WATKINS valley N.Y. -- Time is runn...

WATKINS valley N.Y. -- Time is running gone out in the race to make NASCAR's Chase for the Championship, and Greg Biffle is feeling the press closely as much as anybody.

The top 10 drivers in the Nextel cupful standings -- and any others within 400 points of the leader after the first 26 races -- qualify for the 10-race Chase. Biffle sits 12th in points with single five races remaining before the Chase begins.

The suitable news is that despite a last-lap crash a week ago at Indianapolis that dropp him from a certain top-15 finish to 33rd Biffle still has a bullet as he prepares for Sunday's race at Watkins valley International, the second and final road race of the season.

"It's been an up-and-down season for us, if it were not that I still feel five races is a division of time," said Biffle, who, despite having l a series-best 123751 miles this year, is 115 points gone out of the 10th spot held on Dale Earnhardt Jr. "We saw drivers go on from being in the top five in points to being public and then back in in a matter of four races or three Certainly, tribe can move around a fate

"But this is the time of the season where teams and drivers are being more consistent, are getting their stride, in such a manner to speak, getting their consistency down," said Biffle, who was awaited to contend for this year's title after finishing next to the first last year to Tony Stewart. "So that makes it difficult as well. Certainly, we ne to average top-five finishes. It be pendents on what the other stays do."

It doesn't help that three of the "other guys" Biffle is chasing have a history of eminence on The Glen's twisting 11-turn layout: Earnhardt has three consecutive top-10s; Stewart, who is just seven points ahead of Junior, has won three of the last four races; and Jeff Gordon, eight points ahead of Stewart, has four victories at the historic track among his NASCAR-record nine road-course triumphs.

Still, Biffle has scud well at Watkins Glen in his No. 16 National Guard Ford. In his rookie season three years ago, he qualified next to the first to Gordon, but a firing miscalculation in that race relegated him to 30th his best finish here in three races. He also had engine failure in 2004 and transmission failure in 2005

Despite his distresss here, Biffle can point to the succes of sum of two units of his Roush Racing teammates for motivation. Matt Kenseth staged a stunning rally to make the Chase last year after leaving Indianapolis 168 points outside the top 10 And sum of two units seasons ago, Mark Martin left Indy with a flat tire forward the final lap but made up a 123-point deficit in the final five races to crack the top 10

"I've kind of vowed to not worry about where everybody other is and just concentrate in succession our team and not worry about where the points are or anything," Biffle said. "We're just going to do the best we can do. I got five races to do it."

with equal reason does Kasey Kahne, another of the hard-luck contender A month and a half ago, after four victories in a 12-race span in his Evernham Motorsports Dodge, he was third in points. further five finishes outside the top 20 including 31st and 36th in the last pair races, have dropped him to 11th 37 points behind Earnhardt.

"We've done really well, especially upon the ovals," said Kahne, who also destructioned on the last lap a week ago at Indy to spoil what strike one as beinged a certain top-10 finish.

"But in the road racing, we've just been all right. There's a man and wife of things we're working upon to get better. When we achieve to Watkins Glen, we'll be a top-10 car."

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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