| | Associated Press
Results
SPARTA, Ky. -- No matter how many times the caution flag drew the field back together, Greg Biffle was determined not to let anyone steal a victory out from under him.
Biffle took the lead on lap 108 of 150 and held the lead through
three restarts Saturday night to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series' inaugural Kroger 225 at the new Kentucky Speedway.
"The restarts were real important," said Biffle, who leads the
season points battle. "There was a lot of pressure, and I was
really nervous each time. It was important that I pace myself on
the restarts, and we had the gear package that was right to do
that.
"The truck was just awesome tonight when I was by myself, but
it wasn't so good when I had other guys around me."
The victory was Biffle's second straight and his third in the
last four races.
Jack Sprague, the defending series champion, outraced Mike
Wallace to the line for second. Sprague remained second in the
standings, and Wallace held the No. 3 position.
Biffle led 53 laps of the rain-delayed race and beat Sprague by
2.182 seconds in earning his sixth straight top-five finish. He and
Sprague each have three victories this season.
The race was delayed twice by rain for a total of 93 minutes.
Most of the 63,750 in attendance remained in their seats through a
62-minute delay midway through the race.
Light rain brought out the red flag on lap 82 with Wallace in
front, followed by Joe Ruttman, rookie points leader Kurt Busch,
Biffle and polesitter Bryan Reffner. Wallace took the lead from
Lance Norick on lap 64 and led the field until the trucks were
pulled off the track.
Shortly after the restart, Ruttman spun out entering a turn,
bringing out the caution flag for the sixth time. As the leaders
made their way into the pits for fuel and tire changes, Biffle
remained on the track and never looked back.
"I probably only had a gallon of gas left and the cords were
showing on the right side tires, but we're in victory lane," said
Biffle, who earned his 12th career victory. "We gambled and rolled
the dice. If we wouldn't have got those 15 caution flag laps, we
probably would have run out of gas."
Though frustrated with the finish, Sprague said he was impressed
by the new $153 million track built on more than 800 acres of
Kentucky farmland.
"How do you go 65 laps on one tank of gas?" Sprague asked.
"But you people have a great race track, so be proud of it.
There's a lot of dumps out there, and you're not in one of them."
The race began after a 31-minute delay to dry the track
following afternoon thundershowers.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Terry Cook leaves the Kroger 225 early with a first-lap crash.
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Greg Biffle takes the checkered flag at the inaugural Kroger 225.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Greg Biffle is excited to win the first Kroger 225.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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