Conversation: Greg Biffle

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In 2004, Greg Biffle is one of three drivers that will compete in full seasons in both the Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series.

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During a five-year span starting in 1998, Biffle won rookie of the year awards and series championships in the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series for Roush Racing.

Biffle sat down with NASCAR.com's Dave Rodman to discuss returning to the site of his first Winston Cup victory, the new Nextel Cup championship format and racing in two series full-time.

How did your Daytona tests go for the two teams?

Greg Biffle: The Cup test went fairly decent, better than we've been in past years. I tried to qualify here in 2002, but broke an engine in the qualifying races.

	Jeff Burton (left) with Biffle Credit: Brian Cleary

I had a pretty good car then, but this year we were better than we ever have been. Obviously it's the guys back at the shop doing harder work than everybody else or we're just getting more caught up, so that's exciting news.

On the other hand, the Busch car isn't up to speed like we need it to be. Our other car didn't get done in time so we've got basically a spare car here that we don't anticipate bringing back, except maybe as a spare.

That being the case, this is a lot of wasted time if you're not going to race this car, so we're kinda going through the motions right now. It's possible that we'll bring this car back.

So we've got to be here right now to know that we've got something to bring back in case something happens to the other car, if it doesn't run fast or we crash in practice.

What was it like to come back to Daytona, where you won your first Cup race last summer in the Pepsi 400?

Greg Biffle: I didn't think about it at all until I walked through the garage. I came through the tunnel and started walking to the garage, and then it dawned on me that the last time I was here, I won.

The last time I was here I was in Victory Lane, so it was pretty exciting to think about that again. That was kind of a charge to get going -- kinda fun. I've always run good here in a Busch car (and) I enjoy racing here in a Busch car, so I'm excited to be back and ready for the season to get going.

If this isn't the car you're going to race, can you at least determine its aerodynamic tendencies?

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Greg Biffle: Normally the air acts pretty much the same on the cars so anything we find, tweak this or move that on this car, we can apply to our other car and bring it back. The problem is we're not going to take them together and test them somewhere to see which one is the fastest.

We're going to put the other car together thinking it's better than this car and just bring it, so you'll never know whether that one sitting up in the trailer is faster than this one. You just have to choose and make your decision.

How do you feel about the new Nextel Cup championship format?

Greg Biffle: I like 'no comment.' It's going to different, that's about all I can say -- it's going to be a lot different. It's going to change our sport tremendously.

It's going to change sponsor packages, driver contracts -- it's going to impact the sport a lot further. I'm sure they've thought out everything prior to making the decision, but it certainly is going to make an impact.

Will it affect the way you approach each race weekend?

	Biffle (right) with team owner Jack Roush Credit: Autostock

Greg Biffle: No, we try to win every week, that's what we do. That's what everybody does, no matter if you're in a tight points race or not. You can't crash out of the race (and) you're not going to do stupid stuff.

You try to use the same mindset every week, and that's get yourself in the top 10, be consistent, stay on the lead lap, get in the top five and you're there for the wins.

How do you feel about the extra five-point bonus for winning a race?

Greg Biffle: I think it's going to make an effect in the Busch Series. I don't think it will affect the points in the Cup Series because they're starting over with 10 races to go, so what difference does the five points make?

That was my thinking, but maybe it will come down to five points at the end of the 10 races. It will have an impact on the Busch Series because the points carry over till the end of the season, which determines the champion.

That's going to make a difference, whoever can win three, four or nine races. I won nine in the truck series and Ryan Newman won a bunch of them. That's going to make a difference if a person can do that now. He can keep those points and try to use them to win a championship versus starting over.

Did the championship format and the points system need a change?

Biffle better prepped for this year's Daytona 500  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The more things change, the more they stay the same. At least it seems that way to Greg Biffle.  This time last year, Biffle and his No. 16 Roush Racing team were scrambling to build cars and get ready for NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway. Car owner Jack Roush had decided to let Biffle's team find its own way in NASCAR's highest division, so the No. 16 bunch had to build new cars own its own - without much help from Roush's other teams.  Full Story

Greg Biffle: I think they needed to modify that a little bit. Maybe they did need to put some emphasis on the last 10 races of the season. I like the idea of bonus points for the top-10 guys.

Give them one-and-a-half times the points if you're in the top 10 and finish in the top 10. Or maybe give it to the whole group so that it makes a difference and has a bigger impact of where you finish. It's going to work itself out (and) it's going to be interesting, certainly.

Will anyone just outside the top-10 with a few races to go before the final 10 events, take risky chances?

Greg Biffle: I don't know. That's a tough question (but) I doubt it. It's the same difference now. And then people thought that if you're not in the top 10 you're going to be more careless, you're not going to care. That's true and not true.

I'm out there racing around Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and they're in a tight points race for the championship. I'm conscious of that with 10 races to go whether the points are like they are now or the way they were last year.

I had Earnhardt Jr. behind me and Matt in front of me, and I was like, 'I need to be a little cautious right here because these two guys are running for the championship and one of them is my teammate.' Certainly I don't want to be a factor in deciding that.

Nobody wants to be a factor in deciding that, so it could go either way I guess. I'm not going to drive any different. I'm going to do the best I can and try to get in the top 10.

