Greg Biffle has yet to win in the 2012 season, but rock-solid consistency allowed him to enter tonight's Samsung Mobile 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway with the point lead. After 50 laps, the spring 2005 Texas winner's car paces the field as he seeks to end a winless drought dating back to October 2010, when he won at the Kansas Speedway.
Kevin Harvick runs second, having torn through the field from his 15th-place starting spot. Most of his passes came in the latter stages of the opening fuel run, with Harvick flying around his rivals right up near the outside retaining wall. Polesitter Martin Truex Jr., defending race champion Matt Kenseth, and Tasmania's Marcos Ambrose round out the top-five.
High-winds have provided a bit of early trouble for many teams. Not only does the tail-wind into the third turn make the car unstable, but as the winds whip throughout the 1.5-mile facility, it has blown hot dog wrappers and similar garbage throughout the track and onto the grille-opening of some cars. Those drivers were all forced to pit road to get the trash off their nose to allow the oh-so-critical water temperatures to return to normal operating levels.