Pick your winner for Sunday’s Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway
Dirty Mo Radio: Discusses key pit-road speeding penalty
Carrying the very unofficial title of NASCAR’s official grillmaster, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has plenty of experience getting the timing right in his frequent barbecues. Perhaps that’s why overcooking his entry onto pit road last weekend at Dover International Speedway left such a sour taste.
A crucial pit-road speeding penalty just past the halfway point proved to be an insurmountable obstacle to Earnhardt’s chances in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks. But Earnhardt, in his weekly analysis on the "Dale Jr. Download" podcast on Dirty Mo Radio, said that he was pleased with the speed in his Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet as he twice rallied from deep in the field to a 14th-place finish.
"I still had fun driving the car. I hate I fouled up there and screwed up coming onto pit road and disappointed the guys," Earnhardt said. "We just worked so hard to get all that ground back and get back on the lead lap, and I sort of screwed it all up. So that’s difficult to deal with but you’ve got to put it behind you to be able to move on to the next event, and we’re going to some tracks where I think we can do really well and I’m looking forward to it."
Earnhardt started from the rear of the 43-car field, dropping back during pace laps after the crew was forced to make repairs to the No. 88’s rear gearing during Saturday’s final practice. Earnhardt lost a lap early, but regained it with some savvy pit strategy from crew chief Greg Ives and the fortunate timing of the race’s second caution period. That lead-lap advantage, however, went away with a penalty during the next round of green-flag pit stops.
Earnhardt lost two laps in the process, but the net effect wasn’t terribly costly in the scope of the season. The 40-year-old driver has already all but sealed his berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs after posting a regular-season win at Talladega Superspeedway last month, allowing him to take more chances ahead of the 10-race championship fight.
"Trying to get everything we can," Earnhardt said. "We can be real aggressive with pretty much everything we do since we have the win and we’re locked into the Chase. Sometimes, that’s going to bite us, and it bit me today. After that we just worked real hard to get everything else we could out of the race. Ended up gaining a bunch more spots and getting back into the top 15 there, but definitely had a much better car — a top-five car for sure."
While the result was less than desirable, Earnhardt emerged confident that the performance should carry over to the series’ October visit to Dover, site of the finale to the Chase-opening Challenger Round. Earnhardt and Co. finished a disappointing 17th at the Monster Mile last fall, but hopes Sunday’s comeback-filled effort is something the team can build upon.
"Starting in the back definitely made things difficult for us, so I’m pretty happy with the speed in the car," Earnhardt said. "Once we found out we were starting in the back, I really wrote off the result no matter what it was and just wanted to make sure we had good speed, because that track is where we really stumbled last year in the Chase. So we need to run better there for sure later in the season, and I think we’ve got a good baseline of something that’ll work."
Before Dover ever comes into view, Earnhardt has more pressing matters in Sunday’s Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Pocono Raceway, where he has a recent hot streak cooking. Earnhardt was 0-for-28 for his career at the Tricky Triangle until last season, when he swept both annual events at the Pennsylvania track.
If Earnhardt is able to connect for a third straight victory at Pocono, he’ll join elite company in NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison and the late Tim Richmond as the track’s only three-in-a-row winners. Pocono Raceway president Brandon Igdalsky, on hand in Victory Lane for both ends of Earnhardt’s double last season, told Dirty Mo Radio that the effect of his success was palpable.
"He takes the lead, and any track, anywhere — the place goes bonkers and it was the same thing here last year, watching fans’ reaction," Igdalsky said. "Then to see him do it a second time and now to be trying to go for what only two drivers have accomplished with winning three in a row, it’s going to be quite a feat if he can do it."
Big Download. @DaleJr discusses up-and-down day. @bigdalsky talks about a @poconoraceway 3-peat. #tdjd by @spyoptic: http://t.co/nrBNfRddzU
— Dirty Mo Radio (@DirtyMoRadio) June 2, 2015
See the look he will sport for first road course race of 2015
Stewart-Haas Racing unveiled the patriotic look Kevin Harvick will be sporting for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 28 (3 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, PRN, SiriusXM).
