Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, has two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Michigan International Speedway. He comes into this weekend’s event in 11th place in the point standings and before Friday’s practice session spoke with the media about what makes Roush Fenway so successful at MIS.
ONE MORE WIN HERE WILL MAKE JACK THE WINNINGEST CUP OWNER AT MIS. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE THAT HAS MADE YOUR GROUP SO SUCCESSFUL? “It’s kind of neat to be able to win here, being in a Ford, and there’s not a big rivalry, but kind of a rivalry between the manufacturers – and with Roush Industries here. I don’t know what it is about the race track and why we run so good as a company. It’s a fun race track for me. I really like it and, going back, Mark (Martin) and Jeff (Burton) and everybody has won here. I won here in the Truck Series and ran really good in Nationwide and have a couple Cup wins, so it’s just a great race track for us. It kind of fits our driving style and our race cars and, hopefully, I can make that stat come true and have one more to add to the list.”
DO YOU KNOW IF JACK IS GOING TO BE HERE THIS WEEKEND AND HOW BIG WOULD IT BE FOR ONE OF YOU TO WIN THIS WEEK FOR HIM? “It would be really important to win here for Jack. I was able to obviously win at Pocono, which was pretty neat, but this would kind of be icing on the cake, if you will. Winning here this weekend would be pretty special, and I think that all of us have a great opportunity to win – every one of our cars. We haven’t been on the race track yet, but I feel really, really confident that our cars are gonna be fast. Two, I heard a rumor that he may try to make it, but, of course, that’s gonna be how he’s feeling and how he’s doing. He just came home, I believe, yesterday or the day before, so I’m not really sure. You know Jack, the iron horse, he’ll want to be here for sure, but whether he’s feeling up to it or not, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
YOU WERE IN STURGIS THIS WEEK. WHAT WAS THAT MOTORCYCLE RALLY LIKE? “It was kind of neat. I got invited by Mike (Helton) and he goes just about every year, I think. I know he didn’t go last year, but it was kind of neat to go out there and see that. I don’t ride that much, but to see all the people and that many motorcycles was crazy. We went on a few rides Monday and Tuesday and there wasn’t a spot where it was 10 seconds and there wasn’t a motorcycle going the opposite direction. I’ve never seen so many motorcycles in my entire lifetime. I think they estimate 300,000 or more motorcycles and that’s crazy. We were sitting at a stop light and we were half a mile from the light and it was solid motorcycles in all four directions, so it was neat. We got to see Mount Rushmore and some really neat highways – a place call The Badlands. It’s really scenic stuff, so I enjoyed that. It was something neat to see.”
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES WHEN JACK IS INVOLVED WITH THINGS VERSUS WHEN HE’S NOT AND WHAT HAS IT MEANT TO DO WELL FOR HIM AT THIS TRACK IN THE PAST? “It’s meant a lot to do well here at Michigan for a couple of reason. One, Ford has a big presence here, obviously, and then Roush Industries. A lot of people don’t know a lot about Roush Industries versus Roush Fenway Racing. Jack has a huge engineering company here and does a lot of work with all the automotive companies, and a lot of different things. And, of course, Roush Performance is here, too. There are lots and lots of employees and fans of Roush in this area, so it’s pretty neat to be able to win here. Secondly, it’s been a little bit different. I think everybody has really dug in and worked extra hard at the company, knowing that Jack’s not here. Everybody is wanting to kind of pick up a little bit of the pieces, so to speak, so everybody is really trying hard and focused on making sure all of our stuff is as good as it can be and try to make Jack proud. But he’s only missed one Monday meeting so far and that’s a pretty incredible thing if you think about it. He’s only missed one meeting where he didn’t call in, so he’s actually been there quite a bit.”
ANY OTHER NASCAR DRIVERS IN STURGIS? “Yeah, I saw Clint (Bowyer) and Tony (Stewart) out there. We rode together and I don’t know if there are anymore.”
