Late-Race Incident Ends Promising Night for 3M Team in Bud Shootout
February 7, 201012:08 PM
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. (February 6, 2010) – The first race of the season was shaping up to be a successful one for Greg Biffle and the 3M team until Biffle spun on the first lap of a green-white-checker finish while challenging Kevin Harvick for the lead. Biffle had been a top-10 contender for most of the night after drawing a fifth-place starting position at the draw party. Following the spin, Biffle was credited with a 15th-place finish.
Biffle was 17th and 20th fastest in the two Bud Shootout practices on Thursday but seemed happy with the way the 3M Ford could run in the draft. That night at the Bud Shootout draw party, he drew the fifth starting position to take the green flag from the inside of row three.
Shortly after the start of the race, Biffle reported that the car was a little too tight. On lap 14, however, he radioed the team to let them know that the 3M Ford was getting looser the further he got into a run. He was running eighth when Michael Waltrip spun and brought out a caution on lap 25. As there was a planned 10-minute break on lap 25, the break occurred during this caution.
Biffle pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. No adjustments were made after he and crew chief Greg Erwin conferred on pit road. When the field restarted on lap 25, Biffle was back in the eighth position. He continued to draft with the frontrunners and was sixth on the board when Kurt Busch spun and made heavy contact with the outside wall on lap 32.
When the pits opened, Biffle came in for four tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment and an air pressure adjustment as the 3M Ford was now a little tight. The 3M Pit Bulls picked up one spot in the pits and Biffle restarted fifth on lap 37. Shortly after green-flag racing resumed, Biffle made his way toward the front of the field on the outside line of the draft. On lap 51, Biffle took the lead for one lap before Harvick and the inside draft pushed back by.
On lap 59, Biffle was running fourth when he reported that he couldn’t run the bottom line and would have to stay on the outside. 11 laps later, Biffle was back in the fourth position when a caution came out for a multi-car incident on the backstretch. He and Erwin quickly began discussing whether to pit or not and in the end opted to stay out. Biffle and Kasey Kahne were the only two drivers to stay out so Biffle had the lead when the field took the green for the green-white-checker finish.
Before the field got back around to the start/finish line Biffle spun while leading the outside line after getting some drafting help from Jeff Gordon. Biffle had reported just before the restart that he thought he might have a right rear tire going down. As there would only be one attempt at a green-white-checker finish, the race ended under caution and Biffle was credited with a 15th-place finish.
“I’m pretty sure I had a right rear tire going down there at the end,” said Biffle. “I think I ran over some debris on the backstretch during the last caution but we had already decided to stay out so when I got a push from Gordon, the car just spun out. I hate it for the 3M team and the other guys who got caught up in it. We did have a good run going before that happened and that’s encouraging for what we might be able to do next Sunday in the 500.”
About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams. Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and four in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Colin Braun, and Paul Menard. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. Become a fan of Roush Fenway Racing on Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway. And for sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.
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