Biffle better prepared for Daytona in 2004

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The more things change, the more they stay the same. At least it seems that way to Greg Biffle.

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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.

Biffle came to Daytona for testing nearly despondent. Getting a car built for a restrictor-plate race is a difficult task for any team, but for a rookie team it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack - in the dark.

	Biffle was the lone rookie to win a race in 2003. Credit: Autostock

This year, Biffle's group is more prepared, but there are still plenty of challenges as the second week of Nextel Cup testing begins at Daytona. Ford teams are working with a new nose and tail, trying to find the right aerodynamic balance with their cars.

"I'm feeling a whole lot better, but it's funny," Biffle said. "We're almost in the same position because we've got a new nose and tail that we're trying to incorporate. It's an uphill struggle constantly. Nobody's ever prepared and relaxed and saying, 'OK, we've got it under control.'

"We weren't that good last year. We need to be a lot better, and we're working hard at being a lot better. I think we're going to be."

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Biffle was one of the slowest cars during testing last year, but he did make it into the Daytona 500. And then he won last year's Pepsi 400 at Daytona for his first career victory.

This year, Biffle said Roush is trying something new. Instead of each of his five teams building separate cars, three of them will build one car. The cars of Biffle, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin will be built by one group.

	Mark Martin

"We're doing a lot of things inside our organization that are going to create difficulty the first quarter of the season," Biffle said. "We have incorporated the 6, 99 and 16; they're under a common-template umbrella. All the bodies are being built by the same people. We're moving to the trend of how a lot of the teams are running.

"There's going to be some hiccups in that system as we learn the ropes. We don't know what to expect yet, but I suspect at some point, we're going to be frustrated."

Last week, Martin was 13th fastest of 17 teams with a lap of 185.330 mph. This week, Biffle and Burton are in Daytona to try and improve on that.

"We're taking six cars to Daytona; we each take two," Biffle said. "The three best cars out of the six are going back as primary cars for the 6, 99 and 16. We've never done that before. Let's say I have the two fastest cars. I'm giving one to Mark or Jeff."

	Jeff Burton

Ultimately, those three teams will be stronger, and the group of them will be more consistent. Biffle said the plan doesn't affect Matt Kenseth or Kurt Busch, whose teams will continue to build its own cars. Information will still be shared, but the 6, 16 and 99 won't be the same as the 17 or 97.

Biffle said the team discovered last year that even though one team tried to match another team's cars, it wasn't the same. Biffle's team copied one of Kenseth's cars, but when the car was taken to the wind tunnel, the numbers we're the same.

Now, at least Biffle, Martin and Burton will be the same.

"We're either all going to be really good or we're all going to be really bad," Biffle said.

That's the point of testing: to find out how good or bad you are.