CONCORD, N.C. — Greg Biffle was just trying to get a little payback when he forced Joey Logano into the wall during last week’s Nationwide Series race.

He didn’t intend — and doesn’t want — to start an ongoing feud with the entire Logano family.

Biffle apologized, sort of, for squeezing Logano up the track at Auto Club Speedway, an incident that led to a post-race confrontation between Biffle and Logano’s father.

“I probably shouldn’t have run Joey out of room,” Biffle said Thursday before qualifying for this weekend’s Sprint Cup event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Logano recovered to win his fifth Nationwide race of the year while Biffle finished 14th. Things, however, were just getting started.

Tom Logano , Joey’s father, was walking to join his son at victory lane when he saw Biffle’s car on pit road and made an obscene gesture.

A NASCAR official at the scene pulled Tom Logano’s credential and he was required to meet with Nationwide director Joe Balash following the race. The confrontation, however, wasn’t quite as dramatic as reports made it sound, according to Biffle.

“It really got taken out of context, I think,” he said. “Him losing his hard card and that whole thing was maybe a little overbearing.”

Tom Logano still can apply for single-event credentials but has not had his season pass returned, said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston . Tom Logano watched last Sunday’s Sprint Cup race from a balcony over pit road.

Biffle has no problem with Tom Logano’s reaction. He is concerned, however, that 19-year-old Joey Logano isn’t making enough of an effort to smooth things out with older drivers after on-track run-ins.

Biffle remains miffed Logano smashed his fender during the Nationwide race at Kansas while going three-wide into a corner. Logano went on to win while Biffle salvaged fifth. Biffle approached Logano afterward and said the rookie was less than receptive when Biffle suggested he didn’t have enough respect for his elders, a lesson Biffle learned as a young driver on the circuit.

Burton defends Childress

Jeff Burton can find plenty of reasons Richard Childress Racing has struggled this season. The boss isn’t one of them.

The NASCAR veteran defended Childress, saying the entire organization is at fault for RCR’s nightmarish 2009, when one of the most successful teams failed to land a single driver in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Burton said NASCAR’s ban on offseason testing and a lack of good infrastructure within the company sent RCR into a tailspin.

Johnson to film series with HBO

There’s two sides to Jimmie Johnson , the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion often perceived to be a stiff, corporate spokesman who has sucked the drama out of NASCAR.

But he plays hard away from the track, where those who know him well insist he’s a laid-back California guy who loves a good party.

The public will get to judge for themselves next year when Johnson opens his life for HBO Sports’ “24/7” program. The four-episode series will air beginning in January and focus on Johnson’s preparation for the 2010 season-opening Daytona 500.

Kulwicki family donates to college

The family of late NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki is donating $1.9 million to the motorsports engineering program at UNC-Charlotte.

The trust fund, established by Kulwicki’s stepmother, Thelma, is the largest gift ever made to the engineering school. It will be used for annual scholarships and the construction of a new building.

The Chase

NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to Week 5 this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Here is how the top 12 drivers stand:

1. Jimmie Johnson (leader): Now in front in pursuit of his fourth consecutive title, and his average finish at this track is best among the contenders (9.1). Message to them: “Uh, oh.”

2. Mark Martin (minus-12): Celebrates his 50th start at the track this weekend. Has four wins and 17 top-five finishes.

3. Juan Pablo Montoya (minus-58): Has been in top five in all four races so far, but this might be where that streak ends. In five previous trips, he hasn’t led a lap and has an average finish of 27.4.

4. Tony Stewart (minus-84): Has only one win in 21 starts at the 11/2-mile oval track.

5. Jeff Gordon (minus-105): Tied with Johnson with five wins at track, second only to Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip (six each).

6. Kurt Busch (minus-121): Johnson trailed by 156 points with six races left in 2006 and won the title, but Busch’s team isn’t that good, and his average finish at this track is 21.6.

7. Greg Biffle (minus-188): Missed his chance to get back into the title chase in the past two weeks.

8. Carl Edwards (minus-192): Has second-best average finish at Charlotte: 10.0 to Johnson’s 9.1.

9. Denny Hamlin (minus-219): Has no top-five finishes in eight races at the track. He’s racing for pride at this point.

10. Ryan Newman (minus-223): Same situation as Hamlin, only no wins in 17 starts.

11. Kasey Kahne (minus-306): Has scored a series-high 506 points in the past three races at this track, 11 more than Kyle Busch and 73 more than Jeff Burton.

12. Brian Vickers (minus-351): Has an average finish of 22.5 at this track. Thanks for playing.

— Curt Cavin