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BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Crew chief Greg Erwin didn't hesitate. Greg Biffle radioed his crew chief and asked if he could challenge Jimmie Johnson for the lead instead of saving fuel in the final laps Sunday.

"Hell yeah,'' Erwin said.

Biffle quit his tap dance on the accelerator and charged. Moments later, Johnson ran out of fuel two laps from the finish. Biffle took the lead and ran out of fuel a lap later, 1 mile from the finish.

Mark Martin saved fuel for more than 40 laps -- "I was just lollygagging,'' he said -- and shot past Biffle. Even with his cautious approach, Martin ran out of fuel in turn four, but coasted to his third victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Martin finished ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who started at the rear because of an engine change Friday. Denny Hamlin placed third, his best finish in more than two months, with Carl Edwards fourth and Biffle fifth.

How an uneventful race at Michigan International Raceway finished with such a flair can be traced the points standings. Johnson entered the race third in the points and is all but assured of making the Chase. He could gamble on fuel mileage -- just as he did last week at Pocono when he ran out of fuel on the last lap and fell from third to seventh.

Still, that didn't mean Johnson was thrilled with the result -- a 22nd-place finish.

"Why does this happen to us every (darn) time?'' Johnson radioed crew chief Chad Knaus as he coasted around the track.

Knaus later said he knew it would be close but thought Biffle would slow his pace sooner than he did. Since he didn't, that forced Johnson to conserve less. Biffle said he ran out of fuel because Johnson pressured him and forced him to pick up his pace more than he wanted.

"I thought to myself, "There's no way we're going to make it,' " Biffle said.

Biffle took the chance because he was looking for his first win of the season after losing potential victories at Texas (lug nuts fell off), Dover (untimely caution), and Darlington (handling went away). It looked like this might be the day.

Biffle had been told to save fuel shortly after the leaders made their final pit stop with 48 laps to go. Erwin said afterward that his calculations showed Biffle would run out of fuel on the backstretch on the final lap.

Martin, meanwhile, couldn't be as aggressive. Engine failures in the season's second and third races dropped Martin to 34th in the points in early March. He's spent the last three months climbing from that slow start. Martin entered Sunday's race 13th in the points -- only the top 12 will transfer to the Chase in September -- so he couldn't afford to take chances. He needs points.

Crew chief Alan Gustafson told Martin he could run hard for 10 laps and then would have to save fuel.

"Not me,'' Martin later said. "I'll run out.''

Martin often bemoans his failures despite all his success. Yet with fuel-mileage races, Martin's pessimism reflects his performance in such events.

"I always, always come up short on the gas-mileage thing, always have,'' he said. "If you look at the stats I've lost 25 and won two probably on it. I just don't have the luck.''

This time he did. His victory helped him climb five spots to eighth in the points. While 11 races remain until the Chase field is set, this was a pivotal result for Martin.

"This race was more important to get into the (top 12) than it was to win the race,'' car owner Rick Hendrick said. "We could not afford to gamble and &ellipses; not finish up front to get the points and be in the Chase. It would be a shame to have two or three wins and not make that thing.''

Nothing is guaranteed yet, but Martin has had a fast car all season (he's also won three poles) and is showing signs of being a title threat later this season.

As Martin celebrated his win -- "winning with a surprise &ellipses; it's always one of the most fun,'' Martin said -- Gordon visited the 50-year-old in victory lane to congratulate his teammate.

"Old man, you snookered us,'' Gordon said.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@ news-record.com