Biffle captures second straight Chase victory; Edwards leads

The glory day for the Roush teams was a nightmare for top-seeded Kyle Busch.

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DOVER, Del. — At a place where most of the patrons double down, Greg Biffle doubled up on last week’s victory at New Hampshire with a thrilling win Sunday in the Camping World RV 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway.

With a determined run down the backstretch, in the shadow of the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, Biffle passed Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth on Lap 392 and opened a lead that reached .934 seconds at the finish.

Carl Edwards ran third behind his two Roush teammates, after taking two tires on his final pit stop on Lap 352 under caution. Edwards restarted in the lead on Lap 357 but couldn’t hold it, as Kenseth surged past Edwards and Biffle to claim the top spot on Lap 378.

From that point, Biffle made repeated runs at Kenseth, who tried to protect the outside line but finally fell victim to Biffle’s No. 16 Ford. Mark Martin finished fourth, followed by Jimmie Johnson, as Roush Fenway cars finished 1-2-3 for the first time since sweeping the top four spots at Homestead-Miami in November 2005.

Edwards remained in the lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Johnson and Biffle are second, 10 points back.

Biffle became the first driver to win the first two races of the Chase, but it wasn’t secure until he won a protracted side-by-side battle against Kenseth in the closing laps.

“I knew I had to race Matt Kenseth clean. He’s a great teammate,” Biffle said. “I got a run up on the outside of him and got up beside him. He tried to pinch me off going down the backstretch, which is what he should have done, obviously. We got together a little bit, but I had my nose out there, and I couldn’t give up.

“It was my last chance to get him.”

Biffle said he could sympathize with owner Jack Roush, who watched his three cars battle for the lead with an intensity that had the fans at the Monster Mile on their feet lap after lap.

“I’ll tell you what,” Biffle said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to be in his position. ... We were going at it. That was Friday, Saturday night short track racing, where we all came from — but there’s so much on the line.”

Kenseth said his handling was off just enough to prevent him from keeping Biffle behind him.

“Out of the three of us there all duking it out, there was going to be two guys that aren’t as happy as the other guy,” Kenseth said. “So I’m really happy for Greg. That’s two wins in a row, and that team’s really hitting their stride.

“It was a good day for us. Most of the day, we were really solid on pit road and made some good adjustments. ... I should have called for more of an adjustment there that last time [on the final pit stop]. The track got free on us, and I was just too loose to hold them off.”

The glory day for the Roush teams was a nightmare for Kyle Busch, the top seed entering the Chase. Engine problems ultimately forced Busch into the garage and out of the race after 172 laps. He finished 43rd and fell to 12th in the championship standings.

And in Busch’s view, his title hopes went up in smoke with the blown motor.

“Something broke inside the engine — I’m not sure what it is,” he said. “At this point it doesn’t matter. Same thing happened two years ago, exact same thing. Wrecked at Loudon, blew up here. So where did we end up? Dead last.

“We’re out of the title hunt — that’s for sure. So we’ll just manage what we can.”