By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
BROOKLYN - To say Greg Biffle is on a roll may be a bit of an understatment.
The NEXTEL Cup Series has run 15 races in 2005 and Biffle has won a third of them.
On Sunday Biffle led five times for a total of 63 laps to win the Batman Begins 400 at the Michigan International Speedway.
Not only did Biffle win his fifth race of the season in the Cup Series, he won his second straight race at MIS.
Biffle won the August race in 2004.
Biffle also cut into points leader Jimmie Johnson's lead on Sunday.
While Biffle was up front battling with Tony Stewart for the victory, Johnson was finishing a disappointing 19th.
Johnson took a 134-point lead into Saturday's race over Biffle, but left Michigan with only a 49-point lead.
Biffle decided to stay out on old tires during the final caution period.
Stewart, who led a race-high 97 laps, took on new tires but was unable to do anything with Biffle as the final laps ticked off.
Biffle finished with a 1.675 second margin of victory.
Biffle, who started 25th, picked up the award for the biggest improvement in the race.
Roush Racing had a record-setting day at MIS as all four of its cars finished in the Top 5.
Not only did Biffle win the race, but teammates Mark Martin finished third, Matt Kenseth finished fourth and Carl Edwards finished fifth.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Joe Nemechek, Michael Waltrip, Elliott Sadler, rookie Kyle Busch and Rusty Wallace.
Sadler is third in the Cup standings, while Edwards, who won the Busch Series race at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, is fourth.
Martin, who will retire at the end of the year from full-time competition, is fifth.
Stewart is sixth with Ryan Newman seventh.
Rounding the Top 10 were Rusty Wallace, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.
Wallace, like Martin, is in his final season of full-time Cup racing.
Newman captured the pole on Saturday, the first at Michigan.
Newman led just three laps in the event and finished 15th.
The race was run before an estimated crowd of 140,000 and was run in two hours and 39 minutes at an average speed of 150.596.
Busch continues to lead the rookie point standings with 208.
Travis Kvapil is second with Stanton Barrett third and Eric McClure fourth.
The NEXTEL Cup Series moves across the country to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. for the first of two road course races.
The Dodge/Save Mart 350 can be seen live on FOX beginning with the pre-race show at 2:30 p.m. The race will begin at 3:35.
The NEXTEL Cup will return to MIS August 21 for the GFS Marketplace 400.
BROOKLYN - Another area driver will spend his weekends driving in the NEXTEL Cup Series it was announced Sunday.
David Stremme, of South Bend, Ind., was announced as the driver of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge by Chip Ganassi Racing at a press conference at Michigan International Speedway.
Stremme pilots the No. Navy machine in the Busch Series and is currently eighth in points.
Stremme replaces veteran Sterling Marlin after eight years with Ganassi racing. Marlin, a two-day Daytona 500 champion, will complete the season before moving to a new team in 2006.
Marlin has said that he is looking at several possibilities for next season.
Team owner Felix Sabates said on Sunday that Marlin has a "personal services" deal on the table that includes a full-time ride in the Busch Series.
Stremme will be sponsored by both Coors Light and Lone Star Steakhouse in 2006.
Coors will sponsor 19 races, while Lone Star will be on the hood for 17 races. Stremme will make his NEXTEL Cup debute at Chicagoland Speedway in July.