Have you worked much on your travel plans to make all the separate Busch and Cup events?

Greg Biffle: We're still working on the logistics of getting back and forth right now. There are some travel issues there that we're trying to bridge with finding some aircraft to lease or do something with. We're working on that part of it, but that can be done pretty easily.

Have you worked out who will be your alternate driver at Busch Series races?

	Doug Richert (left) became crew chief for the No. 16 program late last season. Credit: Autostock

Greg Biffle: We're talking right now with Mike McLaughlin. I haven't actually talked to him. I haven't been able to get a hold of him, but Brad (Parrott, crew chief) has talked to him briefly and we're trying to work through getting him to do our qualifying stuff for us.

How do you see the priorities of the Nextel Cup rookie candidates that are competing in both Nextel Cup and the Busch Series full-time?

Greg Biffle: Rookie of the year in Nextel Cup is a pretty prestigious thing to have. I came up short of it this year, but championships are important as well. The major league deal is Nextel Cup and that has to take priority. It does in my deal, so that's what we're focused on.

Do you think running both series is too tough?

Greg Biffle: No, I don't think so. I did it a lot last year. The only time that I felt I was busy is when I ran the Cup and Busch races at Charlotte. (After the rain delay) That was pretty busy on Saturday for me.

I won the Busch race, so it got your adrenaline going. It doesn't matter what kind of race it is. After you win and you go through all of the drama the whole race, then I had to race that night in the Cup race. It was hard for me to get any sleep.

I couldn't really sleep so I laid down for a little bit and got something to eat and drank some water and was ready to go. I felt good, but at the same time, I felt run down after doing both of them in the same day.

But doing them back-to-back days is fine. It's just like when Tony Stewart did the (Indianapolis) 500 and came and did the other race (Coca-Cola 600) and he's got IVs sticking in his arm. I didn't have to do that, but you can tell it wears on you a little bit.

How handicapped do you feel the Busch Series Fords are with this aerodynamic package?

	Biffle celebrates his Busch win at Charlotte last fall Credit: Autostock

Greg Biffle: My question would be why does it affect a Ford more than a Dodge or a Chevy? What makes it different? The funny part about it is why are we always on the short end of the stick?

We're struggling for speed and I guess the Ford Busch cars were (slow) this last weekend as well. I heard the 25 (Bobby Hamilton) and some of those guys were pretty slow and weren't very happy and concerned about their engines.

You start pointing fingers when your car doesn't go fast. I don't know, but it's unfortunate luck I guess that it's slowing our cars down more than everybody else.

We'll keep working at it. I've been to that NASCAR trailer too many times to go try to lobby something for the Fords, so we'll just have to let them (NASCAR) use their best judgment because they've already said that they're not going to change anything before Talladega. We'll just have to wait and see.

How is the Nextel Cup Ford?

Greg Biffle: We haven't done any downforce testing at all, so the only time that we've had the 2004 car on the track is here. This is really a bad baseline to try and see how your car is going to be.

I care about the other 32 races we're going to run and how the car is going to act compared to the restrictor plate tracks. Right now, the wind tunnel stuff is coming along and the car says it's going to be better than last year.

I still think we're a little bit shy of where the Chevy is going to end up and possibly the Dodge, but we'll see. Certainly we don't know until we get testing. I'm anxious to go to Vegas next week and test the Cup car on the downforce configuration; I'm looking forward to that.

Did you anticipate Jack Roush and Robert Yates collaborating on an engine development deal?

	Doug Yates Credit: Autostock

Greg Biffle: I would have said you're crazy for one. Doug (Yates) took me through the engine shop yesterday over there at Yates, and, man, they've done a fantastic job. It's great for us.

Both Jack and Robert, and Doug and everybody else that is involved, and Ford is certainly involved in that, I applaud them for it. I was talking to Doug about some things that we had with our engines and things we were doing and he's like, 'You guys really had a great package on this, this and this, but we were way better on these, these and these.'

We're able to combine that together and make a lot better end result, which is great for us. It would be a bad day for us if DEI and Hendrick decided that they were going to share notes and engine components.

Ford had to do it I feel, we had to do it because we don't have 17 teams in the Cup Series or whatever the number is. We have two, so we need to work together. I've been telling them that for a while now, and it's funny that it happened.

Are you surprised you haven't been mentioned much as a favorite for your second Busch Series championship?

Greg Biffle: I think it's great. Are they saying we're not one of the favorites? That's good. We'll just sneak up on them, then. I really haven't sat down and looked at the Busch Series and who are the major contenders for the championship.

Multimedia  See all the videos from the Nextel press conference on Monday  See all the videos from NASCAR's announcement regarding the new points system

I haven't really asked that question of myself. I know racing the Busch Series last year that it's a lot tougher than three years ago when it was my first year in the series. It's gotten a lot tougher.

The closer those teams get together on competition, the harder it becomes. It's becoming more and more like Nextel Cup every day, and the better and better the teams get, the harder it is.

I'm not going to say that we're behind, but we may not start out like a ball of fire. We need to be conservative and consistent in the beginning to get going because we have a pretty rookie group of guys, it seems like.

We're not the veteran team we need to be to be a championship contender yet, but I guarantee you we will be in a short period of time.