Convo: Nicole Lunders

Behind every good driver is a great crew chief.

Sure that's true, but with Greg Biffle, an even greater woman stands behind him -- keeping the driver of the No. 16 Ford Fusion on track.

She's 31-year-old Nicole Lunders, a true philanthropic, an expert in Pilates and a bride-to-be.

Greg Biffle Foundation

The Greg Biffle Foundation for Animals was founded in 2005 by Greg Biffle and Nicole Lunders to create awareness and serve as an advocate to improve the well-being of animals by engaging the power and passion of the motorsports industry.

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Q: So for Christmas last year, what was under the tree for you?

Lunders: My engagement ring! Greg wrapped it inside a big Victoria's Secret box. It was a complete surprise, Christmas morning with his family. Once I opened it, he smiled at me and said, "we'll talk later," and when it was just the two of us, he asked me to marry him.

Q: Congratulations, when's the big day and how did you two meet?

Lunders: We are getting married in this adorable chapel at a resort on Oct. 17.

We met when I was about 21 years old at my parent's house in Washington. I was a college student. He was there with some mutual friends and I didn't think much of anything at the time. I was busy making brownies for my dad.

Q: And when he told you what he did for a living, your first thought was?

Lunders: Honest to goodness, when he told me he drove trucks, I seriously thought he drove Monster Trucks! I didn't see him again for several months until I went to a truck race in Portland [Ore.]. We exchanged numbers in Michigan and had friendly flirtatious conversations for a long time and then in Monroe [Wash.] we had our first date.

I fell in love with his personality; he wasn't like anyone I had met before. Greg has this way of making people feel really good about themselves. I transferred to a satellite college in Vancouver to be with him and we've been together ever since.

Q: Technically, you and the Biff don't have any children yet, but there's a lot of pitter patter around your house in Mooresville, right?

Lunders: Yeah, we have four dogs. We seem to add a dog every year. The first year Greg and I moved to North Carolina, he got us Foster [a fawn Boxer] and he became our kid. I absolutely fell in love with him and started paying attention to animal issues in our area. That's when I got the idea to do a NASCAR pet calendar to raise money for animal shelters and I knew I would have a greater reach with Greg's help. (Continued)