ANY REACTION TO CHICAGOLAND BEING THE FIRST CHASE RACE NEXT YEAR OR ANY OF THE OTHER CHANGES? “It’s kind of interesting to see it move all around – pretty big changes. I like Chicago. We run really good there, so I’m happy to see that be one of the first chase races for sure. If I could convince them to maybe move Martinsville to Las Vegas or someplace like that, I might be much better off. I think it’ll be a good lineup. I’m okay with the changes. We run really good at California, so I think I’ll run just as good at Chicago and Kentucky as I did, so it’s gonna be different. We know it’ll be different, but I’m looking forward to it.”
WHAT HAS BEEN THE REASON FOR FORD’S RESURGENCE? SIMULATIONS, FR9? “It’s been all of those. We feel like we’ve got a front suspension geometry or model that’s running much better now, thanks to some help from the RPM guys and help from some of our Roush Fenway guys. They’re really working well together. That’s helped us. The FR9 is in full swing. We’ve had a few issues, but they’ve gone to the drawing board and really got those worked out. The engine is running good. We have a little history with it now. We know a little bit about it and our cars have gotten better and our simulation is getting better as far as how the cars are racing and driving, so I think you’re gonna see us run well, I really do. We ran well at a similar race track in Chicago, and then Indy is not so much the same, but we ran well there, so I think we’ll run well here.”
THOUGHTS ON SOME OF THE RACES NEXT YEAR BEING SHORTER IN DISTANCE, AND DO YOU NOTICE A SHORT RACE LIKE WATKINS GLEN AS FAR AS TIME OF THE EVENT? “I think it makes a little bit of a difference. There are a couple ways to look at it. If you purely look at it from a fan’s point of view. If I put myself as a fan and I watch a Nationwide race sitting in my motorhome, the length of time that the race is – kind of the most exciting part of the race is really the start – you get to see the race start – and one of the more exciting times is the finish or counting down to the finish. So you could say the center part of the race, depending on how many cautions there are or whatever happens, could be not as exciting of a time – maybe a time where they’re gonna get up and go do something and come back. I don’t believe that shortening the races will be detrimental. I think it could actually improve the time of the event to keep the fans’ interest and it would keep my interest if I was watching. Obviously, there are some strategies that may not unfold as much, so you’ve got to watch that part of it, but I think it’s good for our sport to maybe shorten some of them up a little bit, like they’ve done, and keep the interest peaked a little bit more – a little bit more excitement possibly.”
ANY DIFFERENCE AS A DRIVER IN THE CAR? “It won’t really make a huge difference in the car, other than we’re in there for a little bit shorter period of time. Definitely, at Watkins Glen, when the race was over, I was pretty wore out just because it’s intense and there’s a lot going on with your concentration level. You don’t want to make mistakes shifting 15 times a lap and braking hard, and being on the edge of the pavement right next to the grass, so I wasn’t physically as wore out as I was mentally kind of exhausted from the concentration. That’s about how I felt.”
WILL HAVING DRIVERS LIKE KASEY AND PAUL AND ELLIOTT LEAVING AFTER THIS YEAR HAVE AN EFFECT ON HOW YOU OPERATE NEXT YEAR? “I think it affects us because, one, we can’t keep any proprietary information, not that the drivers know a whole bunch about it, but other people in the company do so are there other people leaving along with the drivers? That’s a concern. Definitely setups and things like that are going, but the sport is changing relatively quickly still, and technology is still changing. One week the trackbar is mounted up above the fuel cell and the next week we’re talking about adding to the bottom so we can get it lower, so you never know what the next thing is gonna be, so that’s not so much of a concern, but it’s a disruption to the flow, if you will. This guy is out, that guy is in. This guy is doing this. That’ll make some difference. The one thing that’s nice is over on the Roush Fenway side everything is gonna stay pretty much intact at this point, it looks like, so that will be some stabilization among the Ford camp.”
