Friday, May 30, 2008

Biffle ready to hit Victory Lane

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Greg Biffle poked around the other cars in the garage, considered all his options and knew it was time to make a decision about his driving future.

"I just signed a multiyear deal to go to F-1 racing," said Biffle, smiling.
OK, there's really no reason for Biffle's diehards to renew that passport and follow him to Spain or China. Biffle is staying put in the States -- and he's getting closer to staying put with Roush Fenway Racing.

Amid speculation that Biffle's dragged-out contract talks meant he was ready to test the free-agent market, the driver of the No. 16 Ford said on Friday that a new deal with Roush Fenway Racing could be coming soon.

"That's what I've been working on and still working on, and I think we're making some progress on that," he said. "The ball is sort of in their court right now and we'll just wait and see."

His patience toward closing the deal doesn't apply to the track.

Biffle is coming off a second place finish last week at the Coca-Cola 600, his fourth top-five finish in a season where he's yet to drive his way into Victory Lane. The finish also snapped a skid of middling results that knocked him from second in points all the way to 11th in the Chase standings. Sure, the result was strong but it was just another week where Biffle failed to capture the checkered flag. He's stuck on three wins since 2005 -- the season he won six races, had 15 top-fives and finished second to Tony Stewart for the Cup championship.

Biffle, who won at least one race each of the last five seasons, hasn't qualified for the Chase each of the last two years.

Like his contract talks, Biffle thinks he can close the deal on a victory soon.

"We feel like we had the fastest race car the last couple of races and that's exciting for us," Biffle said. "We know we just need to put the whole thing together to able to win it."

Dover International Speedway might be the track where Biffle gets his first win since September. Biffle turned a lap of 155.219 mph on Friday to win the pole for Sunday's race.

"I was trying to run down Biffle but he ran an incredible lap," said Kurt Busch, who starts second.

Biffle won twice on the concrete Monster Mile in NASCAR's Busch (now Nationwide) Series, then won the June Cup race in 2005. He finished second last September at Dover.

"Normally, Dover is one of the toughest places to qualify," Biffle said. "These guys are making it so easy for me giving me race cars that are this fast."

He showed flashes of promise earlier this season with 3rd-4th-4th place finishes in three straight races. Biffle set the pole record at Darlington Raceway earlier this month and led 95 laps until faulty equipment derailed his run. He finished last and blasted the equipment after the race.

Biffle called the car after Friday's run "perfect."

In 2005, Biffle was a threat to win every week.

A companywide reorganization led to constant shuffling in the pit box, but Biffle seems settled now with crew chief Greg Erwin. Biffle also credited Robbie Reiser, longtime crew chief for Matt Kenseth and now the general manager of Roush Fenway Racing, for helping his team get up to speed on the Car of Tomorrow.

"We knew we were behind and we were able to admit it," Biffle said. "Certainly, we've closed the gap on a lot of our competition."

Biffle has won a Truck Series championship and Busch Series championship driving for Roush and a contract extension would give him more time to add a Sprint Cup Series to the collection. No driver has ever won championships all three of those levels.

Biffle has talked to other teams, but his agent submitted a contract proposal to the team this week and expects a resolution possibly some time in the next few weeks.

"They've got to position themselves with sponsors and all kinds of things," Biffle said. "This thing is kind of complex, but we're moving forward on it and trying to get it done."

Sounds like he might as well be talking about his car, too.


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Comment: Biffle fits as Stewart replacement