GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 Dish Network Turbo HD Ford Fusion – ON LEADING FOR ONE LAP AT SONOMA. “The last time, we were leading at Sonoma, well, we led for it must’ve been 300 feet before I drove off the track. Hopefully, I get that opportunity to lead again, but not drive off the race track. That’s what we’re planning to do this weekend. Track position is really important. We’ve got the same car and feel like we’re going to run good. I like this track, and I’m looking forward to it.”
DRIVERS ALWAYS TALK ABOUT BEING IN POSITION TO WIN. YOU WERE LEADING AT SONOMA. SOMETIMES, DOES SOME GOOD COME OUT OF DAYS LIKE THAT? “Yeah, it does. We were able to work our way back to 11th place in that race, but we had great pit strategy and track position and it worked well, got us out front, and unfortunately I screwed it up. So, I’ll just try not to make those mistakes again. We’re going to be as competitive, and going from where we did back to 11th was competitive, so I feel good about a top-five run here. Certainly, got the opportunity.”
AS FAR AS ROAD COURSES GO, ARE SONOMA AND WATKINS GLEN MORE SIMILAR OR DISSIMILAR? “They’re not very similar. Sonoma’s a lot different. They may look the same, and the elevation changes, but this track is much faster than Sonoma, and I like this track a lot better. I do a little bit better this race track than I do at Sonoma, probably because it has more flatter and slower-speed corners, which cater to road-course drivers a little bit better than my method of jerky on the wheel and brakes and gas. I tend to like this race track. I’ve had a little more success here.”
JEFF GORDON HAD A VICTORY SLIP AWAY AT THIS TRACK LAST YEAR. LAST WEEK HE SAID HE STILL HAS NIGHTMARES ABOUT IT. DO YOU HAVE ONE THAT STANDS OUT IN YOUR CAREER THAT GOT AWAY? “Not any particular win, but the Texas race, as you know, we were running third and had a loose wheel and had to come back to pit road under green, and never made the position up, finished 20th. It was in ’05. Ultimately, it cost us, two races later, it cost us the championship, but that race, I think about that – and any time I get a loose wheel, I’m thinking, it comes right back to your memory. So, that kind of weighs on me.”
WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR SEASON AS A WHOLE, HAVE YOU HIT MOST OF THE MARKS YOU’VE WANTED TO HIT? “I think so. The main thing is we’ve run competitively. That’s what every driver wants to do, is be competitive week-in and week-out. It’s really hard to do. We’ve run in the top10 and we’ve earned our spot in those races. Now, we haven’t gotten the finishes we wanted, you know, Darlington, Pocono, Michigan, Sonoma. But, we’ve had fast enough cars and been consistent enough to be there every week, and that’s a lot of confidence, knowing that these next five races that we’re probably going to have a good enough, fast enough car to put ourself in position to get in the Chase.”
WITH FIVE RACES BEFORE THE CHASE, WHAT IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN RACING FOR WINS AND STAYING IN THE TOP 12? “I’m racing for wins right now and committed to not making mistakes. So, I’m going to do both. I’m going to execute on the race track and not make mistakes, but we’ve got to win some races to get some points when the Chase starts.”
WHAT THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE HERE THE LAST FEW YEARS, GRINDING DOWN THE CURBS AND TAKING OUT GRAVEL TRAPS? HOW HAS THAT AFFECTED THE TRACK? “It has affected it a little bit. The cars are a little bit better on the curbs, so it doesn’t upset the car as much. I like taking the gravel traps out. One, you don’t pay the price when you get off the race track. I got off the race track one time in the gravel trap and got gravel up in the shifter, you know, and couldn’t shift anymore, took some oil pump belts off and stuff like that. So, a lot of times you have to stop the race. The paved run-off area is very good for the racing, very good for the fans and the sport – and safety. Going into gravel at 150, you just never know what’s going to happen. Getting off the track on to a pavement skid pad, if you will, is much safer. So, I like that, with what the track’s done.”
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