Harvick’s No. 4 Outback/Budweiser Chevrolet will have the Folds of Honor Foundation logo and wording on the hood of the car for the first road course race of the Sprint Cup Series season.
The Bakersfield, California native has three top fives and five top 10s in 14 starts at Sonoma.
REVEAL: Retweet if you love @KevinHarvick‘s No. 4 @Outback/@Budweiser Chevy that will race in June at @RaceSonoma. pic.twitter.com/FCIMputxUd
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) June 2, 2015
Monster Mile race winner hopes to find common ground with Wallace Jr.
MORE: Bubba on Buescher: ‘We’re not shaking hands yet’ | See what happened late at Dover
Three days after ruffling feelings and fenders in his NASCAR XFINITY Series victory last weekend, Chris Buescher said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the raw emotions between himself and teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. still need time to cool before the two drivers see eye to eye.
Buescher, appearing on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s "Tradin’ Paint" program, said that late-race contact between the two at Dover International Speedway made for an unusual team meeting earlier this week at Roush Fenway Racing.
"I don’t know if awkward’s the word," Buescher said, "but obviously not as smooth as we’d want it to go."
Buescher and Wallace — both racing on similar pit-stop and fuel conservation strategies — bumped twice as they contested the lead with nine laps remaining in Saturday’s Buckle Up 200. Buescher drove away after the contact to score his second XFINITY win of the season, but pole-starter Wallace slowed with a flat tire and faded to a 17th-place finish, three laps down.
"When you come down to the end and you have two cars with the same organization with a chance to win a race, and both on similar strategies, it gets a little rough sometimes," said Buescher, an XFINITY winner in two of the last three races. "Not ideal, and I hate that it went the way it did. And honestly, I had no clue that some of the things that happened after the contact happened, so that’s a shame. We were both in contention and both had fast race cars for the day."
Wallace expressed his displeasure with abrupt, measured comments to reporters on pit road after the race. Buescher, meanwhile, said in Saturday’s post-race news conference that he hoped to talk out the incident with his teammate on the plane ride back to North Carolina.
RELATED: Post-race tension caused by teammate tussle
Tuesday on SiriusXM, Buescher indicated that the two have yet to find common ground, but that he hoped they could resolve their differences before the series’ next race, June 13 at Michigan International Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).
"We’ve got to cool down a little bit is where it stands," Buescher said. "I’ve tried to express my view on the situation and I think it’s just too soon. Once we get everything calmed down, we’ve got an off weekend to go relax a little bit and we’ll come back to it and get it resolved before Michigan, but it’s still fresh on everyone’s mind. And I think both of us have opinions on what went on and I don’t know that we agree completely with the situation, but we’ll get it figured out.
"It’s part of racing and part of having as many teammates as we do over at Roush Fenway. You’re going to run into situations every now and then, and unfortunately, it’s part of it and we’re going to try to right the situation as quickly as possible."
Wallace appeared on FOX Sports 1’s "Race Hub" program Monday, saying that he had not shaken hands and mended fences with Buescher yet.
"Just good thing there’s a week off," Wallace said. "Got time to settle down and refocus back on the big picture."
5
Hendrick Motorsports
Johnson was No. 1 at Dover last weekend and he’s back to No. 1 in the rankings. The No. 48 driver’s win at the Monster Mile put him at four victories for the season — twice the amount of reigning Cup champ Kevin Harvick. If “Six-Time” keeps up this trend, he may be contending for his seventh title.
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Like his runner-up finish at Dover, Harvick just couldn’t quite hold onto that top spot in the rankings. But with the most top fives of any driver this year and impressive consistency, the 2014 champ is definitely a frontrunner for the title.
Truex Jr. showed his aggression again at Dover this week, increasing his laps led in the past three points races to an impressive 357. This, along with his 2015 consistency, insinuates it’s only a matter of time before Truex finds Victory Lane this season.
