Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Violence widens ahead of Greek austerity vote

Late pass gives Biffle 2nd straight Chase win

Driver holds off Edwards, Kenseth, is tied with Johnson for 2nd overall

Image: BiffleGetty Images for NASCAR
Greg Biffle his win at the Camping World RV 400 on Sunday.

DOVER, Del. - Greg Biffle finished a middling regular season as a driver who just couldn’t win.

Now, he’s the one who simply can’t lose.

Biffle traded a lengthy winless streak for a winning one when it mattered most. He made it a sparkling 2-for-2 in the Chase for the championship Sunday, using another late pass — this time with nine laps to go — to hold off Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards and bolster his bid for the Sprint Cup title.

“I feel like this has been coming for a while,” Biffle said. “There’s a lot of concentration right now. It doesn’t get more important than this.”

Up ahead for Biffle is a trip to Kansas City, a track where he won last season before starting a 33-race winless streak. That dismal skid seems as much behind him as his Roush Fenway Racing teammates Kenseth and Edwards were over the final, thrilling laps at Dover International Speedway.

While Biffle has been able to drive that No. 16 Ford into Victory Lane, he still can’t maneuver into first place in the Chase points standings. Biffle and two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson are both 10 points behind Edwards for the overall lead, but Johnson holds the tiebreaker.

Biffle knows the only way to catch Edwards is to keep winning races.

“We’ve got to beat the 99 car somehow,” Biffle said. “We’ve got to start stretching it out.”

That’s exactly what he did with the lead once he caught Kenseth and put away Edwards. The trio engaged in a fantastic run over the final 20 laps that had to have tugged at owner Jack Roush’s loyalties. Biffle, the winner last week at New Hampshire after passing Johnson with 12 laps left, made another textbook move to the outside past Kenseth to pull away.

“I thought I might be able to hang on, but I wasn’t sure,” Kenseth said.

Kenseth was second, and Edwards third in a wildly successful day for Roush Fenway. Kenseth had a disastrous Chase opener when an accident forced him out of the race and he entered 12th in the standings. He moved to 10th.

“The championship isn’t really on my mind at this moment,” Kenseth said.

Kyle Busch, the regular-season points winner, had another miserable race and a blown engine knocked him out early. He finished 43rd in the 400-mile race to drop to 12th and last in the Chase field.

“We’re out of the title hunt, that’s for sure,” Busch said.

Mark Martin was fourth and Chase drivers filled up the next five spots. Johnson was fifth followed by Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton.

Michael Waltrip finished 10th.

Other Chase driver results saw Tony Stewart in 11th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 24th, and Denny Hamlin was 38th. Hamlin’s car also was pushed to the garage, making it a bleak day for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Burton moved up a spot and is fourth in the standings. Harvick made the biggest jump, going from 10th to fifth. The rest of the standings are: Bowyer, Stewart, Gordon, Earnhardt, Kenseth, Hamlin, then Busch.

Slideshow
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

“It’s hard to tell (Busch) to keep his head up,” Stewart said. “There’s nobody who’s going to make him feel better right now and rightfully so.”

Edwards’ crew gambled on his final pit spot and took two tires while the other drivers took four. Kenseth took the lead on lap 377, and then the three teammates drove hard toward a close-and-clean finish.


advertisement
Special feature
Pep Boys Auto 500
2008 season review
Take an in-depth look at each of NASCAR's top-12 drivers in 2008.
Slideshow
Kobalt Tools 500
  Earning a trip to victory lane
Take a look at every NASCAR driver who has claimed a checkered flag this racing season.

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
SUBWAY Fresh Fit 600
  Revved up for racing
Take a look at how some NASCAR fans express their dedication to the drivers and to the sport.

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Danica Patrick,  Helio Castroneves
  Danica Daze
Danica Patrick is expanding her repertoire from the IRL to NASCAR.

more photos

Slideshow
Coca-Cola 600
  Celebs at the track
Take a look at the stars who have attended NASCAR races.

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Brian Vickers
  NASCAR crashes
Sparks fly and cars spin out wildly when NASCAR drivers get into accidents.

NBCSports.com

INTERACTIVE
"Taxi" Film Premiere
NASCAR wives and girlfriends
They're fixtures in pit row, but they don't drive on the track or work on the cars. Take a look at some notable NASCAR wives and girlfriends.