Biffle wins season finale

Biffle, who won the same race last year, beat Martin by 17 hundredths of a second after the pair ran side-by-side for the final lap of the race to win the Ford 400.

Biffle passed Martin - and then leader Dave Blaney - on lap 259 of the 267-lap encounter, but Martin fought back, setting up the edge of the seat finish.

It was Biffle's sixth victory of the season, which meant he won more races than any other driver - including newly crowned champion Tony Stewart.

The victory leapt Biffle from fourth to second in the title standings, tying him on points with teammate Carl Edwards - but securing the runner-up spot due to his number of wins.

"Racing Mark Martin like that was fantastic," Biffle said. "It's great to race the veterans and we'll miss Ricky Rudd and Rusty Wallace.

"The car wasn't what it needed to be all night, but it came good in the end. It was unbelievable and I was so proud of the whole organisation, it was just fantastic. I might have even won the title if it wasn't for that loose wheel at Texas.

"I can't wait for the Chase next year - I don't want to race the 26-race before, I just want to race those ten races again. They are so much fun!"

Martin believed the victory was his going into the final turn on the inside of the corner.

"That was a great race," Martin said. "The track was just perfect. Congratulations to Biffle. Man, that was close. I thought we were going to able to pull it off, but we needed another lap or crash trying. I've had the time of my life this year."

Another Roush Racing driver - Matt Kenseth - finished third after vaulting up the order thanks to a two-tyre change on the final pitstop.

Championship contender Edwards finished fourth with a four-tyre change at the final stop, coming up from 12th in the final laps.

Ryan Newman was in contention at the front, however his chances effectively ended on lap 198 following a green-flag pitstop after contact with Jeff Gordon while fighting for third.

Stewart finishied 15th - enough for him to secure his second NASCAR Nextel Cup championship.

Kyle Busch, winner of last week's Checker Auto Parts 400 at Phoenix, was an early casualty after spinning in to the wall alone on lap 25 in the #5 car. He was narrowly avoided by champion to be Stewart in the spin.

Jimmie Johnson race's - and chances of taking the title - ended after he crashed into the wall on lap 125.

Johnson had been falling back through the field after feeling one of his tyres going down and was just about to be lapped by teammate and race leader Jimmie Johnson when his tyre exploded and he crashed into the wall.

Pos  Driver                Make        Laps
 1.  Greg Biffle           Ford        267
 2.  Mark Martin           Ford        267
 3.  Matt Kenseth          Ford        267
 4.  Carl Edwards          Ford        267
 5.  Casey Mears           Dodge       267
 6.  Dave Blaney           Chevrolet   267
 7.  Ryan Newman           Dodge       267
 8.  Kevin Harvick         Chevrolet   267
 9.  Jeff Gordon           Chevrolet   267
10.  Jeremy Mayfield       Dodge       267
11.  Scott Wimmer          Dodge       267
12.  Mike Bliss            Chevrolet   267
13.  Rusty Wallace         Dodge       267
14.  Robby Gordon          Chevrolet   267
15.  Tony Stewart          Chevrolet   267
16.  Kasey Kahne           Dodge       267
17.  Dale Jarrett          Ford        266
18.  Jamie McMurray        Dodge       266
19.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Chevrolet   266
20.  Todd Bodine           Chevrolet   266
21.  Kenny Wallace         Ford        266
22.  Ken Schrader          Dodge       266
23.  Elliott Sadler        Ford        266
24.  Joe Nemechek          Chevrolet   266
25.  Jeff Burton           Chevrolet   266
26.  Sterling Marlin       Dodge       265
27.  Kyle Petty            Dodge       265
28.  Reed Sorenson         Dodge       265
29.  Michael Waltrip       Chevrolet   265
30.  Jeff Green            Dodge       264
31.  Jimmy Spencer         Dodge       263
32.  Travis Kvapil         Dodge       263
33.  Denny Hamlin          Chevrolet   263
34.  Bobby Labonte         Chevrolet   263
35.  Kevin Lepage          Ford        263
36.  Bobby Hamilton Jr.    Chevrolet   263
37.  Ricky Rudd            Ford        262
38.  Scott Riggs           Chevrolet   259
39.  Mike Skinner          Dodge       156
40.  Jimmie Johnson        Chevrolet   124
41.  Kyle Busch            Chevrolet   115
42.  David Stremme         Dodge        87
43.  Brian Vickers         Chevrolet    82