by Jeff Hammond

Greg Biffle may have been playing a little bit of a mind game with his comments after Sunday's race. People in the garage area love to try to start stuff from time to time. Jimmie Johnson had already made his qualifying run, and Biffle probably was told about Johnson's reaction when the 16 went off course. Somebody is taking it and trying to turn it into more than it really was.

But at the same time, it gives Biffle an opportunity to tell Johnson, "Look, big boy, you may be king of the hill for today, but I'm coming after you." On Sunday, the 16 team made a great recovery and had a little bit of a miscue on the timing on their pit stop. Otherwise, they probably could have finished better than 14th. They made a very solid run and took advantage of Johnson's problems, which occur quite often on road courses. Now, Biffle finds himself leading the point standings, and you're going to rattle him so it could present a challenge for Johnson and that Hendrick group.

NASCARTV on SPEED: Daytona Fri., July 1: Nextel Cup practice, 1:30 p.m. ET Fri., July 1: Busch qualifying, 2:15 p.m. ET Sat., July 2: Craftsman Truck race on SPEED, 3 p.m. ET Photo Gallery... Stewart's road rules Also... | | Video: Who's the sexiest driver? Analysis... DW: Smoke slides ride past Rudd BYRNES: Stewart's single-handed win SPENCER:

Biffle and Johnson are going to square off and go nose to nose until the end of the season. Johnson knows how to win races, and Biffle has shown now that he knows how to win races, too. It's going to come down to counter-punching. If Hendrick Motorsports does something, Roush Racing has to respond. If Roush does something, Hendrick has to respond. At Sonoma, a Roush car didn't win the race, but every Roush driver except Carl Edwards finished ahead of the Hendrick cars. The Roush cars performed solidly all day long, and they wound up with some good finishes, including Biffle's results which allowed him to take the point lead.

This battle of heavyweights is a long way from being over. Even though Johnson had his problems, it doesn't sway me from what I believed early on. The 48 has the ability and the right personnel to pull off a championship run. Johnson and his crew want it bad enough. They've been so close to winning a title and lost. Tthey'll figure out how to fix their problems and recover to make a strong run for the championship.

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Making the Chase

My points projection on Sunday's prerace show was based on last year's numbers and tendencies over the final 10 races before the Chase for the Nextel Cup starts. But racing has a lot to do with heart and luck. You can't factor in luck and heart when you're looking at numbers.

Rusty Wallace showed a lot of heart on Sunday but so did Dale Jarrett. I projected that Wallace would not make the Chase while Jarrett would. I think that at least 12 people will be in the championship chase. Johnson's problems have a few brought people back into play. Even though Biffle has been strong, he has still shown some weaknesses along the way, and I don't think he's seen the last of his bad luck.

It's a pretty tight pack, and it will be a dogfight from sixth on back to make the 400-point window. Obviously the guys inside the top 10 are going to feel pretty good. The guys that are trying to get in the Chase are going to have to fight hard, and they are because they know what they've got to do. Over the final 10 events in the Race to the Chase, we're going to find out whether experience and willpower can overcome numbers and tendencies.

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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.