by Lee Spencer

Updated: May 10, 2008, 6:01 PM EST 17 comments

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Although Biffle has won the Dodge Challenger 500 twice before, the three-foot crystal palmetto statue hand-blown by California artist Larry Brebes has never made it to his mom's house in Washington state — not yet.

Biffle already knows where a third Darlington winner's trophy would go should he win on Saturday. (Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images)

Biffle is hoping to change that on Saturday night, and he got a good start Friday by winning his first career Darlington pole with a lap of 179.442 mph — giving him an advantage both with pit selection and track position.

"One thing that's gonna be interesting and exciting tomorrow night — keep in mind that with all this practice we've done, we haven't been side-by-side yet in a group of cars," Biffle said. "So when that green flag flies tomorrow night, it's gonna be the first time that we've gone around here at speed side-by-side 10 deep or 20 deep.

"Track position is super-important, I think, and I'm thankful that I was able to get my car at the front of the field to start this race. I think a lot of people fear whether we're gonna see a lot of passing or not. I think you're gonna see some passing, but it is gonna be difficult to get side-by-side. You're gonna see cars slow down a bunch when they do get side-by-side. You'll see a guy probably close in half a straightaway in a lap or two if he's having to fight with another car.

"When you get beside another car, your speed will slow down so fast. You can go from running a 28-flat to a 28.60 just by having to slow up a little bit or not running the line you want to, so that's gonna make it really interesting."

Although Biffle's mother is at the opposite end of the country, her son knows she's only a phone call away. Often Biffle calls his mom "to debrief her about the race" weekend and update her about what's going on.

"We're absolutely close," Biffle said. "But it's hard for her. She only likes to come for certain events. She likes to come to Charlotte because we're home and she likes to come to Phoenix, which was two weeks ago. She can't be gone all the time.

"So last year I brought her to Darlington. That was good. Everyone has been bringing their mothers to Darlington for the last three years — but I didn't want to force her to do it because there are just other events that she likes better."

There's nothing Biffle wouldn't do for his mother. He remembers how much her encouragement and support carried him through the lean years. Biffle said his mother never missed his races even when it meant driving four hours from the family's home in Vancouver.

The logistics of sending a three-foot crystal trophy are precarious at best. But Biffle is even more disturbed that he hasn't been able to fete his mother with the famous palmetto. Perhaps Sunday will be a mother's day that Sally Biffle never forgets.

"All she's ever wanted for Mother's Day is that crystal trophy and I've never gotten her one," Biffle said. "I'm frustrated about it, but I will get her one. It's so hard to ship it — that crystal trophy with the palm tree. The one that I win this weekend — I won't take it out of the box. I'll just ship it straight there. Give them the address and have them deliver it to her."