Trouble in Turn2

A 76.4 driver rating? Isn’t that a number usually associated with someone stuck in mid-pack, not a front runner like Greg Biffle. Well, that’s where fans could find Biffle during most of 2007. Only one win—a contested win at that, a handful (5) of top 5’s and zero chance at competing for a Chase spot. Here’s another startling stat, Biffle led a minscule 73 laps, a career low. Biffle’s hard charging style means if he can lead laps, he will. And last year he didn’t. All of that is to say that Biffle’s season was filled with frustrations.

Maybe we should have seen it coming. It took him until race 5 to score his first top 10, meaning he was off the pace at California, Las Vegas and Atlanta, three intermediate tracks that typically fall in Biffle’s wheelhouse. After Jack Roush spent the offseason claiming Biffle and new crew chief Pat Tryson had carte blanche in regards to Roush Racing personnel and resources, the result was a failure.

You could shrug off Biffle’s struggles to bad luck, but this is his second straight season of “bad luck”. In 2006 Biffle had a top ten driver rating and led 993 laps, but things out of his control like engine failures and wrecks eliminated him from Chase contention. The #16 simply didn’t perform in 2007.

The Pat Tryson experiment didn’t work and by June Greg Erwin was Biffle’s new crew chief. The results didn’t change much, but Erwin and Biffle did manage 3 top 5’s in the final ten races. That included Biffle’s sole win of 2007 late in the year at Kansas, despite a controversial finish. In a darkness shortened race, Biffle took the checkered flag under caution, and immediately pulled to the infield and stopped. Other drivers complained that Biffle didn’t maintain caution speed and therefore didn’t win the race. NASCAR said he did and so Biffle wound up in victory lane.

The good news for 2008 is that Biffle ran better in the CoT than the old car. His average in the “old car” was 21.5 compared to his 14.8 in the CoT. This sets a good tone for the team’s short track program that can hopefully translate to the other aspects of the Cup schedule. He typically adjusts quickly to new changes too. That provides hope in 2008 for Biffle at some of his best tracks like Michigan, Atlanta, Texas and California. 8 of his 12 career wins came at either 1.5 or 2 mile tracks.

Biffle also excels at tracks that require great car control. Places like Dover, Bristol, Phoenix and Darlington are all places that Biffle really takes off. Biffle has led laps at every current Cup track and has scored top tens at every track except Talladega. Road courses and restrictor plate races are still not his strengths, but he can turn in good runs at these tracks too.

Despite only five years of Cup experience Biffle is 38 years old. His contract expires at year’s end and Roush-Fenway is also mandated to eliminate one of its five Cup teams. All that adds up to a pivotal season for Biffle. If things begin like last year, does Biffle begin searching for other rides?

A lot will be answered in the first seven races. Four of the first seven races come at intermediate tracks. Throw in a race at Bristol and the schedule sets up very well for Biffle. He needs to score three or four top tens and lead some laps. If that happens, it will mean that Roush has a good handle on the CoT and Biffle has a chance at the Chase. If not, then it could be another long year for the #16 team.