Matt Kenseth, is one of four two-time winners at MIS, with his most recent Michigan victory coming in the 2006 fall race. Kenseth met with media members Friday to discuss Fords success at MIS over the years and look ahead to next weekend at Bristol.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ALL THE SCHEDULE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED AND THOSE RUMORED TO BE COMING? “I haven’t really seen them all to be honest with you. I have glanced at it, but I haven’t seen the whole schedule. It is probably cool to mix it up once in awhile. There are some tracks where you love going to but there weren’t many people showing up in the stands. If you mix things up to try getting a different market or get more fans there it kind of makes sense from a business standpoint.”
DO YOU LIKE CHICAGO LEADING OFF THE CHASE? “It doesn’t really matter to me. Drivers are going to be a little bit biased because you are going to want to go to the tracks you like the most or run the best at. I really enjoy going to Chicago because it is the closest to home we ever race at and is one of my favorite places to go, so to go there in September will be fun.”
WHAT ABOUT ATLANTA LOSING ONE? “I think for most drivers, Atlanta is a lot like Darlington or Rockingham, one of the most fun tracks we race on. It is one of the most challenging tracks and we look forward to that. As far as a track to compete on you are sad to see that go. Looking up in the stands though it is one of the weakest crowds we get at any track I can really think of all year and Kentucky has always had a ton of support for the Nationwide series. I am sure they will be excited to get a Cup race and fill the stands up.”
YOU HAVE A COUPLE TRACKS COMING UP THAT YOU LIKE, ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK HERE AND AT BRISTOL TO SOLIDIFY YOUR PLACE IN THE CHASE? “I hope so. It has been a down couple of months. I don’t think we have even had a top-10 in a long time. Hopefully we can be competitive here and get a good finish. In the past it has been a good track for us, but on the other hand we haven’t finished or ran very well here the last couple of times. Some of the tracks, like Watkins Glen, which should be our worse, have actually been one of our best finishes recently. This is certainly a track I always look forward to and feel confident about, but it has been difficult to get finishes most of this year no matter what track we are at.”
WHAT ABOUT BRISTOL, IS THAT MORE JUST SURVIVAL STILL? “Not really. Bristol has changed a whole bunch. It really changed when they went to this car actually. The old car was a lot different at that track. It was easier for someone to get turned around and this car now is much more solid and tougher to get spun out. When they changed that track they made it more forgiving. I think that the side-by-side racing you have there now has made the racing more competitive. It is not as much about crashes and survival as it used to be. There is a lot more room to move around and you can move your way to the front a little easier.”
HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO JACK SINCE HE HAS GOTTEN OUT OF THE HOSPITAL? “Not since he has gotten out of the hospital, no.”
DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE HIM HERE THIS WEEKEND? “I don’t know if he is coming or not this weekend. I have talked to him a few times before the races, but I haven’t spoken to him since he left the hospital.”
CAN YOU FEEL A DIFFERENCE WITH HIM NOT BEING AT THE TRACK OR DOES HIS PRESENCE MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO YOU AT ALL? “Yes and no. I think he would be the first one to tell you that if there was a huge difference or a drop in performance with him gone then he hasn’t done his job building the team, the company or the organization the way it should be. His goal is to not have us feel a difference. His goal is to have quality, competent people in place to continue to run the company in a competitive manner. Certainly we miss not having him here and it is always nice to have him at the track and get some advice. He keeps a close eye on the teams and is a big help but the company is structured in such a way that it doesn’t hurt if a person here or there is gone, even if they are key people.”
WHAT WOULD A WIN HERE MEAN TO YOU WITH EVERYTHING JACK HAS GONE THROUGH THE LAST FEW WEEKS? “There are always circumstances that people will make a bigger deal or smaller deal about a win. Honestly, it has been about a year-and-a-half, so any win would be a huge win for us. We want to get back to victory lane and get back to being more competitive. It is maybe more special when it is closer to home or you have family or friends there or close to Jack’s house or with all the stuff that has happened to Jack. Any win would be huge for us.”