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While he just missed a top-10 result at Dover, Logano has recorded solid finishes for most of the year, posting nine of 13 finishes in the top 10. He is likely to put on a strong performance at Pocono, where he’s nabbed top 10s in three of the past four races.
2
Hendrick Motorsports
A 14th-place showing at Dover wasn’t stellar, but Earnhardt Jr. does deserve a hat tip for his fight from starting from the rear to the front. And with Junior having swept Pocono in 2014, we’ll be looking for him and crew chief Greg Ives to make some magic on Sunday.
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Team Penske
After his win at Auto Club back in March, Keselowski has been on-and-off depending on the week. He couldn’t do too much at Dover, but still managed to lead 28 laps. As the runner-up in this Pocono race last season, this week might be a good one for Kes.
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Busch spent much of Dover running in the top 10, but couldn’t avoid a late-race wreck that left him with a 31st-place result. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver could bounce back at Pocono, as he’s recorded third-place finishes at two of his past three races there.
Kenseth’s 39th-place finish at Dover may have looked very different if his No. 20 ride hadn’t experienced a mechanical problem that took him out of the race. He showed speed throughout the weekend, and we expect that to be the case for the remainder of the year for the JGR team.
Joe Gibbs Racing
The Monster Mile polesitter took quite a beating Sunday, as he was caught up in a late-race wreck after leading 118 laps. Expect him to make up for it this week, as Hamlin is a four-time winner at Pocono. And with a win under his belt, he can afford to take chances.
What was poised to be a promising final season for Gordon has turned into a year of heartbreakers and struggles with the new rules package. Could Pocono be the place to turn Gordon’s season around? The stats look good — he’s the all-time winner with six victories and Hendrick Motorsports has nabbed five straight Tricky Triangle wins.
Edwards proved his move to Joe Gibbs Racing was a good one by winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. His follow-up at Dover was ruined by two key pit road mishaps, but what’s important for the No. 19 driver is he’s confident again. And confidence is key.
Making a quiet run to the front, Kahne surprised everyone by contending for the win at Dover. While he wasn’t able to get it done, the No. 5 team has showed speed for the most part this season and could bring home a victory at Pocono — a track where Kahne has won twice.
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Joe Gibbs Racing
Busch’s return to the track was met with anticipation and curiousity of how he would bounce back. So far, so good as far as endurance and competitiveness goes. But after wrecking while running in the top bracket last week at Dover, Busch bumps down a bit.
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Newman has been consistent this year, having an average finishing position of 11.9. But the Richard Childress Racing driver has yet to really contend for a win and his 18th-place finish at Dover sets him back in the rankings.
A seventh-place finish at Dover matches McMurray’s current seventh-place ranking in the point standings. Considering he doesn’t have a win yet, this is a mark of consistency, which bodes for a bright season and possible Chase bid if it continues.
Almirola impressed at Dover by earning not only his first top-10 of the season, but also his first top-five. A good weekend or premonition of a stronger second half to his season? Only time will tell.
Having struggled to find his groove this season, Larson earned some stripes at Dover with a third-place result. The No. 42 driver has a long way to go if he wants to make the Chase, though. Third-place won’t cut it — he needs a win.
While the leader of the Roush Fenway Racing cars this year, Biffle’s season has been mediocre with flashes of success. His runner-up finish was strong at Charlotte, but his follow at Dover (17th-place after involvement in a wreck) wasn’t too impressive.
Stewart-Haas Racing
Hopes were high for Bowyer at Dover, as it is one of his strong tracks in recent years. And while the Michael Waltrip Racing driver didn’t grab a win or top-five finish, he did manage a ninth-place result, a far cry from the trio of 20th-place-or-worse finishes he posted in the three points races before his Monster Mile result.
Menard has quietly recorded top-15 finishes in seven of the last 10 races, making him another poster child for consistency. While he doesn’t run inside the top 10 often, his strong eighth-place finish at Dover last week keeps him in the rankings.
