2014 NASCAR standings: Greg Biffle moves into Chase slot; Kyle Larson slides out

One week after losing the championship lead, Jeff Gordon moved back atop the standings on the strength of a victory Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Gordon’s victory pushed him two points ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., who captured the lead from Gordon last week at Watkins Glen International. Both Hendrick Motorsports drivers own three victories on the year and would be the top seeds in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

While points may be of little consequence to Gordon, Earnhardt and the other 10 drivers who’ve won a race this season, they hold great value for the likes of Greg Biffle and others on the Chase bubble.

Biffle used a 10th-place finish to move inside the Chase cutoff, nine points clear of Kasey Kahne. At present four winless drivers will qualify for the playoffs provided no new winner emerges in the next three weeks. Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer would also advance.

“I guess it was a good day,” Biffle said. “We got a top-10; really we wanted to run up in the top-five. We had a car to do that and that track position we would get loose around other cars. We still have to work on that with our race cars.”

Michigan wasn’t as kind to Kyle Larson, who finished last (43rd) Sunday, allowing Biffle to pass him in the standings. Larson suffered a hard crash when he blew a tire on Lap 94, which sent him into the wall and ignited a fire that engulfed his Chevrolet.

Larson fell 24 points behind Biffle with three regular season races remaining. Not an insurmountable margin, but Larson also must hope no new winners breakthrough at Bristol, Atlanta or Richmond.

“It’s just a shame we were up there in the points battle so we have to work even harder now to try and get in the Chase,” Larson said. ”...We have been working really hard to get back up in points after our couple of (did not finishes) there a couple of months ago. Now we are back to that.

“I think we have a great car every time we get on the track and Bristol is one of my favorite tracks so we will try to go there and get a win and not worry about points anymore.”