Biffle gives up a position, but gets back into top 12

INDIANAPOLIS -- The final laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is no time to be coming off the accelerator. But Sunday in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Greg Biffle didn't have much choice.

Biffle was in position for a third-place finish at the Brickyard, but with fuel running low and his points standing tenuous, he had to ease out of the gas at the finish. The Roush Fenway Racing driver conceded third place to Tony Stewart, content to finish fourth rather than flooring it and risk not finishing at all.

"We had a really good car. The 3M Ford Fusion was really good," Biffle said. "It was just too bad we had to let up and save fuel at the end. We only lost one spot, but I had to let Tony Stewart go by there at the end to save fuel. I really hated to do that. It's hard for a race car driver with a fast race car to let up, but that's what we needed to do to finish, and we did what we had to do. I just wish I had got third. You want to get every piece you can get."

Biffle learned from experience. Five weeks ago at Michigan International Speedway, Biffle and Jimmie Johnson were battling for the lead on the final lap when both drivers ran out of fuel on the 2-mile oval. Crew chief Greg Erwin told his driver to go for it in that instance, but not Sunday. At Indianapolis, with his spot in the Chase far from solidified, Biffle was forced to be more conservative.

"I didn't think we'd make it on gas, so the guys really wanted to pedal it," he said. "We had to finish. I was thinking it was going to be Michigan all over again, where we ran it out with a half-lap left. So I had to let [Stewart] go and finish fourth, but it was a good day for us."

Biffle wasn't the only Roush driver to come out of Indianapolis relieved. Teammate Matt Kenseth started in 25th but rallied to finish 10th, allowing him to hold on to the 12th position in points. Kenseth and Johnson are the only two drivers to make every Chase since the playoff system was implemented prior to the 2004 season. The title field will be determined after the Sept. 12 event at Richmond, now just five races away.

"Well, honestly, we've been running so bad I haven't really even thought much about the points," said Kenseth, who cracked the top 10 for the second time in his last seven starts. "To finish 10th probably exceeds my expectations for the weekend with the way we've been running lately and the way we've been finishing lately. Actually, [Sunday] we probably finished a little better than we ran. We had good pit stops and didn't have any problems and got a solid finish. We just have to get running better and get finishing better, but I'm certainly happy with 10th for how we've been doing lately."

Those were the bright spots for the Roush crew. Carl Edwards started 41st, struggled to pass in traffic, and went home 15th. Jamie McMurray, potentially nearing the end of his tenure with Roush -- he's in the final year of his contract, and reports indicate he's free to look elsewhere -- was 21st. David Ragan was 24th.

But for Biffle, Sunday was the kind of effort that could ultimately mean the difference between making the Chase field and racing for 13th place. His strong run and throttle-feathering finish allowed him to jump two spots in the standings to 11th.

"It was a good points day for us, and we need every point we can get right now," he said. "I didn't take a chance on losing the positions, running it out. I hate to give up five points to Tony, but we're going to run good at Pocono and we're going to run good at Michigan coming up. I'm confident we're going to get back in this thing."