NASCAR Trucks: Biffle knows every point counts in championship chase
23 August 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
With only five races remaining in the 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck
campaign,
Greg has a commanding 190-point lead in the race for the championship over
Mike Wallace. Teammate Kurt Busch sits in fourth, only13 points behind
third place Andy Houston and 78 points behind Mike Wallace. Having been
in
a similar position last year Greg knows that every point is critical and
is
clearly now racing for the championship.GREG BIFFLE --50-- GRAINGER FORD F-150 -- ROUSH RACING-- WITH ONLY FIVE RACES TO GO, ARE YOU STARTING TO FEEL ANY PRESSURE OVER AND ABOVE NORMAL?--"Not really. I'm very lucky in that I have a great crew and Jack Roush gives me great equipment to drive. It's very comforting to know that all I have to do is go out and do the thing I enjoy most which is driving the truck. The team is very focused and they know what we need to do every week in order to get us to our ultimate goal, which is the championship. After last season, I have a pretty good idea what the pressures are going to be. Last year gave me a really good feel for what making a championship run in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series is all about. I am looking forward to a far different result this year though."
THERE ARE A LOT OF MILESTONES STILL TO BE SET IN THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES. DO YOU FEEL ANY ADDED PRESSURE TO ACCOMPLISH THESE SINCE THIS IS YOUR LAST SEASON IN THE SERIES? "Obviously we would like to win the championship and that is really what we are focused on doing this season. There will be other accomplishments that will come along with that. I would like to be the next Ford to win and give Ford Racing their 50th win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. I think that would really be cool. Ford is also in really good shape to repeat this year as the Manufacturers Championship and us winning is a major contributor to that effort as well. Right now though our focus is on winning the championship and to do that we have to continue to run well and be consistent for the rest of the season."
GOING FORWARD TO THIS WEEK AT CHICAGO MOTOR SPEEDWAY. HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR CHANCES OF WIN NUMBER SIX LOOK THERE? "The Grainger team is good enough to win anywhere, and I don't think Chicago is any different. We have had the opportunity to run a tire test here and Goodyear has a pretty good set of tires for the race. It should be a fast race, but there will be some bumping out there. The track is pretty flat and fast. A lot of the drivers have compared it to New Hampshire in some ways. We also ran a NASCAR/Ford Racing media day out here last week with a two-seater demonstration truck and really had a lot of fun. On top of all of that, we have a test day on Friday before the race. By the time we finally get to the race we will have had a pretty good look at this racetrack and should be ready to get around it quickly and safely. I think that you can look forward to a good run from us on Sunday."
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SCOTT PRUETT RUNNING IN THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK RACE THIS WEEKEND? "I think that it's great for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series to have Winston Cup drivers come and compete. It not only gives the fans something else to keep an eye on, but it gives us the chance to get out on the track with a Winston Cup driver and match our skills. We have quite a few Winston Cup drivers that come and race with us on occasion and I think that it is great for the series, the fans, and the drivers."
AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON, ARE YOU POINTS RACING OR DO YOU GUYS STILL GO 110% FOR THE WIN EVERY WEEKEND? "We've got to be smart about what we are doing. Our goal as a team and mine as a driver is to win the championship. That doesn't mean that we aren't going to still try and win races. I think that we just have to be smart as a team and make the right decisions. There are times during the race when Randy (Goss), crewchief, will call me on the radio and say that it is time to make a "championship decision" as opposed to a race winning decision. At this point we really have to think about every decision we make as a team and as a driver. A bad decision could still jeopardize us in the long run and we certainly don't want to risk that."
YOU ARE MOVING UP TO THE BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL SERIES NEXT SEASON; ARE YOU GOING TO MISS RACING IN THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES? "Yeah. I really have a lot of fun in this series. I have made a lot of good friends here that I'm sure I will still see once in a while, but I won't be racing them every weekend. The trucks have been a great opportunity for me to get involved in NASCAR racing and see what it's all about. It's also been great experience to be able to go through two whole seasons in a championship points race. I think that it really gave me a real feel for the type of pressures that are involved in this sport. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck series has really become popular with the racing fans and I think it's only going to get better. Once a real racing fan comes out to one of our races, they're hooked."
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THE SEASON IS OVER? "It really is never over. I am moving to the Charlotte, NC area to be closer to the Busch team shop this winter. I'm sure I will also be spending some serious time behind the wheel of a Busch car doing some testing at some of the tracks that I haven't been to yet. The team will be very busy this winter as we switch gears and move into the Busch Series. There will be plenty to do that's for sure. Oh yeah, I hope to be doing some celebrating at the end of the season as well. It would be great to have the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Championship, Jack Roush's first NASCAR Championship, and the Manufacturer's Championship for Ford to celebrate all winter as well. We still have five races left in the trucks and we are going to make the most of it, I guarantee it."
Text provided by Ford Motorsports
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