Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle are hoping to make up some ground against Tony Stewart this weekend at Texas. Credit: Autostock

It's a three-man race with three to go in the Chase

If the Chase for the Nextel Cup is a three-man race, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle may be slugging it out for the cat bird's seat.

Points leader Tony Stewart has four top-10 finishes at Texas but Johnson owns the best average finish -- 6.5 in four starts -- at the 1.5-mile track, while Biffle won the April race in dominating fashion.

Entering the Dickies 500 (3 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC), the eighth race in the 10-race Chase playoffs, Stewart holds a 43-point advantage over Johnson. Biffle is 75 points behind, the only other driver within double digits of the leader.

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"We tested [at Texas] a month or so ago," Johnson said. "It was pretty early in the scheme of things but we had a good test. We've been really working hard on the 1.5-mile stuff and making the cars better.

"It's a mile-and-a-half, so the aero stuff is important. But, it's a little different 1.5-mile than the other tracks that we run on," said Johnson, who has ranked among the top 10 in the points standings since Atlanta in March 2004, a streak of 66 consecutive races -- the longest of any driver.

"The entry to the turns is pretty difficult to get it right. The transitions are pretty abrupt and it seems like you have a hard time getting the front end of the car to stay on the track getting through the corners. So, we went there and worked on that and hopefully we can come back and everything's right."

Biffle returns to Texas with chassis RK-275, which was the winning setup at California on Feb. 27 and Texas on April 17.

"I'm looking forward to going to Texas this weekend," Biffle said. "I've had some success there in all three NASCAR series and we're taking the car that we won with in the spring."

His victory in April was his only top-10 finish in three Cup starts at Texas, but Biffle does have two top-10s in four Busch starts and a victory among three top-five finishes in five Truck races.

"I look for this weekend to be a good race for us and hopefully we'll gain some more ground on Tony. We're testing for Phoenix this weekend and some of our teammates will be in Homestead doing the same. [Team owner Jack] Roush is putting everything into a third championship and the National Guard team is more focused than I've ever seen them. It's an exciting position to be in right now."

But don't tell Stewart it's a three-man race for the Cup. "There is still Greg Biffle and other guys we have to worry about in the points," Stewart said. "We're not just racing the 48 car [Johnson]. We're racing the entire Chase field right now. We're not focusing on one team. We're just going to go out and do what we've done every week. It's what got us in this position."

Other Chase drivers on Texas ...

Tony Stewart: "It hasn't been a good track for us historically. It just seems like Texas is one of those places where we haven't figured out how to be a top-flight car. We've never set the world on fire at Texas -- just me back in April [31st-place finish] -- but we have had some solid runs. It's one of the places where we have to try and pick up our performance. For me, it comes down to just feel more than anything. A driver has to like the feel of his race car and the feel of the track. If one of those things doesn't mesh right, then you're probably not going to be as successful as you want to be."

Carl Edwards: "I'm looking forward to going to Texas this week. I damaged the car just a little bit earlier this season when we raced there. If it wasn't for that, I think we would have had a good race at Texas. I got into a little bit of a hurry and damaged the front of the car and we ended up not running very well. Texas is kind of an unknown but I think we have a great opportunity to run really well. I feel great about our chances coming up to these next few races. But anything can happen. We could run great or we could run awful, but we're gonna try our very best. There's still an opportunity for this Office Depot team to win a championship."

Ryan Newman lead the field to the green back in April. Credit: Autostock

Ryan Newman: "The Alltel team has had success before at Texas. We won there in 2003, but haven't really been able to gain any momentum at the track off of that win. We finally figured out qualifying there in the spring. Hopefully, this weekend we'll unload fast and win another pole. That gives us a better chance of earning the five bonus points for leading a lap. The important thing, though, is to make sure the car is fast not only for one lap, but for 334 of them."

Mark Martin: "Texas is a great race track. It's the type of place that suits my driving style. I've always done pretty well on the 1.5-mile tracks and Texas has been pretty good for us in that mix. We won the second race there and we've been pretty good there ever since. Hopefully we can go back there and get us another win this weekend. We had a pretty good car there in the fall, but had some problems late. We had a good test there two weeks ago, so we'll be looking to get off to a fast start and hopefully pick us up another win."

Matt Kenseth: "I really like the track at the Texas Motor Speedway and enjoy racing there. Earlier this year we ran as high as third but the car didn't handle extremely well. Then, we were penalized for speeding on pit road and that cost us. We didn't come out with a good finish [18th] but we've had a win there [2002], so I know we're capable of getting around that track."

Rusty Wallace: "We've never raced [at Texas] in October before and with the late start, it looks like it's shaping up to be another race like Charlotte where the race starts in the heat of the day and ends under considerably cooler conditions. It looks like it'll be a chassis man's ultimate challenge -- finding a setup that works at the beginning of the race and is adjustable enough to stay on top of the track changing like we expect it to."

Jeremy Mayfield currently sits 10th in the standings. Credit: Autostock

Kurt Busch: "I know that at first glance this track looks a lot like Atlanta and Charlotte, but for the drivers it's a completely different scenario than what you have at the other 1.5-mile tri-ovals. Texas is very fast and smooth with a lot of grip in the corners. Over the years the racing surface has developed nicely, and the second groove should work its way in over the weekend."

Jeremy Mayfield: "They've never had a repeat winner at Texas; we don't mind that trend continuing. Besides, it's time that Evernham Motorsports has one of its Dodge Chargers in Victory Lane. Now that they've changed the starting time, the race will end under the lights. That's means continuous changes in track conditions. We just have to make sure the No. 19 Dodge team has a handle on the setup at the start of the race and makes the adjustments that keep up with the changing conditions."