WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Kasey Kahne sits seventh in the Sprint Cup standings and his first road course win is still fresh on his mind.

That should make Kahne confident as the series shifts this week to the road course at Watkins Glen. But he's only 79 points inside the top 12 and just 11 points ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, so Kahne remains wary with five races remaining before the cutoff for the Chase for the championship.

"You know, I don't feel super confident, but I definitely feel good where we're sitting right now," Kahne said. "I feel like if we keep it up, we're going to be in good shape. But things can happen so easily by your own error or just by racing situations. It's just the way racing goes."

No matter what's at stake, racing over the fast 11-turn, 2.45-mile Watkins Glen road course — one of only two on the Cup schedule — can bring out the worst in anybody — and often has. Toss in a handful of non-regular drivers (road course specialists aiming for that breakthrough victory) and a few regular drivers who aren't having the season they had hoped for, and Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen becomes something of a wild card.

"There's opportunities for guys to make mistakes in those road races," Greg Biffle said. "You don't wish bad luck on anybody, but the other guys we're chasing for spots are good there, too. Kasey won at Sonoma (in June), and Juan Pablo runs good. Let's face it, those are the two guys I'm racing for a spot, plus my teammate, Matt Kenseth, who's right behind us."

Only the top 12 drivers in the standings are eligible to compete for the Sprint Cup title over the final 10 races of the season, and Biffle is one who can't afford to make a big blunder. He finished 15th at Pocono on Monday, dropping a position in the standings to 12th — just one point behind Roush Fenway Racing teammate Kenseth and 101 points ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing star Kyle Busch.

Busch left Watkins Glen International a year ago brimming with confidence after notching his eighth win of the Cup season. He needs a repeat performance this week to rekindle hopes of making the 10-race Chase.

"This is a track where I feel like we can make up some ground," Busch said Thursday on a conference call with reporters. "If we can get a good car like we had last year and maybe qualify up somewhat near the front, we can take a little bit of pit strategy and get up there a little bit further. We've got to fight hard."

Despite a disappointing 16th at Pocono, his fourth straight finish outside the top 10, Busch remains upbeat for good reason. He has three top-10 finishes in four starts at The Glen.

"We had a great race last year, so there's no reason we can't have another one this year," Busch said.