DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Sitting in a director's chair looking noticeably fit and unmistakably eager, Greg Biffle smiled often while answering questions from reporters about his expectations of his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford team in 2016.
He was as upbeat as he's sounded in years. And there is plenty of good reason.
Every driver does his best to be optimistic leading into the start of the season, but Biffle seemed and sounded -- and frankly sold everyone -- on a redemption year coming.
He's got a new crew chief, Brian Pattie, who previously worked at Michael Waltrip Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing. NASCAR has a new rules package that Biffle likes, and his Roush Fenway Racing team has invested in a wide assortment of new engineers. It feels like a fresh start.
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So sitting up straight in his chair and making direct eye contact with those asking the questions, Biffle explained why he was more confident in the 2016 season than he has felt in years.
"I felt (winning the championship in) 2005 was a missed opportunity and two or three years proceeding that definitely was," Biffle said. "You want to be in position to win and I do feel like we're getting back to that now.
"You need some extraordinary circumstance in order to create that opportunity. A rule change, a change in body of the car, change in your organization -- a re-organization and we sort of have all three of those going into 2016.
"We've got a new nose on the car, new crew chief, new car chief, new engineering, we've added people to the air department and a new rules package which proved better for all our cars not just me. We needed something like that to reignite our opportunity."
Biffle will have plenty of opportunity this week to begin a year of vindication. He was a top-10 driver in the three practice sessions he participated in, including third fastest in the third practice on Wednesday.
He qualified 20th during front-row time trials last Sunday in the No. 16 KFC Nashville Hot Ford, and would have started 11th in Thursday night's first Can-Am Duel. But instead, he will actually have to start his Ford last in the field serving a penalty for changing a rear gear during Wednesday practice.
In past years, that would probably have meant a headshake and a "not again," comment, but Biffle -- at 46 the oldest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars -- remains confident and optimistic. Asked about retirement and Biffle only smiled and shook his head. It's not in the plans yet he insisted. There's a title to win still.
All it takes is one victory to earn a position in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and Biffle has no doubts about expecting that.
He has 19 Cup victories and three top-five finishes in the final points standings, including that runner-up finish in 2005. But Biffle hasn't won a race in two years -- the longest span between victories in his 13-year Cup career.
Should -- "when," he would insist -- Biffle earn a Cup title he would be the first driver in history to win all three of NASCAR's major championships. He won the 2000 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the 2002 NASCAR XFINITY Series titles.
"We were optimistic over the offseason and then the first part of 2015 it was painfully obvious we were a long way off," Biffle reflected. "It's painfully difficult because I love success and that opportunity and when you know six weeks from now when I go to that race track, I don't have a chance of winning. That is difficult.
"It takes a long time to climb that ladder back up. But when you have changes like we do between 2015 and 2016 that can shorten up that ladder a lot.
"Maybe we've caught up to the other teams. So we catch up, they have to adjust to a new package and we have new people and we're hungry. That could level the playing field very quickly.”
For his part, Biffle looks extremely fit and acknowledged physical training is now an important aspect of his life and his racing preparation – it's something he has devoted more attention to.
"I'm in better shape now than I was five years ago I can certainly tell you that and that's something that won't hurt in the car," Biffle said. "I got my butt into the gym and started paying attention to what I eat. You get comfortable. … our sport is a lot different that other sports. But you have to be in some level of conditioning to do what we do."
What Biffle most wants is to hoist the one NASCAR trophy that has eluded him. As he discussed his high expectations and fielded questions about the new-look team, Biffle truly looked as prepared and enthusiastic as he ever has.
Someone in the group of reporters asked him about being the "oldest full-time driver," and Biffle smiled, looking unaware of that news.
For him, it's really not a question of age or experience, but desire.
"It's really just the enthusiasm," Biffle said, pausing to really think about the subject. "Change is good in our sport, it re-energizes people. They want to work harder."