Biffle Takes 16th After Long Night in Concord; 3M Team Remains Seventh in Standings
October 20, 20094:17 PM
Concord, N.C.(October 17, 2009) – After a long, chilly night of racing and pit stops, Biffle and the 3M team ended up 16th in the finishing order. Biffle started 23rd and moved into the top 15 just past lap 100. After a two-tire stop, he jumped into the top five but then made a decision that the 3M Ford required a shim adjustment. As those types of adjustments take extra time in the pits, he restarted just inside the top 20 but drove his way up to 12th which is where he was running when contact from Ryan Newman sent him spinning into the grass. There was minimal damage to the car and Biffle restarted 20th with four fresh tires on lap 317. He picked up four positions in the closing laps for a 16th-place finish. The 3M team remains seventh in the point standings.
After being delayed for a couple of hours due to rain, track activity finally got started late Thursday evening. Qualifying was postponed until just after 9:00 p.m. and Biffle was the 18th driver to take the track. Determined to top Jimmie Johnson’s time, Biffle felt he may have overdriven the 3M Ford and ended up 23rd when time trials concluded. The team struggled a little in Happy Hour on Friday but seemed determined to get the car’s handling where it needed to be for the race.
Biffle had picked up two positions when a caution came out for rain on lap 34 but reported that the car was a little too tight. The 3M Pit Bulls gave him four tires and fuel as well as wedge, track bar and air pressure adjustments. They picked up four positions in the pits and Biffle restarted 17th on lap 42. The car was too loose on the next run and Biffle was 18th on the board when a round of green flag stops began on lap 88. He pitted on lap 90 for four tires, fuel and another round of adjustments. When the green flag stops were complete on lap 96, Biffle was running in the 16th position.
A caution on lap 119 allowed Biffle and crew chief Greg Erwin to opt for a two-tire stop to gain valuable track position. Biffle restarted second on lap 124 and lost just a few positions after reporting that the car was too tight in the center. After coming in for additional adjustments while running sixth during a caution on lap 165, Biffle told Erwin that he felt the car needed a more significant adjustment. After some discussion, Biffle pitted for four tires, fuel and a shim adjustment during the next caution. He came into the pits in the seventh position but as shim adjustments take a little longer, he restarted 19th on lap 194.
Over the course of the next 100 laps, Biffle seemed happy with the handling of the 3M Ford and the team made only a minor track bar adjustment during a caution on lap 292. Biffle had just made his way up to the 12th position when he was racing with David Stremme and Newman. Stremme made contact with the outside wall and Biffle moved down to avoid him. Newman, however, was just inside Biffle’s rear quarter panel and the two made contact. Biffle spun into the grass on the front stretch but there was only minor damage to the 3M Ford.
After pitting for four fresh tires, Biffle restarted 20th with 17 laps remaining and picked up four positions in the closing laps for a 16th-place finish.
“I had a really good car,” said Biffle. “We lost our track position there because of a little miscommunication about what we wanted to do and never got it back. We possibly could have finished in the top five if we hadn’t given up track position. We’re just fighting for the highest spot in points we can finish, which isn’t looking bad for us right now considering the 42 had problems and the 99 and the 83. Our goal is to finish as high in points as we possibly can and if that’s one, two, three, four or five, that’s what it is.”
Greg Biffle and the 3M team remain seventh in the point standings with their 16th-place finish in Charlotte. They are currently 268 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson but only 73 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya in sixth. The 3M team will return to the track on Sunday, October 25th at Martinsville Speedway.
About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing operates nine full-time motorsports teams, five in NASCAR Sprint Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; Three in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Erik Darnell, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Colin Braun; and one in the Camping World Truck Series with Braun. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.
More Headlines
