With 3 races to go, RFR duo in position for top 10

With strong runs on a long afternoon Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Ford Racing’s drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup put themselves in good positions to make some serious noise over the final weeks of the season.

Both Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle made advances in the Chase standings Sunday after the Tums Fast Relief 500, Kenseth moving from ninth to eighth and Biffle jumping from 11th to ninth. Only the top 10 drivers participate in the season-ending Sprint Cup awards banquet at Las Vegas, so the two Ford aces put themselves in much better position to win invitations to the big night.

But more -- much more -- is possible.

Races remain at Texas Motor Speedway (this week), Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 11) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 18).

The good news for Kenseth and Biffle is that all three tracks generally present positive landscapes for them as the season rushes toward a close.

At Texas, Kenseth owns a pair of wins and has 14 top-10 runs in 20 races. Biffle’s record in the Lone Star State is similar -- two wins and 10 top 10s in 17 races.

Kenseth has a win at Phoenix, with eight top 10s in 20 races. Biffle is winless at the track in Arizona desert, but he has seven top-fives in 17 races and could break through to the winner’s circle this year.

Both drivers are fans of Homestead. Biffle has won there three times. Kenseth owns one Homestead victory and five top 10s in a dozen races.

Clearly, the twilight of the season sets up well for the Roush Fenway Ford drivers.

Kenseth and Biffle have combined to give RFR a total of five victories this season, and each driver has scored 18 top-10 finishes, a total in the same ballpark as the series leaders.

Biffle and Kenseth each had representative runs Sunday at Martinsville, a track at which neither driver has a particularly impressive history. Biffle finished 10th, only his third top-10 finish at the half-mile in 20 races. Kenseth, whose time at Martinsville is definitely speckled, was 14th at the checkered flag after running in the 20s most of the afternoon.

The two Ford drivers are within relatively easy striking range of top-five finishes in the Chase standings. Kenseth is 16 points behind fifth-place Denny Hamlin, and Biffle trails Hamlin by 20 points.

The march toward a better standing -- and better banquet seating -- in Las Vegas begins this weekend in Texas.

Source: Ford Racing