DOVER, Del. -- A dream day for Roush Racing was a nightmare for Kyle Busch.

Busch, the erstwhile NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader, plummeted to a distant 12th in the standings on Sunday as Roush teammates claimed the top three spots in the Camping World RV 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Busch had engine problems, finished last in the 43-car field and considered his championship hopes "up in smoke" following the race.

"Something broke inside the engine; I'm not sure what it is," he said. "At this point it doesn't matter. We're out of the title hunt; that's for sure."

Meanwhile, Roush racer Greg Biffle moved solidly into title contention with his second consecutive victory. After winning the first two races of the 10-race "Chase for the Cup," Biffle moved into a tie for second in the standings -- just 10 points behind leader and teammate Carl Edwards.

Roush driver Matt Kenseth finished second Sunday, with Edwards third. Edwards took over sole possession of the points lead, 10 points clear of Hendrick Motorsports driver and two-time defending points champion Jimmie Johnson.

Biffle became the first driver to win the first two races of the 10-race championship chase.

Also enjoying strong runs Sunday were the three drivers for Richard Childress Racing, each of whom finished in the top 10 (Kevin Harvick - 6th; Clint Bowyer -- 8th; Jeff Burton -- 9th).

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon finished seventh Sunday to move into the top 10 of the standings and give Hendrick three drivers in the top 10 (Johnson - T2nd; Gordon -- 8th; Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -- 9th).

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Labels: Dale Earnhardt, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson, Jr., Kyle Busch, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Richard Childress, Roush Racing

LOUDON, N.H. - Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson, after finishing second Sunday while one-time points leader Kyle Busch finished poorly, has moved into a tie for the lead in the chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Meanwhile, Greg Biffle, who began the chase as a long shot, used Sunday's victory over Johnson as a catalyst for getting back into title contention.

The first of the 10 "Chase for the Cup" races proved exciting and dramatic -- and also showed the fine line between being contender and pretender.

Winless for almost a year and seeded a distant ninth in the 12-driver field, few considered Biffle a serious contender prior to Sunday. But he used a self-described "textbook pass" on Johnson with 12 laps to go at New Hampshire International Raceway to snap a 33-race winless streak and vault all the way to third in the Chase standings.

Entering Sunday's second Chase race, at Dover, Del., Biffle trails co-leaders Johnson and Carl Edwards by just 30 points.

Johnson, the two-time defending series champion, seemed to have the first round of the Chase locked up after leading a race-high 96 laps. But Biffle was hopeful that a late caution would give him the chance he needed to run Johnson down. He got it when Patrick Carpentier spun late, setting up a restart with 13 laps to go.

Biffle slid past Johnson on the next lap to grab the surprise victory - his first victory since Kansas last September.

Edwards finished third, followed by Jeff Burton and Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., as Chase drivers swept the top five spots.

Earnhardt and Burton go to Dover tied for fourth in the standings, 50 points back.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon fell one spot in the standings to 11th.

Busch, the regular-season points winner, struggled from the start in a disaster of an opening race and finished 34th -- 12 laps down.

Busch broke the sway bar on his Toyota just minutes after the race began and struggled to keep his car off the wall as he tried to nurse it to the mandatory first caution at lap 35. He barely made it and fell two laps off the pace - one lap because of a penalty - and restarted in 43rd place. He was in a later wreck.

After starting the Chase with an 80-point cushion, Busch tumbled all the way to eighth in the standings.

Labels: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt, Dover, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson, Jr., Kyle Busch, New Hampshire, Sprint Cup

Team owner Rick Hendrick and car owner Jeff Gordon looked on with pride Sunday as NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jimmie Johnson did a celebratory burnout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It seemed fitting after the long afternoon that a tire on Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet exploded in a large cloud of smoke during the celebration.

Tire trouble was the theme of Sunday's Brickyard 400. Johnson proved the top finisher, and two of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates also finished in the top 12, as he posted his second victory at IMS.

Because the Goodyear tires used for the race were not durable enough to withstand the lack of downforce on the cars or the speeds and track surface, NASCAR threw six competition cautions designed to force teams to pit and change their tires. As a result, the longest green-flag run was only 12 laps, and 52 laps were run under caution.

Johnson was the first driver out of the pits with seven laps to go and held off hard-charging Ford driver Carl Edwards for his 35th career victory.

Despite the eggs on the faces of the NASCAR powers-to-be after what many considered a race debacle, Hendrick had to have been pleased with the outcome. His powerful and prestigious team had won only twice all season prior to Sunday, a subpar showing by Hendrick Motorsports standards, and Hendrick had even brought in a motivational speaker to the team headquarters in Concord, N.C., earlier in the week.

Appalachian State football coach Jerry Moore, who has led the Mountaineers to three straight Div. I-AA national championships, reportedly told the HMS crew that "it's all about desire and dedication, who wants it more."

Desire and dedication came through Sunday. But the team also utilized opportunity, finding a way to turn near disaster into triumph.

After the race, Johnson and Hendrick took time together to "kiss the bricks" -- the winner's tradition. As they got down on their hands and knees, they showed as much relief as excitement after the caution-filled day.

The victory moved Johnson -- the two-time defending series champion -- into fourth place in the points standings with 16 races remaining.

Hendrick driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., left the race second in points. Gordon maintained his sixth-place position in the season-long points race.

Labels: Appalachian State, Brickyard 400, Chevrolet Nascar Victories, Goodyear, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson, Jerry Moore, Jr., Rick Hendrick, Sprint Cup