NASCAR Cup Series

Biffle wins first Showdown segment to transfer into All-Star Race

Published May. 15, 2015 7:44 p.m. ET

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Jared Turner

Greg Biffle received at least a temporary respite from a season of frustration Friday night as he pulled away to capture the first 20-lap segment of the Sprint Showdown and race his way into Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Starting the Showdown from the outside of Row 1, Biffle led all 20 laps of the first segment and finished ahead of Clint Bowyer, polesitter Paul Menard, Austin Dillon and David Ragan.

Biffle, who became the 18th driver to earn entry in the 20-car All-Star field, did not compete in the second 20-lap segment of the Showdown, per this year's rule that the winner of the first segment must park his car for the night.

"Everybody at Roush Fenway has worked really hard," said Biffle, who has one top-10 finish in 11 starts this season and sits a dismal 21st in points. "It's kind of nice to win. I was joking with the (team) and I said, 'I've never been so excited to win half a race in my life,' so I guess I won half the race tonight and maybe I can win the other part of one tomorrow night."

The first 20-lap segment ran uninterrupted, much to the frontrunning driver's delight.

"I definitely didn't want to see a caution flag," Biffle said. "I wasn't ready for a restart and mix it up again, but we're pretty happy with the car."

The victory keeps alive Roush Fenway's 26-year streak of having a least one car in the All-Star event in each season since 1990. Saturday night will mark Biffle's 12th appearance in the All-Star Race, which he has yet to win.

The veteran driver is excited about his chances in the main event, after such a strong performance in the Showdown.

"It gives us a bunch of confidence," Biffle said. "We know we still have a lot of other cars to compete against, but it felt good to win half a race, so we'll see what happens."

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