by Jeff Hammond

For the first time at California, the Nextel Cup Series impounded cars after qualifying, and it was a challenge for a lot of teams. You put in your race setup, qualify, line them up and race them. No major adjustments were allowed after qualifying.

Greg Biffle and his team, led by crew chief Doug Richert, did an awesome job. Biffle's owner, Jack Roush, had four of the top seven finishers, and he said his team should continue to excel at "racer's racetracks" after starting the season at a momentum racetrack like Daytona.

If you've got good horsepower and an aerodynamic car at Daytona, a driver can hold it wide open, and with his spotter's help, he can choose the right line, pick the right dance partners and be competitive. Toward the end of a restrictor plate race, it's the luck of the draw. Some guys make the right choice while other guys make the wrong choice.

At a place like California, you've got to know how far to stay out before you arc the car down in the corner. You've got to be able to feel your race car, find that ragged edge and keep the car just under it so you don't get in trouble.

Early in last Sunday's race, you could see the teams that figured out the right setup because they stayed toward the top of the running order. For the second consecutive week, Joe Nemechek and Scott Riggs had solid runs for the MB2 team. Jeff Gordon started out a little bit slow, but he worked his way into contention. He was in great position to challenge for the win before he had engine problems. How about Rusty Rusty Wallace and the way he was able to crawl his way up to the front? He finds himself in the top 10 in points along with the other guy who is calling this year his last, Mark Martin. So far, those two guys aren't acting like it's their final year. They are fighting like they are are going to win a championship. But if it's going to be their last year, they're going to go out in a blaze of glory.

Strong pit work and some good and gutsy calls on pit road by Kurt Busch's crew chief Jimmy Fennig and Richert helped determine the outcome. Afer watching Jimmie Johnson get swallowed up when he elected to take no tires, it looked like Busch and Biffle were going to be sitting ducks. I thought Kevin Harvick had everybody's number because he had four fresh tires, and I thought he would be able to race his way to a win early in the season. But it wasn't meant to be for him as he finished sixth.

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Roush reign

Roush Racing's teams are on kill early in the season. Their cars are working well with all five showing a lot of strength. It's always good to see a guy like Biffle, who ended the season so strong, carry his momentum through preseason testing and in the first two races of 2005. At Daytona, I talked Richert, and they couldn't wait to get out of Daytona. A lot of teams feel that way, but the 16 team couldn't wait to get to California. They had an awesome test and really believed that they could go back out there and do what they did last Sunday.

Biffle basically called his shot on Saturday after qualifying when he said he could take the lead by lap five. Lo and behold, he took the lead on lap four and showed a lot of strength. They had problems halfway through the race, but they raced their way back onto the lead lap after being down a lap. Then they put themselves in position right at the end with the driver getting up on the wheel and bringing home the win.

Do I think that Roush will continue to be a force to be reckoned with? I've got to believe they will because they worked all winter long to make their cars better. Other teams will have to worry about the Roush guys monopolizing victory lane. You may have to get used to seeing the "Cat in the Hat" in victory lane on multiple occasions and not necessarily with just one driver. I wouldn't be one bit surprised to see Carl Edwards slide into victory lane in the first 10 races. Early in his first full year in Nextel Cup, he's showing that he's the real deal.

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FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's new book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.