Greg Biffle cashed in on a promise made by Ford on Sunday.
Biffle blazed his way to victory in the Sprint Cup Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway, just a few hours after Ford announced it would pay a $100,000 bonus to any of its Chase teams that won a race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Biffle, one of three Ford drivers in the Chase, grabbed the lead from teammate Carl Edwards after a restart with 28 laps to go and beat Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet by a whopping 7.638 seconds in front of an estimated 100,000 fans on an ideal day for racing. Kansas City Star
“It was a great day for us,” Biffle said. “The car ran flawless. [Crew chief Greg] Erwin just made great calls in the pits, and the car just kept getting better and better and better. I was too loose for about the first three-quarters of the race.
“I didn’t want to adjust on it, because I was running in the top three, but they tightened it up, and off it went, man. All it needed was a little bit of wedge in it to take off.”
Kevin Harvick finished third, followed by Tony Stewart, who led a race-high 76 laps before his car faded slightly in the closing stages. Jeff Gordon won an intense battle with Carl Edwards for the fifth spot, and Matt Kenseth came home seventh, as Chase drivers claimed the top seven positions. NASCAR.com
Three races into the Chase and with six remaining until the season finale at Homestead, Fla., Johnson leads Hamlin (who finished 12th Sunday) by eight points.
True, Johnson’s lead is narrow over Hamlin. But his 127-point lead over Tony Stewart is also the tightest margin between positions 1-10 in Chase history.
“It’s a great position to be in,” said Johnson, who started 21st. “But it’s way too early to think about defending [the championship]. The other Chase guys are running so well.” Salt Lake Tribune
Still, Johnson said winning a fifth consecutive championship isn’t in the bag.
“It’s early. I’m not worried about who is leading the championship right now,” he said. “We have to get deeper into the Chase to be concerned about who the points leader is.”
It’s not Hamlin, who had his first off race of the Chase.
Like Johnson, he struggled mightily early in the race. But his adjustments were good enough for only a 12th-place finish, and Hamlin’s 35-point lead before the race began turned into an eight-point deficit heading to California.
“I knew right away we were going to have a long day,” Hamlin said. “You’ve got to make the most of your bad days and, if this is a bad day for us, then we’re going to rebound next weekend.” The Associated Press
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Price Chopper 400 at Kansas - Race Results
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