Season takes nice turn for Biffle
Five races into NASCAR's Sprint Cup schedule, a rejuvenated Greg Biffle is second in the standings and ready to put disappointing 2006 and 2007 seasons in the rear-view mirror of his No. 16 Ford Fusion.
Before the Vancouver driver jumps on the roof of his car and screams, "We're back, baby!", he must get through Sunday's race at half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where Roush Fenway Racing is often out to lunch, lost in traffic.
Biffle was in Darlington, S.C., on Wednesday, testing tires for Goodyear, but he had old tormentor Martinsville on his mind.
"Obviously, we're in really good shape right now," said Biffle, who trails Cup leader Kyle Busch by 30 points. "But I'm really nervous about Martinsville. . . . that place has not been my best track."
Biffle has never won a short-track race at NASCAR's top level. And although he ran seventh in his last race at Martinsville, where heavy traffic and road rage go hand-in-hand, his average finish there is 24th.
"It seems like every time, I'm a lap down, or my brakes have quit working. . . . things have happened," Biffle said during a conference call. "All of us (at Roush Fenway) as a group, we're not that good at Martinsville."
The key to running good at Martinsville, said Biffle, is front-end geometry. "You have to get the car to turn real good around the center of the corners," he explained. "If the car won't do that, it's like you've got a rubber band behind you, pulling you back. And there's nothing you can do. You can't loosen the car up, or change your driving style. . . . if the car won't turn around a track that small, that is so finesse, you're doomed."
But even Martinsville looks hopeful now for Roush Fenway Racing, whose five-driver team includes Biffle, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan and Jamie McMurray. The five-car team seems to be on a collective roll, and Biffle is looking good to make the Chase for the first time since 2005, when he won six races and finished a close second in the championship behind Tony Stewart.
Biffle already has three top-five finishes, and he senses a breakthrough. "I really want to win a race bad," he said.
Biffle was humbled by what happened in 2006, when he failed to finish six races, was 13th in the standings and failed to make the Chase
And he was absolutely miserable through much of 2007, when he failed to finish five times, ended the season 14th, and again failed to make the Chase.
Biffle said one of the lowest points of his career was the July 1 race at Loudon, N.H., where he qualified 34th and finished 31st.
"You get your (rear end) kicked for so long, you go off with your tail between your legs," said Biffle.
"This sport is so humbling. One day you feel like you're pretty good and the next day you're way behind. All you can do is keep working."
Biffle said his team made improvement late last season (he won his only race under caution at Kansas), but it went largely unnoticed because he wasn't in the Chase for the championship.
"What we did didn't show up anywhere, but it inspired us over the winter to make sure we got it done this year," said Biffle, who has developed good chemistry with crew chief Greg Erwin and a new-found confidence in his equipment.
Roush Fenway Racing fell significantly behind last season in developing NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which is being used for all of the races in 2008, but that gap appears to be closing.
Roush Fenway's comeback -- Biffle's comeback -- has been one of the bigger stories of the young Sprint Cup season. In addition to Biffle, Matt Kenseth (currently 11th) and Edwards (16th) are in position to challenge for the Chase.
Biffle said he's having fun driving a race car again, and if that translates into a top five or top 10 finish at Martinsville, watch out, because he can't wait to put four wheels down at Texas Motor Speedway (April 6) and Phoenix (April 12).
Biffle doesn't think he can run good at those tracks, he knows he can.
"If we play our cards right, we're in this thing for the title this year," said Biffle. "We've got it dead in our sights. We're on it 100 percent. . . . I mean, Greg and I were on the phone at 8 p.m. the other night for an hour, talking about what we've found, what we're working on, what we're going to go to Martinsville with."
Notes:
Biffle said one of the reasons RFR has closed the gap this season is the car itself. "The playing field is leveled a little bit, because there's less you can do with it," he said. "It's still foreign ground. There is still a tremendous amount we do not know about the car and we are learning every day." . . . Biffle said a miniscule change in the car, "tire pressure, a little tweak here and there" can turn a contender into a tail-ender. "You go from being one of the faster cars to trying to stay on the lead lap all of a sudden," said Biffle. "With this car, the window is so small."
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