CUP: Kenseth, Biffle Still Racing For High Ground

Roush Fenway drivers looking to end season with solid runs…

Mike Hembree | Posted November 06, 2012 Charlotte, NC

Matt Kenseth (Left) and teammate Greg Biffle (Right) still have much to race for in the season's final two events. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Although Roush Fenway Racing drivers Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are essentially non-factors in the race for the Sprint Cup championship, each has something beyond race victories to shoot for in the season’s final two races.

Kenseth, who has had two wins in the past five races, rallied over the second half of Sunday’s race in Texas to finish fourth, a strong run that boosted him three places in the Chase standings to fifth.

Entering Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, Kenseth is only 14 points behind fourth-place Chaser Kasey Kahne.

A fourth-place point finish would be a positive in Kenseth’s last season at RFR before he moves on to Joe Gibbs Racing next season. Kenseth has driven virtually his entire NASCAR career for team co-owner Jack Roush, winning the Sprint Cup championship in Roush Fords in 2003, the last season before the arrival of the Chase.

Kenseth has a decent record at Phoenix, with one win and five top fives in 20 races on the one-mile track.

Biffle, who began the Chase with high hopes for his first Sprint Cup championship but faltered out of the gate with finishes of 13th, 18th and 16th in the first three races, rolls into Phoenix 10th in points.

He fell one spot last week after finishing 10th at Texas.

Biffle’s goal will be to finish no lower than 10th in the Chase standings. The top 10 drivers are honored on stage at the post-season awards banquet in Las Vegas Nov. 30.

Biffle has an 18-point edge on 11th-place driver Kevin Harvick.

Biffle’s history at Phoenix has some holes. He is winless in 17 races, with five top fives and six top 10s.

The performance records of Kenseth and Biffle this season are remarkably similar. Kenseth has three wins, 13 top fives and 19 top 10s, while Biffle has won twice and has 11 top fives and 19 top 10s.

Their Chase records also are similar, although Kenseth has a pair of Chase victories and Biffle is winless in the post-season. Kenseth’s average finish is 12.6, Biffle’s 13.0.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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