NASCAR BGN: Sawyer, Biffle get top ten finishes at Dover

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

June 3, 2001

ELTON SAWYER-98-Mike and Ike/Starter Ford Taurus (Finished 6th) - "We had a good car. Ricky (Viers) made a good call there with 60 to go to pit before the red flag came out. We got in and made some adjustments, but we were still a little too tight from the center off. We kept working on the car all day and made it better, but we didn't have anything for those Chevrolets. We need to work harder on our cars to try to keep pace with the Chevrolets because they have a little something we don't." DID YOU THINK THAT THE WINSTON CUP DRIVERS WERE TOO AGGRESSIVE AT THE END? "Those guys don't have anything to lose. Good, bad or indifferent, that's just the way it is. The 21 isn't running for points and he knocked the 26 car out of the way, but we're racing. You can bet they won't take those chances tomorrow." DID YOUR CAR HANDLE BETTER ON THE LONG RUNS? "We were better when we got some rubber down, at least I could get the nose to turn a little better. We had good track position at the end, so that was better, but I just couldn't stay on the bottom enough to hold them off." YOU'VE RUN GOOD AT THE CONCRETE TRACKS THIS YEAR. "I love the concrete tracks. They need to make them all that way."

GREG BIFFLE-60-Grainger Ford Taurus (Finished 9th) - "It was a decent points day. I think we made the wrong decision not to come in when the caution came out for that last shower. The weather on the horizon was decent enough that we should have anticipated running the entire race. It's just the same stuff we see when we run these companion races. The guys who aren't regulars come here and end up taking people out because they have nothing to lose. Buckshot Jones comes over and causes a big wreck in front of us and we smash the right front in. We were going for a top-five finish or better, and guys that have no business doing those types of stunts cause a ripple effect."

DID RANDY GOSS' ABSENCE CHANGE ANY OF YOUR PIT STRATEGY? "No. The one thing I do know is that Randy never, he's crazy, but he never lets the rain dictate what he does."

YOU HAVEN'T HAD THE BEST OF RACES THE LAST TWO WEEKS, BUT YOU'VE MADE GAINS IN THE POINTS EACH WEEK? "We faded at the end today because of Buckshot. The car's handling didn't go away because of any of the changes we made in the pits. Buckshot got the 31 into the apron, and we were just trying avoid all that and got the fender knocked in."

DOES THE POINTS GAIN OFFSET ANY OF THAT? "It does a little bit, but you have a top-three car and finish tenth. We let a lot of guys finish ahead of us that shouldn't have."

Text provided by Greg Shea

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