Baffled by Biffle? He's better than you think: looking for an underrated guy in NASCAR? Instead of a five-time winner, try Scott Riggs or Jason Leffler. They have loads of talent but lack some part of the elusive total package, and it has kept them out of victory lane

A list in a sports section recently caught my eye. It identified Greg Biffle as the most underrated driver in NASCAR. How can that be?

His win at Michigan was his fifth this season, but Biffle, who is 35, doesn't qualify as one of the sport's young guns, and he doesn't get anywhere near the pub Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson do. Under the radar, maybe, but not underrated.

Biffle has won championships in both the Busch Series (2002) and the Craftsman Truck Series (2000), and he is showing he has what it takes to become the first driver to score a NASCAR triple crown. Underappreciated, maybe, but not underrated.

Sometimes when a guy does something that makes us stop and pay attention to him, the perception is that he must be underrated or we would have noticed him already. Perhaps that's what 2005 is all about for Biffle.

Clearly, this is his breakout season in Nextel Cup. He has five wins, one additional top five finish and five more top 10s. He has led more races and laps than anyone in Cup, and three times he led the most laps in races, all wins.

He is second in points--a virtual lock for the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup--and has been for nine of 15 weeks.

So where has Biffle been that he gets put on some list as underrated? Just getting things together, really. Keep in mind this is just his third full season in Nextel Cup. Remember, too, that some of the pieces began to fall into place last year. He closed the season with a pair of wins in the final 14 races, including the season-ender at Homestead.

It took time for Biffle and crew chief Doug Richert to jell and to find the right crew to support the No. 16 Ford's effort. And now we see the results. But underrated? Hardly.

Biffle has paid his dues. He has proved he can race among the leaders regardless of whether he has the best equipment. That takes patience and talent, traits he has developed during a climb that began in the NASCAR Weekly Series in the mid-1990s.

When Jeremy Mayfield looks at Biffle, he sees a racer. Not some guy who talks a big game, worries about his souvenir sales or is the subject of fancy discussions about car control.

"We just go out there and do our jobs and be done with it," Mayfield says.

There's no question Ricky Rudd is a racer. He continues to soldier on in the No. 21 despite the misfortune he has experienced this season because he sees his team's potential. Rudd's definition of a racer is someone who would race even if there were no trophies, prize money or fans in the stands.

"We might not be the ones who have our picture on a watch or something like that," Mayfield adds. "We're racers. You can tell Biffle's a racer. You can tell Mark Martin, Carl Edwards--all the guys over at Roush's--are racers."

Mayfield says that when a racer is at the racetrack, he's concerned with what's going on with his car--not all of the extracurricular activities.

"He's involved in the car, involved in the setup--knowing what he's got--and understands how everything works," Mayfield says. "That's all he cares about, getting in that car and winning races."

That's Greg Biffle. He's a racer who's anything but underrated. When the Chase is over and done with this fall, he may no longer be unappreciated. Or under the radar.

TSN's POWER POLL

1. Greg Biffle

2. Carl Edwards A win in Busch and a top in Cup--more proof that Edwards is the real deal.

[down arrow] 3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Tony Stewart

5. Elliott Sadler

6. Mark Martin

7. Kurt Busch

8. Rusty Wallace

9. Ryan Newman

[up arrow] 10. Michael Waltrip

speed reads

Kirk Shelmerdine, who has floundered as a driver, should return to being a crew chief. If Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn't ready to move into his dad's No. 3, the crew chief who helped that team win four championships might be able steer Junior in the right direction.

With more Nextel Cup drivers getting seat time in Busch races, NASCAR needs to revise the Busch points system to ensure that regulars will not only have an opportunity to qualify for the races but that they also will finish high enough in the standings to receive bonuses at the end of the season.

Cutting the Pocono race to 4013 miles from 500 would alleviate the tire problem at the track. There's no need for the extra 11313 miles, other than to sell beer and hot dogs at the track and products on TV.

INSIDE DISH

Chip Ganassi says he "has a plan" for 2006, but here's all we know for now: David Stremme will drive the No. 40 Coors Light/Lonestar Dodge. Stremme, 28, will try to make his first Cup race July 19 at Chicago--he was expected to test there this week--but Ganassi's plan calls for Stremme to keep his eligibility in place for a run at rookie of the year next season. Stremme might also run at Richmond, Charlotte and Homestead. According to Ganassi, Casey Mears also is in the plan, but it remains to be seen whether it will be with a Cup or a Busch team. Ganassi's partner, Felix Sabates, says Sterling Marlin, out as the No. 40 driver, will race for Sabates' son-in-law Armando Fitz in a Busch car. * Ryan Newman blistered the track qualifying record, and practice speeds exceeded 205 mph on the straightaways at Michigan International Speedway. With an average speed of more than 194 mph, Michigan now is faster than Atlanta, Texas and Talladega. Introducing a regulated front spring package or switching to harder tires could bring speeds down, but car owner Robert Yates thinks tinkering with the engine would be simpler. "We could shorten the stroke with a 3-inch crank," Yates says. "It wouldn't be a big expense if they gave us a year to get it down." Yates has some other suggestions: changing the gear (as at Pocono), lessening the lead in the fuel or using Busch Series carburetors, which would make 75 to 80 less horsepower in the Cup engines. * Roush Racing president Geoff Smith has four companies interested in becoming primary sponsors for a Cup team in 2006. All of the potential sponsors--Scott's, Office Depot, AAA and Stonebridge Insurance--have run on Carl Edwards' No. 99 car this year. It's a good problem, but Smith says there's a "domino effect." The sponsor that ends up on the No. 99 will trigger what happens on the No. 6, which Viagra is leaving as Mark Martin retires. Busch driver Jon Wood has an edge with sponsors because of his youth--he's 24. * Goodyear officials are reviewing the tire situation at Pocono and likely will decide this week whether to introduce a new tire for the second Pocono race July 24. Problems were not associated with this tire combination during tests or the race at Las Vegas, but there were plenty of problems June 12 during the Pocono 500. Goodyear's Rick Campbell says there still is time to change the tire combination for the next race at Pocono. Ricky Rudd, who had six cut tires at Pocono, says the tunnel turn at Pocono became rough over the winter. "It was like driving over a brick on the highway," he says. Rudd says he expects changes to be made in the track's surface. * Valvoline could be moving to Evernham Motorsports. The company has been associated with MBV and Nelson Bowers since 2001, but it is expected to sell its shares back to the team at the end of the season. Centrix Financial is expected to sponsor the No. 10 Chevrolet, which is being driven by Scott Riggs.