He did it again!
Greg Biffle won Sunday’s race — the second in the Chase for the Sprint Cup — much like he did the weekend before. Biffle, who ran in the top five most of the day, got his No. 16 Ford around teammate, Matt Kenseth, No. 17, with less than 10 laps to go. He was able to hold the lead, get around lap traffic and beat his teammates to the finish line to capture his second win of the season.
He is currently the only driver to win the first two races in the Chase since its inception. He also sits third in points, tied with Jimmie Johnson, and is only 10 points behind his teammate, Carl Edwards, who has the lead.
The Roush-Fenway Racing Fords were fast. Not only did Biffle win and teammates, Kenseth and Edwards finish second and third respectively, but teammate Jamie McMurray lead a good amount of laps early one in Sunday’s race.
McMurray, who qualified ninth, seemed to have the fastest car during the beginning of the race. He quickly ran down pole sitter, Jeff Gordon, to steal the lead away from him and kept momentum as he lapped cars. He maintained the lead for 34 laps until the second caution, for a single car spin, came out. Going into the pits first, he left in the top five, with Kenseth coming out first. He was able to run Kenseth down, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to return to the lead.
While still looking like a car to contend for the lead, he became an unfortunate soul at the hands of Robby Gordon’s No. 7 Dodge. Gordon, who was a lap down, got loose and spun into McMurray, causing significant damage to McMurray’s Ford. He finished 36th and several laps down.
McMurray may have ended up with bad luck, but for Chaser Kyle Busch, he had the worst luck. After finishing 35th last weekend, Busch went to Dover hoping for a sweep. He won the spring race and followed that up with a win in the Nationwide race Saturday, leading 157 laps of the 200-laps race. Unfortunately, his good fortune wasn’t with him Sunday.
After starting the race 11th, Busch ended up finishing the race 43rd. Unlike last weekend, his No. 18 Toyota’s problem couldn’t be fixed and after competing 173 laps, Busch’s car went behind the garage and he was out of the race. He fell from eight in the standings to 12th, 210 points behind leader Edwards.
It is not impossible for Busch to make up the point deficit he currently has, but it will be a difficult task, a task that Busch is willing to attempt.
As for Chasers Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., they were the unfortunate ones in Race No. 2.
Hamlin experienced misfortune in the form of a speeding penalty exiting pit row during the race’s third caution sending him to the end of the “longest line.” He also had rear-end gear problems causing him to never really be a factor for the win or a top 10 finish. He finished 38th, several laps down, and fell to 11th in the points. He is only one spot ahead of teammate and former points leader, Busch.
Earnhardt Jr. had a fair Chevrolet most of the day, but during a long run, one of his tires blew, causing him to spin. He was able to spin without hitting anything or causing damage, but went a lap down. Through the course of the remainder of the race, he went down two more laps and finished the race 24th. He fell from fourth in the points to ninth, putting a damper in his Championship hopes.
The other remaining Chasers moved up in positions thanks mostly in part to the three Chasers experiencing problems, putting themselves in good positions to have a go at running down Edwards, Johnson and Biffle.
Now it’s on to Kansas, Race No. 3 in the Chase, where Biffle had his only win last year. Could it be possible for him to have three in a row? Or will Busch rally back to get a good finish to knock away some of the points he lost over the last two weeks?
Don’t miss:
From Kansas
- Sprint Cup qualifying, Friday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2
- Kansas Lottery 300 (Nationwide race), Saturday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2
- Camping World RV 400 (Sprint Cup race), Sunday at 1 p.m. on ABC
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