Biffle leaves with a smile, Vickers can't wait to leave

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Sunday's Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway began with four drivers within 100 points of the lead in the Chase.

It ended with six within 100 and two more just outside of that mark, meaning the championship is far from settled with seven races to go.

Mark Martin held onto the points lead and actually was able to slightly increase the distance between himself and his closest pursuer, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, from 10 points to 18. But five of the next six Chasers who comprised the post-race standings gained ground on the clubhouse leader.

Race winner Tony Stewart gained the most, picking up 39 points to move from fifth to fourth in the Chase pecking order and within 67 points of Martin with seven races remaining. After Stewart, though, the biggest gainers on Sunday were Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon, who finished third and second, respectively.

Gordon, second in Sunday's event, moved from eighth to seventh in the standings and picked up a total of 19 points to move within 103 of Martin.

"We definitely made some gains, but I don't think the big swings come on days like this," Gordon said. "Days like [Sunday] definitely help, but the swings are going to come at places like Talladega and Martinsville. I mean, it can happen any day. But we can't expect to make up 100 points on these guys in one weekend."

Biffle entered Sunday ninth in the standings, 138 behind Martin, and left in eighth, only 114 back for a gain of 24 points. Only Stewart gained more ground on the leader, and it was enough to leave Biffle in a good mood afterward even though he didn't win despite leading six different times for a race-high total of 113 laps. (Continued)