Conversation: Greg Biffle

CONCORD, N.C. -- If there is a hierarchy among Roush Racing's five NASCAR Winston Cup teams -- and Greg Biffle says there is - then rookie Biffle would have to be fifth among those teams.

With teammates Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch among the top three in the Winston Cup points standings, and teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Burton lurking in the top 15, you'd think Biffle would have plenty of help to work through his rookie season.

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Of course, his teammates do help, but Biffle and crew chief Randy Goss have operated like a rookie single-car team in many respects - just the way Jack Roush wants it.

Biffle recently sat down outside his motorhome to talk with NASCAR.com's Lee Montgomery about his rookie season and the struggles he and Goss have had getting up to speed in NASCAR's top division.

Of course, there were other subjects, like Biffle's ongoing rivalry with Kevin Harvick, and what kind of apple is the best.

I guess the first question is: Are you back on Kevin Harvick's Christmas card list?

I don't know if we are yet. I though maybe we would've been until after Richmond last week. We had a little spat there. Nobody else saw it. We were battling out there a little bit for position and exchanged a few bumps under caution. Overall, we're probably all right.

Do you get to talk to him much? Is the stuff on the track overblown a little bit?

The stuff on the track's overblown. It's a good story. Rivalry is good. It produces some action. Kevin and I, we get along fairly well.

We don't do a lot of things, per se, but we talk. We've got some common acquaintances. We're pretty much on speaking terms and all that good stuff.

Rookie year, you're 10, 11 races in. What's been the biggest adjustment? Has it been more difficult than you expected?

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It's been difficult in the aspect of the equipment. We've struggled getting the right cars to drive, good cars in the wind tunnel, things like that.

That's been our major downfall. We're only going to be as good as the equipment that we're in. It's not a matter of not being able to build them or having the resources.

It's about getting caught up, getting it done and being able to go and test and be the best we can be. That's taken us a little bit. New team, new building, all new guys, all new cars that we're putting together.

That takes a lot of time. That's been our biggest struggle. We're starting to get there, we're starting to capitalize on that.

You had talked earlier in the year, I think it was after Bristol, where you mentioned that you guys had to build your own cars. You couldn't get stuff from everybody else.

Why do you think Jack or whoever decided to do that? Why didn't they allocate some more resources to you guys?

I really don't know. That's a good question what their thinking is when they start a new team like that and send them in that direction that they don't have a better plan in place.

	Biffle with Jamie McMurray (left) Credit: Autostock

I thought we had a better plan. I was kind of blind to the fact that we were going to be in that situation, or I might have jumped up and down and screamed earlier and tried to prevent some of it or short cut some of it.

I don't know. That'd be a good question for them, what happens and how those things take place.

You've had a baptism by fire, kind of thrown into things. Maybe in the long run, that's going to pay off.

Yeah, exactly. We have to deal with those things. It makes us a better team, it makes us a stronger team where we have to go through and put all our stuff together ourselves.

A lot of folks have said that you guys are the fifth car in a five-car team. How would you respond to that? Is that just people talking?

There is a hierarchy. There is always going to be. There has to be. What it boils down to is each of our teams is responsible for our own destiny almost.

What I mean by that is, we each hang our own bodies. We've got a common chassis shop, and that's it. From there, each team is kind of run as its own team.

	Credit: Autostock

We exchange information, but we put all our own bodies on, prepare our own cars, set them up, bring them to the track. Each team does that on their own.

We share information about radiators, aero, all those other things. But we're each run as a team, so we're responsible for our outcome.

Us being a new team, yeah, it's going to take us longer to get our feet under us and get going, certainly.

We've heard some of your teammates and other people in the sport say you're as talented as anybody out there. How do you respond to that? Pressure? Compliment?

I certainly take it as a compliment.

Your dog likes the microphone.

Yes, he does.

I certainly take it as a compliment. I'm really proud of that. That puts pressure on me. I want to perform. I try to put it on the pole for the Winston Open.

