BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle are both battling for a Chase berth this weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway, but they're on opposite sides of the Chase bubble.
Entering the Pure Michigan 400 (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) Biffle is 80 points behind the 16th and final Chase driver, Clint Bowyer. Gordon is in 12th place with a 59-point cushion between himself and Kasey Kahne, the first driver outside of the top 16.
Given the different situations, does that mean Gordon and Biffle will take different approaches to Sunday's race?
Gordon said he didn't feel like he had much cushion to play with given how frequently things change in this sport.
"I just want to finish a race where I'm capable of running," Gordon said. "What we can't do is have problems that we've had; you can't get caught up in a wreck like we did in Indy. You can't have a brake issue like we had last week. We can't be finishing 30th and 40th. It's not like we have to win. We want to win and we're working hard to do that, but we know that top 10s are plenty good enough."
While Gordon has the luxury of aiming for top-10 finishes, Biffle is facing perhaps his best chance for a victory before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. The Roush Fenway Racing driver leads active drivers with four Sprint Cup wins at Michigan and has finished in the top 10 in 15 of 25 races on the 2-mile track, but he has just two top-five finishes this season.
Yes, Michigan has been good to Biffle, but does that success actually put extra pressure on him to get in the win column this weekend? And will he drive more aggressively to get that victory?
"Yeah, I think a little of both," Biffle said. "We have four races and have to win one of them to get in the Chase. We have been very fortunate to make the Chase six of the last seven years. We feel the pressure, trust me. ... We felt like we have been close. Charlotte, last week and Pocono were all opportunities for us. This certainly could be a weekend for us."
Or, it could be the weekend for Gordon to notch his first win of the season and assure himself a chance to make one final run at a fifth Sprint Cup championship. Gordon has won three times at Michigan, including last year's August trip to the Irish Hills. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has 27 top-10 finishes in 45 races at Michigan, where he has won six poles.
"I have always enjoyed this track," Gordon said. "It felt very natural here. We have had great success here. The three wins probably don't speak to the true stats. It's been a track that not only have we been fast at and won a few times at, but we have put some pretty nice, consistent finishes together, too."
Consistency is something the No. 24 team hasn't enjoyed much of lately. In the past four races, Gordon has alternated between good and bad results, finishing ninth in New Hampshire, 42nd in Indianapolis, third at Pocono and 41st at Watkins Glen.
"We had some good fortune at Pocono, and kind of recovered ourselves from the Indy incident," Gordon said. "And then we followed that up with the Watkins Glen debacle. So, I'm hoping that this weekend we can have another recovery like we had at Pocono."
In order to do so, Gordon, along with Biffle and the other drivers, will need to make the right adjustments to the high-drag package being used at Michigan. It's the second time the series has used this setup, following its debut last month at Indianapolis.
NASCAR announced Friday that the high-drag package wouldn't be used for the Chase, but who adjusts best to it this Sunday could go a long way toward determining who actually participates in the postseason.
"In the race you can't be wide open," Gordon said. "I wish. I really wish we were because I think in order for this package to get the most out of it you need to easily be wide open, so you can really utilize the draft. ... We are going to be fanned out and finding clean air and then trying to get that tow down the straightaway. It's going to be a totally different Michigan I feel like than what we have ever had before."