GOING BACK TO BRISTOL, THE LIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS IN AUGUST, WHAT IS THAT LIKE? “It is always exciting. The fans are always really fired up about that race and so are the drivers and the teams. It is one that we always look forward to. It is a great atmosphere and fun for the fans and the drivers.”
TEMPERS ALWAYS SEEM TO COME UP THERE. WHY IS THAT AND HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM IN CHECK? “It depends how your day is going, how it ends and what goes on. I don’t try to approach it any different than any other race anymore. There is room to pass there and move around. You try to get your car handling as best you can and hope to be out front and stay away from the trouble.”
WHAT DO YOU FOCUS ON GOING AROUND THOSE HIGH BANKS? “To just try getting around the race track as fast you can every lap. You can look around a little bit more for different grooves now that they have changed the track. If your car is handling one way, you want to run one groove. If your car is off a little bit you can move around and look for grip. Really you never used to search there because there was one line where you pretty much ran and had to make your car work there. Now the track is so wide and with that progressive banking you can really look around like you can at a bigger track. You just concentrate on trying to find grip and get around as quick as you can.”
IN THE SPRING WHEN YOU WERE HERE THIS WAS A FAST RACE, JUST OVER TWO HOURS LONG, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT WAS? “Must not have been many cautions.”
BUT WHY WEREN’T THERE MANY CAUTIONS? “Nobody must have run into each other (laughter). I don’t remember. I can hardly remember last week.”
Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Michigan International Speedway in 2004 and finished 10th. Since then, he has posted two Cup wins at the track and hopes to make a possible third even more memorable as race day falls on his birthday.
WHY HAS ROUSH FENWAY HAD SO MUCH SUCCESS AT MIS? “I feel like this track takes every part of your team and taxes you. You have to have really good strategy, you have to have a great car and a big engine. The aero package has got to be spot on, and I feel like at Roush Fenway we’ve done a good job of having that whole package a lot of times. There’s extra incentive to win here. It’s right up the road from Ford for us, so we work really hard at this race and I think that’s why we run well here. And it’s a great race track. It’s just fun to drive on. For me, it suits my style a lot.”
SUNDAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY AND COULD BE YOUR 50TH WIN, PLUS IT’S YOUR ANNIVERSARY OF YOUR FIRST CUP START. IS THERE ANY ADDED PRESSURE FOR YOU? “I wouldn’t say there’s any pressure, but it has the potential to be a different day and a really good day. I guess it was six years ago that I made my first Cup start here. When they said, ‘Gentlemen, start your engines,’ that was a really, really big deal to me – to be sitting in that race car knowing I’m getting to race in the Cup Series, that was a huge day. It’s a very special weeke
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CARS IN YOUR FLEET? DO YOU HAVE FAVORITE CARS? “A long time ago Bob quit telling me which car we were bringing to the race track because in my mind I thought certain cars were better than others and it seemed like as soon as I didn’t know which car I was in, they all ran pretty much the same. So, for me and my team, I feel like all of our cars are good and I have faith in Bob. If he says, ‘Hey, we’re bringing this car and that’s the best car for us to bring.’ You’ve got to remember, it might not always be the best car to bring, but for the next three races in your plan it is the best car, so, as a driver, I’ve just had to let go of that control and let Bob have that control. For me, it’s worked really well, but there have been times like Pocono for example. We had a new car for Indy and it was great. I was like, ‘Alright, we’re gonna take that to Pocono, right?’ And he said, ‘No, we’re gonna take another one. Don’t worry, we’ve got another plan for that car. Don’t worry.’ And, man, it’s hard not to argue with him because once you get that good car you like, it’s hard to let go.”
