car to drive. They’re sure making my life easy.”

Ryan Newman starts fourth followed by Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin, a winner at Pheonix and Kansas this year. Regan Smith, the 2011 Darlington winner, was ninth and Jeff Burton qualifying 10th. Danica Patrick will start 38th for her second-ever Sprint Cup event. She was guaranteed a spot in tonight’s race because of the No. 10 car’s points standing.

For a long time Friday, it looked like an all-Hendrick front row after Kahne had a hot lap of 179.556 mph and teammate Johnson matched him a short time later. That’s when Biffle took to the track for his pole-winning performance.

“It was a pretty uneventful lap,” Biffle said. “The car’s got a ton of grip. It stuck to the race track really, really well.”

And it’s got Biffle thinking he’s got the stuff to continue his strong start: “I feel that special season already. I certainly think that we’re going to be tough in competition all year,” he said.

Biffle was a Darlington master since first running here in 2003. He won in 2005 and 2006 after the track’s schedule was cut to one race and the date moved to Mother’s Day weekend. Biffle’s finished in the top 15 or better in eight of his 11 Sprint Cup races here.