I want to be the guy that's in the spotlight. Maybe I'm in the spotlight for not wrecking the thing.

I'm doing the best I can do. I'm running as hard as I can run every lap. I'm not just riding around out there. We'll get it done. We'll win some races. It'll happen.

It's just a matter of getting there and our team getting there. We're going to get there together.

Benny Parsons has been credited as the guy who "discovered" you. Does he get a kickback of your salary each week?

	Credit: Autostock

He should get more than he gets. He's on my Christmas card list.

Benny is a good friend, and he's done some amazing things in his career. I'd like to see him in a better program, as far as doing TV.

I'd like to see him doing it all year, or doing more. He's got a great amount of talent.

He's just a great guy. I've never met somebody so versed as that guy.

Do you consider him a mentor? Is there anybody else you go to, maybe within your team for advice?

I talk to Mark Martin and Jeff Burton a fair amount. Matt Kenseth is certainly a wealth of information. (His dog interrupts again) What are you doing there buddy?

Benny Parsons has called me numerous times on the phone after I've been in a tangle with somebody and gave me advice, and I've talked to him about stuff.

Benny Parsons has been priceless getting my job, and plus advice, up until as recently as a couple of weeks ago.

What's some advice has he given you? Is it stuff about you being aggressive and not-so aggressive?

Yeah. Things like making decisions on the race track. 'Keep your head on straight. Don't get out of the car and run over to another car and punch a guy.

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Be the guy that does the right thing in the media's eye. I talked to him about signing new contracts with Roush, moving forward. I just asked him advice about what he's done in the past and how those things worked. Just a ton of things.

Of course, it's got me where I'm at now. I've re-signed with Roush for the Busch Series and Winston Cup. It's really worked out.

But no Dodges.

No Dodges, no.

You came up through the NASCAR ranks, trucks, Busch. Some people have said that that's not adequate preparation for Winston Cup. Do you think it was?

I don't know what would be adequate if that's not adequate. You know what I'm saying. I'm not sure what they consider adequate. There's no other way to get to Winston Cup than that right there.

I feel it's more than adequate. It's overkill to run three years of trucks and two years of Busch in preparation for Winston Cup. You look at what Kenny Irwin had done, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Jack Sprague.

Even Kurt.

Kurt. I don't think any one of those guys, and I'd be surprised if any of the guys in Winston Cup -- Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, all those guys -- have run as much as I have combining the trucks and the Busch together.

I understand trucks weren't around when they raced, but did they run five years of primary series before Winston Cup? I'm not talking All-Pro or something like that. I'm talking Busch or trucks, with Cup, (that) are considered NASCAR's elite group.

I did that for five years on my way to this deal here."

So you were ready a couple years ago to come up.

Rookie Standings  Jamie McMurray - 124  Greg Biffle - 119  Casey Mears - 109  Jack Sprague - 99  Tony Raines - 97  Larry Foyt - 56  Hideo Fukuyama - 13

I feel I was. I wanted to come Winston Cup racing, not before I went Busch racing ... I don't know. I wouldn't have done it any different. Right now, if I had a chance to do it different, I absolutely would not change a thing.

Does Jack expect you guys to win this year, and is that too much to ask of a rookie?

I don't think he does. Randy (Goss) was talking to him the other day. (Goss) said, 'I'm just not giving Greg the kind of cars I want to be giving him. I'm feeling a little short on where we need to be.'

Jack had mentioned that maybe he was asking for too much the first season. I don't know what that means, but to me, that means that possibly, he doesn't expect us to win - or doesn't expect us to finish top-five in points.

I'm hard on myself. I want to finish top-10 in points, top-five. I want to win races. I'm ready to be there. We work as hard as we can every week.

Last question. You're from Washington. What's the best kind of apple?

Best kind of apple? Yeah, Washington has a lot of them. I'm a red apple kind of guy.

It's neat growing up in the Northwest. The weather's a lot different. Things are done a lot different. It's definitely not big racing out there. Definitely not.