DO YOU EXPECT ANY TOP BRASS FROM FORD TO COME OUT THIS WEEKEND AND IS THERE ANY EXTRA PRESSURE? “I’m proud to drive for Ford for a number of reasons, and I feel like we’ve got two wins in the Nationwide Series, we’ve run very well in the Cup Series lately. Greg won the race at Pocono, and I feel like the pressure is not as intense as it was a couple months ago to get a win for Ford. Now, I’m excited and feel like there’s an opportunity to win for Ford and make those guys proud and give them the results that they deserve. To be standing in Victory Lane on Sunday would be very huge, and having the Ford guys here would be a big part of that.”
HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE JACK’S COMMITMENT THROUGH ALL OF THIS AND HOW MUCH DOES EVERYBODY ELSE WORK HARDER TO MAKE HIM PROUD? “I don’t know if anybody here has ever worked for Jack, but I don’t know the right words. He is as committed as anyone I’ve ever seen to what he’s doing. He understands every part of the business and has his hand in it just enough to lead everyone. Throughout this, I have a whole new level of respect for his commitment. I’ve talked to him on the phone three or four times, and in the last couple of weeks I’ve gone and visited him and, literally, we talked about his injuries and his predicament was maybe three percent of the conversation. The rest of it is how we’ve got to go out and win these races and what he can do to help. For a guy sitting in a hospital with everything that he’s gone through, for him to just be focused on the same things and to stay on task and not waver, that’s amazing. That tells me a lot about Jack Roush. Sometimes people’s circumstances change and you can see where their real focus lies, but Jack has not changed. He’s gung-ho. That makes me feel a little bit more confident in our team to see that and realize how entrenched he is in this.”
THINGS HAVE IMPROVED A LOT OF FORD SINCE THE LAST TIME HERE. DO YOU FEEL YOU’RE PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE CHASE? “It’s wild how much things have changed in a short amount of time. I don’t want to jinx it, but it feels like it’s headed in the right direction. We’re fast. We’ve got four races until the chase and if we can perform at the level we’ve performed the last four races, we can make the chase and if we can get any better, we can win the championship. Two or three months ago, I was hopeful we’d be in this position, but I did not think we would be, so it feels good. It’s been a fun ride the last month or so.”
YOUR AVERAGE FINISH IS 4.6 THE LAST FIVE RACES. WHAT HAS BEEN THE DIFFERENCE? “If you can pick up one tenth of a second, you run fifth sometimes, so I feel like we’ve just found that one-tenth that we’ve been looking for. If we can find one more, it would be on then.”
CONSIDERING THE PROGRESS AT RFR AND LOOKING AT BRISTOL, WHERE YOU, MATT AND GREG WERE FOURTH, FIFTH AND SIXTH, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NEXT RACE THERE? “That was a good race for us. The thing about Bristol though is that there’s something about that race track. If you take back what you won with. We won two night races in a row a couple years ago. If you take what you won with and you go run it again, it’s not good enough. I guess we can have that to fall back on, but we’re gonna go there with what we’ve been doing lately and hope that it works. That race is kind of the wildcard. We’ve got to run well and we’ve got to have a little bit of luck there. We’re not solidly in the chase – all three of us. We’re still kind of in that no-man’s land where anything can happen, so we’ll have that in our back pockets, but we’ll go there with what’s been working the last month.”
HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE LIKELIHOOD A DRIVER IN 9TH-10TH-11TH-12TH COULD WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “If you start ninth, 10th, 11th or somewhere in there and you could definitely win the championship. I don’t know what the average finish is for everyone the last five races. I didn’t know ours was 4.6, but I’m assuming if you could run like that for 10 races in the chase, you could probably win the championship. That’s the thing about our sport right now, it’s so competitive. This chase, there’s no guarantee. Whoever is 13th or 14th right now could win the championship. They could dominate it. It changes so fast. Things happen so quickly in this sport and advantages are gained and lost, but someone could definitely win the championship that’s not up there in front right now.”
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