LOUDON, N.H. --- Greg Biffle saved his best stuff for when it counted most Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

He not only waited until the final 11 laps to pass Jimmie Johnson for the lead in the Sylvania 300, he waited until the Chase for the Championship to win his first race of the year.

Biffle seemed content with running second to Johnson for nearly 50 laps before he took off in his No. 16 Ford. A series of late-race cautions -- there were five yellow flags in the final 78 laps -- worked perfectly for Biffle, whose car was set up for short runs.

"I was holding back," Biffle said. "This Ford really wanted to go. We got that caution, and that allowed us to close up on Jimmie Johnson."

Once Biffle got out front, he drove away to a 30-yard victory.

"The only weakness I had all day long was the restarts," Johnson said. "After two or three of them, I thought my tires would have been good enough. I still felt a little vulnerable.

"I was inching back up to him, but I ran out of time. Victory Lane would have been great, but second's not a bad thing, either."

Coupled with Carl Edwards' third-place finish, Edwards and Johnson now are tied for the lead in the Chase. Biffle, who started the playoffs tied for eighth, vaulted into third place.

Points leader Kyle Busch led the first three laps, but something broke in his suspension and sent him deep into the running order. Busch was 34th, 12 laps down, to drop to eighth in the Chase.

Matt Kenseth's title hopes were crippled with a crash on 229th lap. He wound up 40th.

Teenage phenom Joey Logano, already victorious in a Nationwide race, finished 32nd in his Sprint Cup debut.

Reach Don Coble at don.coble@morris.com.