With his third victory at the two-mile track, his second of the season and the 18th of his career, Washington state native Greg Biffle broke a seven-race dry spell for both Ford and owner Jack Roush. Biffle also grabbed the points lead from Jimmie Johnson, who finished 27th after his engine failed in the closing laps.

Aug. 19, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- They're baaack!

Greg Biffle, Roush Fenway Racing and Ford Motor Company all celebrated the end of a drought Sunday with Biffle's victory in the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

With his third victory at the two-mile track, his second of the season and the 18th of his career, Biffle broke a seven-race dry spell for both Ford and owner Jack Roush. Biffle also grabbed the points lead from Jimmie Johnson, who finished 27th after his engine failed in the closing laps.

Brad Keselowski tried to catch Biffle during a two-lap run to the finish but fell .416 seconds short, taking second in a photo finish over fast-closing Kasey Kahne. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home fourth, followed by Marcos Ambrose.

The victory was the 12th for Roush as a car owner, breaking a tie with the Wood Brothers. It also gave Biffle the confidence to declare himself a contender for the series championship.

"We're going to make a run at the title," Biffle promised. "I know they don't talk about us a lot, but they will when we get to (Las) Vegas (site of the postseason Sprint Cup awards banquet)."

Biffle leads teammate Matt Kenseth (17th Sunday) by 20 points with three races left before the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set at Richmond. Earnhardt is third, 22 points back, and Johnson fell from first to fourth, trailing Biffle by 28 points.

It was Earnhardt who gave Biffle the push he needed on the final restart on Lap 200.

"Junior gave me a huge push for that win," Biffle said. "I have to thank him for that. I saw Brad laying back (on the restart) like always, and he got a little jump on me."

But the push did the trick and got Biffle to the front. He cleared Keselowski through Turn 2 and kept the No. 2 Dodge at bay the rest of the way, disappointing Michigan native Keselowski.

"This is my home track," said Keselowski, who has finished second in two straight Cup races. "I want to win here just as bad as I want to win a race in the Chase -- probably more. There was a stretch where I felt like we were going to win it. I had some goosebumps going on.

"But it wasn't meant to be, and I'm still very proud of the effort. . . . I just want to get that one more spot. I want to win races, and we've been running solid -- and I'm proud of that -- but we want that one more spot, too."

Johnson took the lead from Keselowski on Lap 191, but four laps later his engine expired, handing the lead to Biffle, who had passed Keselowski for the second spot on Lap 192. NASCAR called a caution for oil in the tri-oval, the result of Johnson's engine failure.

That set up a restart that sent the race one lap past its scheduled distance of 200 laps.

Pole-sitter Mark Martin suffered a vicious hit on Lap 64, when his No. 55 Toyota slammed into the butt end of the pit road wall at an opening to the garage. Martin was an innocent victim of a wreck involving Juan Pablo Montoya and Bobby Labonte, who spun off Turn 4 in front of the race leader.

Kahne spun alongside Martin and slid through the grass but suffered no significant damage and rallied for a top-five finish.

RACE RESULTS

1. (13) Greg Biffle, Ford, 201, $220,275.
2. (19) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 201, $155,680.
3.  (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 201, $119,710.
4. (22) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 201, $116,585.
5.  (8) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 201, $122,768.
6.  (2) Carl Edwards, Ford, 201, $139,551.
7. (12) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 201, $121,674.
8. (15) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 201, $130,168.
9. (10) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 201, $96,110.
10.  (7) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 201, $120,199.
11. (21) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 201, $127,001.
12. (17) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 201, $126,210.
13. (23) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 201, $127,993.
14. (24) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 201, $115,293.
15. (30) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 201, $111,043.
16. (20) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 201, $128,621.
17.  (4) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 201, $127,646.
18. (36) David Gilliland, Ford, 201, $98,243.
19. (32) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 201, $120,435.
20. (41) Aric Almirola, Ford, 201, $124,746.
21. (39) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, 200, $80,960.
22. (28) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 199, $103,068.
23. (37) David Ragan, Ford, 199, $91,968.
24.  (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 199, $80,010.
25.  (9) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 198, $106,780.
26. (25) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 197, $109,501.
27.  (3) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Engine, 195, $123,396.
28. (11) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, Engine, 167, $124,071.
29. (18) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 154, $96,507.
30. (26) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, Accident, 135, $87,885.
31. (16) Joey Logano, Toyota, 132, $83,760.
32. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Engine, 109, $128,710.
33. (40) TJ Bell, Ford, Transmission, 108, $83,585.
34. (31) David Stremme, Toyota, Electrical, 72, $75,210.
35.  (1) Mark Martin, Toyota, Accident, 64, $86,860.
36. (35) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Rear Gear, 38, $75,010.
37. (29) Casey Mears, Ford, Vibration, 36, $74,955.
38. (42) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, Vibration, 34, $74,828.
39. (43) Mike Skinner, Ford, Electrical, 25, $72,075.
40. (34) Josh Wise, Ford, Suspension, 21, $72,025.
41. (38) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Suspension, 20, $71,970.
42. (27) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, Overheating, 15, $71,895.
43. (33) Jason Leffler, Ford, Fuel Pressure, 14, $71,465.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 144.662 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 46 Mins, 44 Secs.
   Margin of Victory:  0.416 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 8 for 35 laps.
   Lead Changes: 26 among 13 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: M. Martin 1-35; B. Keselowski 36-38; J. Johnson 39-42; S. Hornish Jr. 43-45; M. Martin 46-64; M. Kenseth 65-69; M. Truex Jr. 70; C. Bowyer 71-89; M. Truex Jr. 90-100; G. Biffle 101-110; S. Hornish Jr. 111-112; P. Menard 113; D. Earnhardt Jr. 114-123; J. Johnson 124-125; B. Keselowski 126-128; G. Biffle 129-137; D. Earnhardt Jr. 138-152; J. Johnson 153-165; B. Keselowski 166-168; C. Edwards 169; S. Hornish Jr. 170-173; D. Hamlin 174; P. Menard 175-181; L. Cassill 182; B. Keselowski 183-190; J. Johnson 191-194; G. Biffle 195-201.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): M. Martin 2 times for 54 laps; G. Biffle 3 times for 26 laps; D. Earnhardt Jr. 2 times for 25 laps; J. Johnson 4 times for 23 laps; C. Bowyer 1 time for 19 laps; B. Keselowski 4 times for 17 laps; M. Truex Jr. 2 times for 12 laps; S. Hornish Jr. 3 times for 9 laps; P. Menard 2 times for 8 laps; M. Kenseth 1 time for 5 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 1 lap; L. Cassill 1 time for 1 lap; C. Edwards 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 12 in Points: G. Biffle - 823; M. Kenseth - 803; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 801; J. Johnson - 795; B. Keselowski - 776; M. Truex Jr. - 763; C. Bowyer - 757; K. Harvick - 738; T. Stewart - 728; D. Hamlin - 727; K. Kahne - 694; C. Edwards - 689.

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