Roush Hits Trifecta: Biffle, Kenseth, Edwards sweep at Dover

Greg Biffle pulled ahead of his two Roush Fenway Racing teammates, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, with eight laps remaining in the Camping World RV 400 at Dover International Speedway and went on to win his second consecutive race.
 
“I can’t tell you how proud I am or excited that I was to be racing Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards for the win,” Biffle said. “Man, we were going at it. And that’s Friday, Saturday night short track racing where you came from. It’s a lot of fun. Get in there and beat and bang a little bit. That’s just what we love to do.

“But there’s so much on the line right now. It takes a lot of mindset, it takes a lot of concentration behind the wheel. It takes a lot of execution to not make mistakes at this level. You can’t make mistakes today and come out.”

After the first two Chase races, Biffle is now third in the point standings, 10 markers behind leader Carl Edwards.
 
The final caution flag of the day waved with 50 laps remaining, setting up some of the best racing seen yet this season.

Edwards led the field down pit road for the final round of pit stops. Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne made the call for two tires, while their counterparts took on the traditional four. The call gave them track position for the restart on lap 356.
 
Veteran racer Mark Martin nipped at Edwards on the restart but drifted high allowing Kenseth to swoop in for second. As the two battled, Biffle crept his No. 16 Ford into the picture.

The three Roush teammates squared off, swapping the top-3 slots before Edwards, with two lesser tires, slipped back to third leaving Kenseth and Biffle to battle.

The two made contact multiple times as they contended for the top spot around the one-mile concrete track, with Biffle prevailing on lap 391 of the 400.

“It was really fun racing,” Kenseth said. “That’s probably the best racing I’ve seen in a long time. There were three of us racing there. In a way with Carl leading the points, there’s two winners. I feel like the only loser in the crowd. We got beat. You hate to get beat when you’re in them battles, but they’re a lot of fun to be part of.

“I think Greg had probably the best car there, and we were just all driving as hard as we could to try to hold him off as long as I could and I just couldn’t do it.”

Kenseth, who led a race high 136 laps on Sunday, remains winless this season.

Edwards held on to third at the finish with Martin and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top-5 finishers.

It was the first time since 2005 that Roush Fenway Racing took home a 1-2-3 finish.

The future looks even brighter for Biffle, who has swept the first two Chase races. Next weekend the tour visits the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, a race Biffle won last season.

“These next mile-and-a-half racetracks, I feel confident that there isn’t one of them that we can’t win at,” Biffle added. “We’re capable of winning at all of them. We’re just going to have to execute like we have been. I’m going to have to not make mistakes to get our car in Victory Lane.”

While the Chase front-runners hope to add some breathing room, Kyle Busch is hoping to turn things around in Kansas. He may have dominated the season but the most important races, those within the Chase, have so far been a disaster for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

Last week in Loudon, Busch broke a sway bar and was involved in a wreck, finishing 34th.

On lap 172 at Dover he pulled into the garage, suffering a blown engine in his No. 18 Toyota. He took a hard points hit, finishing 43rd.

“Something broke inside the engine, he said. “I’m not sure what it is.”

After dominating the standings for the majority of the season and entering the Chase with 80 bonus points courtesy his series-leading eight wins, he now sits in the 12th and final Chase slot.

“We’re out of the title hunt,” Busch stated afterward. “That’s for sure. So we’ll just manage what we can.”

Though he may feel like it after watching his championship hopes slip away, Busch was not alone in terms of Chasers struggling on the Monster Mile. His JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin, suffered a rear end oil leak, sending him to the garage early. He returned to the track but finished 38th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also struggled throughout the day. On lap 144 Earnhardt hit the wall after cutting a tire. He ended the day 24th, three laps down.

Richard Childress Racing enjoyed a solid day, as Kevin Harvick finished sixth, Clint Bowyer eighth and Jeff Burton ninth. Each advance in the Chase standings; Burton to fourth, Harvick to fifth and Bowyer to sixth.
 
Jeff Gordon broke through for a solid run after claiming the pole and leading 30 laps. He registered a seventh-place showing.

Michael Waltrip closed out the top 10. His 10th-place finish was his second top 10 of the season.

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