Biffle pulls off surprise

Monday, Feb. 9, 2004 | 9:55 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- One of the more improbable unions in NASCAR racing has produced a most unlikely pole-sitter for Sunday's Daytona 500.

Rival team owners Jack Roush and Robert Yates merged their engine programs late last year and Roush Racing's Greg Biffle went out Sunday and grabbed the pole for the 46th running of the "Great American Race" with a lap of 188.387 mph.

"The driver does not do a whole lot to be on the pole here at Daytona," Biffle said, referring to the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates in use at Daytona International Speedway.

"I'm so proud of (the team) for what they have done and the car they've given me to drive here. It's pretty exciting."

Elliott Sadler, who drives for Robert Yates Racing, will start on the outside of the all-Ford front row for the Daytona 500 after a qualifying run of 188.355 mph. Yates' other driver, Dale Jarrett, was the fifth-fastest qualifier and won Saturday's night 70-lap Budweiser Shootout.

Only the top two starting positions for the Daytona 500 were set in Sunday's qualifying. Thursday's two 125-mile qualifying races will determine positions 3 through 30. Positions 31 through 38 will be set by Sunday's qualifying speeds (the top eight speeds among drivers who are not in the top 30 after Thursday's races) and the final five spots are provisional positions assigned based on last year's final car owner standings.

It was the first pole for Biffle, who is starting his second full season in the Nextel Cup Series and Roush admitted to being caught off guard by his driver's qualifying effort.

"I hadn't expected to be under the limelight here with Greg at this juncture, a week before the race," Roush said. "The idea of having the pole -- I'd never given it a consideration."

Biffle, who was the only driver among last year's rookie class to win a race last season when he captured the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July, said he is eager to get racing in Thursday's qualifier and Sunday's Daytona 500.

"Certainly, everybody has a fair chance at winning the 500 and I thought we had an opportunity to win it," Biffle said. "I never thought I'd have an opportunity to sit on the pole, but now my chances of winning the 500 are extremely better than they were."

Sadler, who held the pole for about 30 minutes before being knocked off by Biffle, said he wasn't surprised to see good things come from the melding of Roush's and Yates' engine programs.

"It's no secret that Robert Yates has always had great horsepower and Jack Roush has always had great fuel mileage," Sadler said. "You put those two together, which is what I think we're learning, (and) we're going to have a team to be reckoned with week in and week out.

"If you have to lose (the pole) to anybody, I would love to lose to somebody who has engines from our same program."

Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan qualified 19th at 187.071 mph in the No. 77 Kodak Dodge and will start 10th in Thursday's first 125-mile qualifier.

"All in all, it wasn't that bad of a lap," said Gaughan, a rookie in the Nextel Cup Series. "We came in here and we were able to go a little bit quicker than we went in practice, so we feel pretty good."

Fellow Las Vegan Kurt Busch posted the 23rd-fastest speed (186.648) in the No. 97 Sharpie Ford and will start 12th in the same qualifying race as Gaughan.

"It's one of those deals where we thought we would go a little quicker than that, but it's a heck of a lot better than what we've been in the past," Busch said. "Last year, we barely got (into the Daytona 500) on time and this year we have a good, solid starting position for our 125."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted the third-fastest qualifying speed Sunday while Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner and the defending race champion, was 13th-fastest.

Jeff Green, who won the pole here a year ago while driving a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, was 25th fastest Sunday in a Petty Enterprises Dodge.