KANSAS CITY, Kan. — About the only thing missing from the NASCAR Nextel Cup LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway was the tornado at the beginning of “The Wizard of Oz.”
Greg Biffle finally drove to victory after the race was called for darkness more than six hours after it originally started. There were two red-flag periods because of rain, including one that lasted four hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds after it appeared Tony Stewart had won this race for the second year in a row.
Even Biffle’s victory was momentarily in doubt as his Ford Fusion ran out of gas on the final lap and he could not keep up with the pace-car.  But NASCAR deemed him the victor due to the field being frozen when the final caution flag waved with four laps remaining.

FINALLY! Greg Biffle celebrates his first victory of 2007 Sunday at Kansas Speedway. The win was Biffle's 12th career Cup victory and first since the 2006 season finale. (Harold Hinson/HHP Photo)

“Because I was up on the banking — when you are going that slow on the banking — the fuel was running away from the pickup. It sputtered up there, so I shut it off and coasted down on the flat and steering with my knee so I could have enough to make it to victory lane,” Biffle said. “I was far enough along I didn’t feel it was really necessary.
“The race was over, the caution was out, I was declared the winner and all I had to do was cross the finish line.”
Clint Bowyer of nearby Emporia, Kan., was second in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, followed by the Chevrolet of defending series champion Jimmie Johnson.
Both were critical of the outcome of the race, believing that Biffle was unable to maintain the pace car speed and had lost the race under caution on the final lap.
“Their opinion doesn’t really count as far as I know; it’s NASCAR’s opinion that counts,” Biffle said. “One other thing they don’t know is NASCAR came to my car in the grass and asked, ‘Will it run?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and they said don’t touch it. They are thinking it ran out of gas, it won’t run and I had to be pushed to victory lane.
“That’s not the case. They need to understand that the car still runs; it still has gas in it.”
The weird outcome also scrambled the standings in The Chase as Johnson took the lead, six points ahead of Jeff Gordon, 14 ahead of Bowyer, 117 ahead of Stewart and 126 in front of Kevin Harvick.
Practically every driver in The Chase suffered one form of misfortune or another to make this one of the most bizarre races of the Nextel Cup season.
Out of the 12 Chase drivers, only Harvick and Gordon were able to avoid any problems in the race.
After seeing red for most of the weekend, including an incident with an ESPN camera man on Saturday morning where he uttered a profanity on live TV, Stewart was happy to see the red flag come out on lap 148.
To Stewart, the red flag could have meant victory as a storm with high winds and large hail swept through Kansas Speedway, forcing the race to be stopped after 148 laps. For the second year in a row, it appeared Stewart was able to win this race using a fuel mileage strategy.

CONTROVERSIAL: Greg BIffle (16) crosses the start finish line to end the rain-plagued LifeLock400. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Last year, he ran out of fuel after milking his gas tank for the final 71 laps but was able to coast across the start/finish line first under the checkered flag.
On Sunday, Stewart was within three caution laps of running out of fuel.
Stewart last pitted on lap 90 and was going to pit on lap 145. But he was told by crew chief Greg Zipadelli to stay on the track, hopeful the red flag would come out before he ran out of gas.
Biffle was running second and ready to fly home.
“At that time, I was praying for rain,” Biffle said. “I was ready to go home, the storm was tearing the roof off the garage area, and I was happy with second place.
“Thank God we got to race again.”
But once the cars were refired two hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds later, Stewart was able to get fuel when he stopped on lap 149 along with the other cars that had not pitted before the rain.
The race was shortened to 225 laps and the green flag waved on lap 155.
That was a bad break for several cars that didn’t even make it through the second turn, including Chase drivers Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex, Jr.  Further up the track, Michael Waltrip’s Toyota came down on Ken Schrader’s Ford. As Kenseth slowed up, Stewart ran into the back of Truex’s Chevrolet, which was pushed into Kenseth’s Ford.
After the mess was cleaned up, the green flag waved on lap 165, and it was bad news for Stewart, who had a fender rub through his left front tire, sending smoke billowing out of the car. He continued on the track, however, but was in ninth place.
Meantime, Harvick was leading the field before he was passed by Biffle.
Stewart’s troubles continued when the tire finally went flat and his car was punted by Kurt Busch’s Dodge on lap 175 as he entered the third turn and slid in the front of Carl Edwards’s Ford. Stewart slammed his helmet at the in-car camera and angrily ripped the steering wheel out of its stem.
Stewart began the day second in The Chase, just two points out of the lead.
“It looked like Tony got bumped a little bit. I had committed to the high side and did everything I could to try to stop,” Edwards said. “I did everything I could to stop. It’s too bad it ended up my day and his day. Tony had a tire rubbing for a long time. Kurt did everything he could to stop.
“Man, this feels pretty bad. Tony should have pulled in to fix his car. This is auto racing and that’s how things go.”
Stewart declined comment.
Because of that wreck, NASCAR officials slashed another 15 laps off the length of the race, knocking it down to 210.
The green flag waved with 27 laps to go and the field couldn’t get through that lap either, as Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray crashed coming off the second turn for another caution. Hamlin is another Chase contender, and the fact he entered the race 12th out of the 12 drivers virtually ends any hope he has at the championship.
The green flag waved with 23 laps to go and darkness closing in over the horizon. Biffle was back in front ahead of Harvick. But with four laps left in the race, a tire on Juan Pablo Montoya’s Dodge exploded, bringing out the final yellow flag and the end of the race.