Biffle set to sign three-year extension with Roush

SONOMA, Calif. -- For weeks, driver Greg Biffle has said that he wanted to return to Roush Fenway Racing next year and beyond.

But it wasn't until Friday at Infineon Raceway that Biffle said a deal is all but done on what sources indicate is a three-year contract. The official announcement of the extension could come as soon as next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Biffle will drive his No. 16 Ford in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

Greg Biffle

Cup career stats

Years	7
Races	201
Wins	12
Top-fives	40
Top-10s	68
Poles	6
Avg. Start	16.1
Avg. Finish	17.7
Earnings	$28,161,389

• Biffle Driver Page | Superstore

"We're really close to having it done. I've said that for a while now. But I think we're down just to getting it signed, more than anything," said Biffle, whose current contract runs out at the end of this season. "I think we've worked out all the infinite details on it. I imagine we'll have a press conference in Loudon [N.H.] next week, I think. That's what I'm planning on."

Biffle quickly added that it isn't a completely done deal just yet.

"It's not done yet. The wheels can fell off of anything, I suppose. I'll be excited to get it done and get it behind me," Biffle said. "That will put me at Roush Fenway for 13 years at the end of that contract. That's a long time to be with an organization.

"We've got good cars; we've worked really hard. Everybody is. We want to win the championship this year. That's everybody's goal ... but we really feel like we're that close. That small percentage all the way around, if we can just get a little bit better, I really do believe we're going to be right there in the hunt."

Biffle's joking reference to wheels falling off always being a possibility was a loaded comment. Loose wheels have been a problem not only for him this season -- in races at Darlington and at Texas -- but at times for his Roush Fenway Racing teammates as well.

"We've had wheel stud and lugnut issues," Biffle said. "We switched manufacturers that I did not know of -- not that they needed my approval anyway -- but I just didn't know about the product, about the hardware switch on the car. And we weren't the only car in our organization with loose wheels. Matt [Kenseth] had a loose wheel in a Nationwide race; we had a loose wheel at Texas; [David Ragan] had loose wheels at the [Sprint] Showdown ...

"So that just goes to show you what can happen when the hardware isn't mating up properly. It took a lot of hard work to research what that was. I don't know exactly what they found -- but I know they switched some of the hardware around and cured it. So we're happy that's behind us, definitely."

Next up on the list of things he would like to put behind him is the contract. Biffle said throughout the process that he had been talking with other teams as well as Roush Fenway, but he said that is no longer the case.

"I haven't been talking to other teams as of recently, because we've been focusing on getting this done with Roush Fenway," Biffle said. "You know, I think the phone still rings every once in a while. People are inquiring about what we're doing, more than anything. We've told them, 'hey, we're signing a deal with Roush Fenway ... coming up here in the next couple of weeks.'

"That's what we've been working toward. That's what we've been working toward the entire time -- doing an extension."

Biffle has been teamed with owner Jack Roush since 2003, when he joined the Roush program full-time and won his first Sprint Cup race. His best season came in 2005, when he captured a series-high six victories and finished second in the points standings.

Biffle has 12 Cup wins in 201 career starts, and won at Kansas last season to give him at least one victory in five consecutive seasons. He does not yet own a win this season, but is eighth in the points standings and has five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in 15 starts. He has finished third twice -- at Las Vegas and Dover -- and he also has won two poles.

It was all enough to draw considerable interest in Biffle from other teams, many of whom considered him the most attractive free agent about to be on the Sprint Cup market. Now it appears that will not be the case.

"I just want to make a comment about how flattered I am by the teams that at least made the phone call and inquired about what my future is going to be," Biffle said. "I respect all the race teams and team guys in this sport greatly. I'm really blessed and lucky to have the opportunities that I do right now, and I feel like I want to stay driving the No. 16 car -- so that's the decision I'm going to make."