Greg Biffle finished seventh Sunday, but made up only eight points on leader Tony Stewart. Credit: Autostock

Biffle's dilemma: He's running out of races

HAMPTON, Ga. -- To catch Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle knew he needed a top-three finish, coupled with a mediocre day from Stewart.

He got the help from Stewart, who finished ninth. However, Biffle's net gain was a mere eight points.

Greg Biffle

Inside the Chase Standings after Atlanta Pos. Driver Pts. Behind 1. T. Stewart 6,100 -- 2. J. Johnson 6,057 -43 3. G. Biffle 6,025 -75 4. C. Edwards 5,993 -107 5. R. Newman 5,993 -107 • Race Results, click here • Point Standings, click here • Lap-by-Lap, click here Final lapsEdwards cruises to the checkers to complete the AMS sweep Top finishersDale Jr. and Jeff Gordon talk about their finishes Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500Catch all the racing highlights from Atlanta Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Biffle was hoping to have a repeat of his performance at Atlanta in the spring, when he led 151 laps and finished third.

This time, he led just five laps. His seventh-place run left him 75 points back of Stewart with three races to go. It also extended his winless streak to 18 races after starting the year with five wins in his first 15 starts.

"We have got to finish more than one spot ahead of [Stewart] to gain anything on him," Biffle said. "Those guys are doing a good job. They are in points mode. We were terrible all day. We just never got a hold of the racetrack."

Biffle was intensely frustrated with an inconsistent car, as he started the race battling a loose condition. As he lost ground, the team tried to tighten the car up, but Biffle said that only made it worse.

"I was real loose and couldn't make up any ground so I tightened it up and it just made me terrible," said Biffle, who bled positions during long green-flag runs.

One positive was that Biffle did make up ground on second-place Jimmie Johnson, who finished 16th. Biffle was 68 points back of Johnson before Atlanta, but ended it 32 back.

Biffle was really looking forward to Atlanta because the No. 16 Ford has arguably been the best all year on the high-banked speedways. The team was initially going to burn a test for the season finale at Homestead, but will test at Phoenix instead.

Biffle won the event at Homestead last fall.

"We run really good at Homestead, and with the hurricane, we didn't know about the track," Biffle said. "We had to make some decisions. We decided to go [to Phoenix] instead and we are sticking to that plan."