It was an exciting finish and a good story, and Allmendinger certainly deserved to win. But it sure didn’t help Biffle and other drivers who are fighting for a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
While Allmendinger produced one of the season’s biggest upsets to race his way into the Chase, Biffle is one of several big-name drivers still without a win and fighting to earn a spot in the 16-driver playoffs.
With 12 different winners so far this season, there are currently four Chase spots available based on points. Biffle, 12th in the standings, is currently one spot behind the cutoff, trailing 11th-place Clint Bowyer by eight points.
Unless he wins one of the final four regular-season races, his fate is in the hands of other drivers.
“It certainly depends on what other drivers do,” Biffle said. “It’s kind of funny, when it comes down to this, you’re not only looking at yourself, but you’re looking at all these other teams. For instance, if AJ Allmendinger didn’t win (at Watkins Glen) and Carl Edwards or Kurt Busch (who already have wins) would have, we would be looking pretty good in the Chase seeding right now with points.”
Instead, Biffle must keep fighting. He finished eighth at Watkins Glen, but must keep running well to stay in the hunt for a Chase spot if he doesn’t win.
“Anything can happen,” he said. “One of these other guys that are behind us in points goes and wins another one of these races it really, really shoots us in the foot as far as the points go.
“We feel like we can win one of these last four races, so that’s what we’re focusing on is winning one of these last four and getting into the Chase that way. But certainly we’re hanging on by a shoe string to make it in on points if it comes down to that.”
That’s why this week’s race at Michigan is a big one. Among the drivers who have not won yet this season are Biffle, Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray and Tony Stewart.
A win by any of them would fill another Chase spot and leave just three spots open with three races remaining.
Biffle, who has four career wins at Michigan, sees Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 as a golden opportunity to punch his Chase ticket. Despite finishing 20th there in June, Biffle’s Roush Fenway Racing team has found some speed in recent weeks and believes it can be a contender again.
“I’m really excited about going to Michigan,” Biffle said. “We’ve been doing a tremendous amount of testing and working very hard at Roush Fenway to catch up with some of the other teams, so our most recent week off we tested at Michigan and felt like we found a lot of speed that we were missing.
“We didn’t really carry it through to Indy like we thought, but some of it carried through to Pocono and as we look at that and improve on that we’re pretty optimistic going to Michigan that we’re gonna be one of the competitive cars and challenging for the win.”
There is no dominant driver at Michigan, with seven different winners in the last eight races there.
Who are the drivers to beat this time?
Favorites
Kevin Harvick — Harvick won at Michigan in 2010 and led 63 laps in finishing second there in June. Though he hasn’t won since early this season, he has been a contender often and his team seems to be working out some of its early-season problems. He has three straight top-10 finishes, including second two weeks ago at Pocono. Stewart-Haas Racing will have a bit of extra incentive, with teammate and team co-owner Tony Stewart going through a difficult time over the fatal short-track accident he was involved in. Harvick would love nothing better than to show support for his boss and friend from victory lane.
Jimmie Johnson — Johnson is in a terrible slump, with five straight finishes outside the top 10, including finishes of 42nd, 42nd, 39th and 28th. But Johnson scored his first career victory at Michigan in June, leading 39 laps to beat Harvick. Johnson had led the three previous races at Michigan, but had trouble in them all before finally breaking through in June. He could snap out of his slump in a big way this weekend.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Earnhardt finished just seventh in June, but his previous two Cup wins prior to this season both came at Michigan — in 2012 and 2008. Earnhardt finished first and fourth there in 2012 and led both races in 2013 before having trouble in both. He won his third race of the season two weeks ago at Pocono and should have the speed and horsepower to be a contender again at Michigan.
Joey Logano — Logano won this race last year for his first victory with Penske Racing. He led 29 laps before finishing ninth in June, but he and teammate Brad Keselowski (third in June) should both be contenders. Penske has three big-track wins this year between the two drivers and should have the fastest Fords at Michigan.
Ones to watch
Greg Biffle — Michigan has been known for producing dramatic victories that had Chase implications (Jeremy Mayfield, 2005; Brian Vickers, 2009). Biffle could be next. He has four career victories at Michigan, and though all three Roush teams struggled there in June, the organization has 13 wins at the 2-mile track. If the Roush teams have indeed made big gains since June and since their test there, it could pay off this weekend.
Kasey Kahne — Kahne won at Michigan in 2006 and finished fifth there in June. He is in the same situation as Biffle, needing a win and trailing Biffle by four points in the standings. While his Hendrick teammates — Johnson, Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon — have each run better this season, the organization is focused on getting Kahne into the Chase. He needs a win to do it, and Michigan should be a good opportunity.
Matt Kenseth — Like Roush, the Gibbs teams all struggled at Michigan in June. But the organization seems to have found some speed in the last few weeks and the wide, 2-mile track will be a good challenge. Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have all won at Michigan, but Kenseth needs it most right now to lock up a Chase spot.
AJ Allmendinger — Allmendinger has little chance of winning again this week at Michigan — that would be a much bigger upset than winning on the road course at Watkins Glen. But it will be interesting to see how his single-car JTG Daugherty team responds to last week’s victory. A win like that can be a big boost for a team. Will it have an impact on Allmendinger?
Predictions
Bob Pockrass: Kevin Harvick. Harvick had the fastest car (and one of the shortest postrace news conferences) in June as he started on the pole, led a race-high 63 laps and finished second when Jimmie Johnson triumphed by being the first driver to make a final pit stop. You can bet Harvick won’t be on the wrong end of the strategy this time around. And the bean-bag fiasco last week should only serve as more motivation.
Jeff Owens: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt is riding high after his wins the past two weeks — that’s right, his 11th-place run at Watkins Glen was like a win. Earnhardt swept the races at Pocono and has two victories at Michigan, the last one coming in 2012. He’ll be fast again and his confidence and the superb strategy of crew chief Steve Letarte will pay off again.
