Greg Biffle began the Chase for the Cup as a longshot.

At best.

Winless for almost a year and seeded a distant ninth in the 12-driver field, few considered him a serious contender. But “The Biff” never counted himself out, believing a strong run Sunday in the opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway would put him in position to race for the Sprint Cup title.

Biffle used a self-described “textbook pass” on Jimmie Johnson with 12 laps to go at the Sylvania 300 to snap a 33-race winless streak and vault all the way to third in the Chase standings. He trails co-leaders Johnson and Carl Edwards, his teammate at Roush Fenway Racing, by only 30 points.

“I felt like we were a definite threat for the Chase if we made it because of the momentum we’ve had and how good the [Chase] racetracks are for me,” Biffle said. “There were some that I was a little nervous about, and one was Loudon. We’ve gotten through the one a little better than I expected, which is here, so I feel like we’re definitely the dark horse.”

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 saving his Ford, hopeful that a late caution or two 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 win and leave Victory Lane with a notable swagger. It was his first victory since winning at Kansas last September.

Johnson finished second and said he knew Biffle would make a run on him after David Ragan and Carpentier brought out a pair of cautions with fewer than 20 laps to go.

“Short runs is what hurt me the most. I felt a little vulnerable, and sure enough he got by,” Johnson said. “But the big picture, second place is not a bad day at the office.”

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

LA Times

RESULTS:

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS WINNINGS
1 9 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network Turbo HD 190/5 300 Running 233,575
2 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 180/10 300 Running 221,911
3 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 170/5 300 Running 179,150
4 7 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 160/0 300 Running 159,708
5 4 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 160/5 300 Running 113,125
6 20 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 150/0 300 Running 101,125
7 18 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 146/0 300 Running 128,108
8 8 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 147/5 300 Running 131,561
9 6 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 138/0 300 Running 121,016
10 11 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 134/0 300 Running 132,111
11 13 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 130/0 300 Running 113,716
12 5 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 127/0 300 Running 96,225
13 21 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 124/0 300 Running 118,161
14 10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 121/0 300 Running 125,911
15 27 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 118/0 300 Running 80,225
16 24 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Valvoline 115/0 300 Running 106,239
17 22 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Juicy Fruit Slim Pack 112/0 300 Running 106,058
18 15 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 109/0 300 Running 112,008
19 33 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 106/0 300 Running 95,708
20 43 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 103/0 300 Running 81,200
21 28 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Sylvania / Menards 100/0 300 Running 85,000
22 30 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 97/0 299 Running 103,914
23 29 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 94/0 299 Running 86,850
24 23 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Stanley Tools 91/0 299 Running 102,445
25 32 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 88/0 299 Running 92,458
26 38 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam / Operation Homefront 85/0 299 Running 97,758
27 35 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Champion Mortgage 87/5 299 Running 86,533
28 14 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 79/0 298 Running 80,525
29 37 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 76/0 298 Running 90,545
30 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 73/0 298 Running 117,225
31 39 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Berlin City Auto Group 70/0 298 Running 71,950
32 40 96 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot / DLP HDTV 67/0 297 Running 79,200
33 31 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 64/0 297 Running 81,497
34 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 66/5 288 Running 88,800
35 16 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 63/5 287 Running 78,600
36 17 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Kodak 55/0 285 Engine 112,450
37 25 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s 52/0 269 Running 88,175
38 34 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Red Bull 49/0 264 Accident 69,975
39 19 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 46/0 230 Running 77,850
40 12 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt 43/0 228 Accident 117,341
41 26 38 David Gilliland Ford Ford. Drive one. 40/0 228 Accident 69,530
42 41 45 Chad McCumbee Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 37/0 228 Accident 69,405
43 42 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com 34/0 218 Accident 69,665