Chat with race fans as the Sprint Cup, Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series are on-track
Chat with race fans as the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series are on-track
Initial frustration gives way to encouragement over Dover results
RELATED: ‘Six-time’ wins 10th time at Dover | Race results | Updated standings
DOVER, Del. – Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. may have initially been frustrated coming up short on a potential first win of the 2015 season in Sunday’s FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks. But once given some time to think big picture both Chevrolet drivers seemed decidedly more encouraged than disappointed by their top-six efforts.
While they may not have had much for eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson in the end, Kahne and Truex raced each other hard in the closing laps – so hard on one restart that after the race, a miffed Truex showed his displeasure by giving Kahne’s No. 5 Farmers Chevrolet a little bump on the cool-down lap.
By the time the drivers emerged from their cars, neither was still particularly upset.
"Our car was inside him and he ran me down to the apron so I either had to let off or wreck all of us so I decided to let off," said Truex, who finished sixth but for the third consecutive points race led the most laps (131) without winning.
Kahne calmly explained the situation from his perspective.
"He was back behind me to get a run on me, obviously," Kahne said. "The spotter said I was clear, so I just went to the bottom getting into [turn] one. I think he was a little upset. He gave me a bump after the race. But I didn’t really know what else to do other than to go there with guys on my outside and stuff."
In the end, Kahne’s fourth-place finish matched his best result of the season (he also finished fourth at Phoenix in March) despite a disappointing qualifying effort.
"Started 25th and drove forward throughout the whole race," Kahne said. "We got to 12th or 13th and kind of stood there for a little while and [crew chief] Keith [Rodden] found us a way to get track position on the end.
"I was able to get to second on the outside on the restart and basically the guy in fourth got to second on the outside and I ended up fourth. It was kind of just the way it goes late in the race on old tires. We did all we could. We had a pretty good run. … we just came up fourth."
SHOP: Kahne gear | Truex items
In the previous two races, Truex led the most laps and felt like he had the car that should have driven in Victory Lane but didn’t. This week he conceded the car may not have been a race winner and in this case, salvaging a top-six – his series best 12th top-10 [tying race runner-up Kevin Harvick] was a productive day.
"We had a good car today, but it was never right,’" Truex said of his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet. "We were never right yesterday through practice. We made some changes today and we made some gains on it, but never really got it where we needed it.
"Clean air was huge. When we were out front, we were OK. It just never turned good all day long and it just eventually caught up to us."
With only one-third of the 36-race schedule completed, the 389 laps led ranks third in a season for Truex. He led 581 laps in 2007 and 434 in 2012.
He remains second in driver points, 44 behind leader Harvick and 32 ahead of third place Johnson – the only multi-race winners on the season.
Complete news and notes on every driver that competed at the Monster Mile
RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings | Latest Chase Grid
1. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson chose the outside lane for the first and only attempt at a green-white-checkered flag and held on to win a record 10th Sprint Cup race at the Monster Mile. He joins NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip who also have won 10 times at a single track. | WATCH: Johnson on adding to his ‘Monster’ collection
2. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick overcame a broken track bar to earn his ninth top-five finish this year and match his best Dover result.
3. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. "Good job boys," Larson radioed his team after sealing his best Dover performance. "First podium of the year." | To hear more in-car audio, sign up for Scanner today
4. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne, who qualified 25th, was in position to contend for the win when he lined up next to teammate Jimmie Johnson for the green-white-checkered flag restart. | WATCH: Kahne on final restart
5. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola picked up four spots on the final restart to earn his best career Dover finish.
6. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. The outside pole sitter led a race-high 131 laps, but was frustrated during the green-white-checkered flag when he lined up third and was slowed on the restart. Irritated, he radioed, "Should have wrecked them all." | WATCH: Truex discusses frustrating final restart
7. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray constantly worked the track bar adjuster to help make his Chevrolet turn better.
8. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard narrowly avoided being involved in a wreck with 24 laps to go and held on to claim his third top-10 Dover result.
9. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer led a lap during late-race green-flag stops, but later made contact with Denny Hamlin to bring out the sixth caution of the race. | WATCH: See the incident between Bowyer and Hamlin
10. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon let out a "Woooo" over the radio when the caution flag was waved on Lap 376, which enabled him to get back on the lead lap as the beneficiary of the free pass. | To hear more in-car audio, sign up for Scanner today
11. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Logano chased the handling of his car and early on, he radioed his team, "as soon as I hit dirty air, it takes about 10 laps for (the tires) to come back."
12. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski inherited the lead during green-flag stops on Lap 330 and stretched his fuel window to 96 laps before making his stop. | For more in-race stats, sign up for RaceView Premium today
13. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Ragan steadily used pit stops to improve his track position, although he did have to avoid cement cracks in Tony Stewart‘s nearby stall.
14. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt overcame several frustrations to lead three laps on Sunday, but he couldn’t rally back from a pit road penalty with just over 150 laps to go. His thoughts? "Nothing would make me enjoy racing on this concrete."
15. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick was running inside the top 15 when she was caught speeding on pit road during her Lap 331 green-flag pit stop.
16. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart spent most of the race looking for front grip, while his crew members monitored the 12-by-12-inch area of crumbled concrete in his pit stall.
17. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. "Why are they letting these cars on track," Biffle asked his team after smashing into Casey Mears on Lap 399. "He broke, and I couldn’t avoid him." | To hear more in-car audio, sign up for Scanner today
18. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman attempted pit strategy, but fought a tight-handling condition all race long.
19. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards might have caught a lucky break on his first pit road penalty, but his second one, which occurred with around 150 laps remaining, was more damaging. | WATCH: Carl’s crew member takes a ride
20. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. It was a solid day for Bowman, who made his best start and went on to claim his best Dover result.
21. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The pole winner didn’t get a chance to see what four fresh tires could do late as he was hit by Clint Bowyer on Lap 386 derailing his bid for a second win in 2015. | RELATED: Hamlin discusses late trouble
22. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish and his team chased the handling on his No. 9 Ford until the final 50 laps when something clicked and he started posting his best lap times of the day.
23. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill nabbed his best Dover finish on Sunday after starting 43rd.
24. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Rear grip was an initial issue for Allmendinger, who was hit by a spinning Casey Mears in the closing laps.
25. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. The No. 38 team resolved a tight-handling condition as Gilliland collected his best Dover finish since the 2011 spring race.
26. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt’s team had a scary moment on pit road when his crew members had to maneuver around neighbor Brad Keselowski to pit the No. 35 Ford.
27. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears slowed up after cutting his left-front tire and was hit from behind by Greg Biffle to bring out the final caution flag.
28. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Moffitt earned his best finish with Front Row Motorsports after improving several positions in the latter part of the race.
29. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley climbed through the field after starting 40th to post his third-best Dover finish.
30. Jeb Burton, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. With 40 laps to go, Burton attempted to move down the track and made slight contact with Martin Truex Jr., who was running fourth at the time.
31. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch sustained right-front damage and required a pit stop after being involved in the Clint Bowyer/Denny Hamlin dust-up on Lap 386. He then blew another tire right before the restart. | WATCH: See what happened to Busch
32. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto, in his first Dover appearance, managed to stay out of trouble while navigating the Monster Mile.
33. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon turned in a solid run before knocking out his radiator on the last caution of the day.
34. Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Making his first Dover start since 2004, Gaughan lined up 41st and earned the team’s best finish since Atlanta.
35. Mike Bliss, No. 32 Ford, Go FASRacing. Bliss lined up 42nd and had trouble navigating his way through the tight quarters of Dover’s concrete mile.
36. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch led seven laps Sunday before being collected in a late-race accident with Brian Scott that brought out the fifth caution flag. Busch, who appeared to walk without issue to the ambulance, was cleared by the on-site medics. | RELATED: Busch involved in wreck for first time since Daytona
37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse’s team had to go under the hood after he lost his gauges coming to pit road during the first caution period.
38. Brian Scott, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. A later apologetic Scott came down on the track and right into the path of lead-lap car Kyle Busch with 24 laps to go. | RELATED: Scott apologizes to Busch via Twitter
39. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Suspension issues in the final 100 laps prompted Kenseth to make an unscheduled pit stop and ultimately retreat to the garage for a broken track bar mount.
40. Josh Wise, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise ran as high as 25th before encountering an electrical issue.
41. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett, who made his best Dover start Sunday, was involved in a Lap 175 accident after making contact with Trevor Bayne.
42. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier, who qualified 24th, smashed into teammate Michael Annett after Annett was hit by Trevor Bayne on Lap 175. | WATCH: See what happened to the two HScott cars
43. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne attempted to move up the track on Lap 175 when he made contact with Michael Annett and slid down to crash off the inside Dover wall. | RELATED: Bayne called to NASCAR hauler
Roush Fenway Racing driver describes group’s genesis, approach
RELATED: O’Donnell addresses Dover meeting with drivers
Roush Fenway Racing‘s Greg Biffle did not attend Saturday’s driver meeting with NASCAR at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, but he was aware of it. He also said Monday that he was among the first drivers to start talking about a council last September.
"It actually started with Denny (Hamlin), myself and Brad (Keselowski) … in Chicago, after the Chase was set," Biffle said on "NASCAR Race Hub" on FOX Sports 1. "We started these discussions, and it’s kind of continued from there and built and it’s a good thing."
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver with titles in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck divisions described the make-up of the group and some of the subjects discussed.
"It’s a great discussion to continue to help improve racing and safety within the sport," Biffle said. "We drive the cars and so we know what taking power out does, adding or subtracting downforce a lot of times. You get the driver input, NASCAR’s input and the team owners’ input. They’ve got to pay the bills to continue to change the cars around.
"It was a past champion, top Ford, top Chevy, top Toyota drivers. That’s kind of how the council’s made up. Then we discuss the issues, and they go on and meet with NASCAR so we can all stay on the same page and not be surprised by anything.
"And we all have the same agenda. We want great racing, close side-by-side racing, competitive and safe for the drivers."
In the past, a pair of future NASCAR Hall of Famers would talk with the sanctioning body about issues affecting the garage. Now, his fellow drivers felt the need to work together.
"…before, let’s face it, it was Rusty Wallace would walk in there or Dale Earnhardt would walk in there and (say), ‘This is what we need.’ And those guys really knew.
"We as a collective group kind of know I think what direction we need to go and what we want to see. It’s easier for us to go in there with a little bit more focused group on what we need and what we think and try and work with NASCAR on the outcome."
MORE: Stewart says NASCAR meeting is ‘very, very positive’
Horsepower and aero adjustments were two of the topics on Saturday’s agenda, according to Biffle.
"We’re race car drivers, right, so we want to go as fast as we can," Biffle said. "We want the most power, and I think that one of the topics is the power that has been taken away. It’s made it a little bit more difficult to pass and so power is one thing, that we would like to be able to have that horsepower when we step on the gas pedal. I don’t think you could argue with any race car driver as far as that.
"And then the downforce issue and trying to make the cars a little bit less aero-sensitive from the cars behind and be able to pass. That’s the key, right?"
Biffle said the council sets the time to talk with NASCAR, and he found out on Saturday that the group was meeting so he didn’t think it was unusual that six-time champion Jimmie Johnson wasn’t aware that the meeting had taken place until after he earned his record 10th victory at Dover.
"Jimmie went out for a bicycle ride," Biffle said. "Doesn’t surprise me he didn’t hear about the meeting or catch wind that they were actually meeting on that Saturday."