NASCAR NEXTEL Greg Biffle Conference Call Transcript
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Teleconference West Coast Media Greg Biffle (Driver of the No. 16 National Guard Ford Taurus) As part of the monthly series of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series conference calls, West Coast media members took part in a question-and-answer session with NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver Greg Biffle on Wednesday, July 27. The call was moderated by Jeff Motley of Las Vegas Motor Speedway: Q: Greg, this is your last break of the season. Comment on how your season has gone and how you plan on going into the final stretch. GB: Tell you what, we couldn't be happier right now with where we are at. We could be a little happier. I mean, a flat tire with nine laps to go and a few other mishaps that we've had but other than that we have had a great season. We've won a bunch of races; we've been competitive at nearly every single race all season. We've been running in the top five at one point in the race. We feel like we have learned a lot to get prepared for the last 10. We are excited for the Chase for the Cup. We think that we are going be right in there. We know that there are going to be some tough guys but we are going give it our best shot. Q: You have dominated every series that you have raced. The first couple of years in Cup were kind of a struggle. Are you surprised with all of your success or does it just take some time to come together? GB: We weren't prepared equipment-wise for starting a brand new Cup team. It was a big struggle for us for the first year to get our feet under us. Things like that take time. It's different when you get into what used to be the No. 3 car, or you go get in the No. 9 car that Bill Elliott was driving or some of those others. Your success will happen much more quickly because you have an established team and the team is winning races. We had a difficult road. We feel like we've got it figured out and will be competitive every week from here for the next three or four years. Q: You got off to a hot start to begin the season. How did that build momentum with the rest of your team? GB: It does a great deal for us. You know all of the guys are excited. They know that the year has been difficult so they feel confident that we're going to be able to continue the rest of the season to win races. It is a huge confidence-builder for the team, the guys in the shop building the engines, the bodies on the cars and the chassis shop to see their cars running up front - not only mine but Kurt (Busch) and Carl (Edwards) and Mark (Martin) and Matt (Kenseth). It's a big boost. What you have to be sure of is to not get over-confident. We pretty much know what we are doing, that we're going to win and that we are going to show up and probably be one of the fastest cars. ... You have to be very careful that you don't ever let your guard down just three percent. Then all of a sudden you are running 15th. It takes such attention to detail in every little item. Q: There are three of you in the Chase at Roush. Where do you draw the line with teammates helping teammates? GB: We have to be courteous to each other as we expect that from each other. If a guy has a faster racecar than us and he's behind us than we need to try and hold our position the best we can until we get a break. We are going to race each other for all we can. Mark and I, at the last race at Chicago, we were literally trading positions back and forth like the championship was on the line. It was for 10th and 11th. We were racing each other as hard as we could race. It was clean, I gave him room and he gave me room. That was the most fun I have ever had competing for 11th place in my life. Usually you are pretty bummed out about that or don't have as much fun doing that as you are for the top five. We were running the heck out of each other. Q: You guys have been very courteous to each other as far as trying to give each other five bonus points when the situation allowed it. When you get into the Chase, does that change? GB: You know, probably not. It depends on where they are in the points and how fast of a car they have. What we really base that off of is if that guy is quick enough to catch me but really can't get by me. It's almost an unwritten rule that if he has a faster racecar right now, I need to give way to him. If that means letting him lead, then that means letting him lead. I am not saying pull over for whoever has the fastest car, but typically whoever has the fastest car needs to be out front or leading. When it comes to the other people we won't necessarily do that. I am not going to block a guy lap-after-lap. . Q: What does it mean to be on the Roush team? What does Jack Roush bring to the team that makes it such a stable organization? GB: He is focused on the racing. He is driven like the racer. He is a racer. He wants to win. He wants to have the best equipment. He wants to have the best engines. He wants to have the most reliable parts he can have. He has brought that focus to the teams and he is there day-to-day. He comes to the shop once a week but he is involved in the decision making and overseeing what we are doing. He is a problem solver. That's all they care about is winning. He has the tools to build the best cars we can and we try to win. Q: You had a struggle with the move from Busch to Cup. Did you envision the success you are having in 2005 a year ago? GB: I said at the end of the (2004) season I was trying to be modest but I said I almost feel that we are guaranteed a spot in the Chase for next year (2005). I was confident with saying that. I felt like we would win two, three or five races the entire season. I wouldn't have expected to win five in the first 15. Would I have dreamed it? No, but as the season went on we won two of the last 10. We won two races in the Chase and no one really interviewed me or talked to me because of the Chase format. The focus was on those 10 guys. They kind of forgot about who we were. Now that we are in the Chase and we've got the wins it's a different story. I am so lucky to be where I am at with the team and the way that we have come together. It's pretty exciting. Q: What do you think of the Chase format? GB: I won two championships under the old points format that NASCAR had. If I am going to be a salesman, the Chase format is great. It's great for our sport, it's a playoff. There is all of this focus from the media - who is going to make the Chase? Then once we make the Chase who is going to be the guy? That has done a lot. From the racer's standpoint, I want the old point system. From that guy that is trying to win a championship, I'm only however many points out of the lead right now. Those guys behind don't stand a chance of catching me if I stay consistent and can chip away at Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. So, the Chase format from a driver that is in the top three or four doesn't like it. Q: Six races left, is your approach different? GB: Not really. It's hard to talk about points racing. We almost don't change the way we race ever depending on the points. The only time we would change is if I have a 150-160 point lead with three races to go. Now I'm going to drive differently. I am not going to take any chances. I'm not really going to try and pass those cars. I am going to be the most cautious person in the world. I have to be cautiously aggressive because I still have to gain points. I am not really going to race anyone hard. If a guy's on my bumper and he's running the heck out of me, I'm just going move over and let him go and use the big space behind him. Those five points don't matter to me because I don't really need to race him for a position. That's the only time points racing comes into your head. Other than that, do the best you can and target the top-five finishes. Q: With six to go, are you going to try anything new? GB: We might do that. We might be a little more aggressive about some of the things we try; engine packages or things like that and maybe pit strategy. We might try some things to win a race and end up fifth. We might try some of those things knowing we have a little bit of cushion. We certainly want to try and stay in the top three or four so we don't get too far back when it comes time. We would like to be leading the points when it comes to the Chase. That's where I want to be.