Greg Biffle
Driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion
Greg Biffle grew up in Vancouver, Washington, and, like most teenagers, developed an interest in cars and competition when he was in high school. He started working on his own cars and soon was racing at local tracks in the area. His talent and competitiveness led him to a serious racing career on the short tracks of the Northwest around his home town. Biffle had impressive statistics which included NASCAR Winston Racing Series championships at Portland Speedway and Tri-Cities Raceway. Greg caught the eye of the late NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Benny Parsons during the 1995/96 NASCAR Winter Heat Series, which proved to be the key that opened the door to what has been a remarkable career to date. Parsons told Jack Roush there was no way he could pass up the chance to hire Biffle, but that if he did pass it up, he would regret it as he would be watching Biffle win races for another team owner.
As a result of Parsons' recommendation, Biffle joined Roush Racing in 1998 and quickly made a name for himself driving in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Grainger Industrial Supply as his sponsor. During his rookie campaign in the truck series, Biffle established a rookie record with four pole positions, a record which has been tied once, but not broken. Biffle also led at least one lap in 12 different events that season and recorded eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes en route to securing the 1998 Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
The following year was the breakthrough year for Biffle and the Grainger team in the truck series. He captured his first career series win at Memphis Motorsports Park, and went on to set a series record for nine wins in a single season. Biffle finished the year second in the overall point standings, just eight points shy of a championship.
The 1999 success set the stage for what would be an incredible run in the truck series for Biffle in 2000. In 24 events, the team won five races, posted 18 top-five finishes on their way to capturing Roush Racing’s first NASCAR championship in any series.
In 2001, Biffle and Grainger moved to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where he and his team quickly established themselves as a major force to be reckoned with. In 33 events, he recorded five wins, two poles, 16 top-five finishes and 21 top-10 finishes. Biffle finished the 2001 Nationwide Series season fourth in the overall point standings, while receiving Rookie-of-the-Year honors. Collectively, he and the team set eight rookie records, including most wins, most top-five finishes, most top-10 finishes, most starts, most points overall (4,509), most laps led (948), most races led (19) and most money won.
The 2002 Nationwide Series season proved to be yet another memorable year for Biffle and Roush Racing, as he and the Grainger team won the series title. Biffle produced four wins, five poles, 20 top-five finishes and 25 top-10 finishes on his way to winning his second NASCAR Series Championship. He also became the first driver to win more than $2 million in a single Nationwide Series season.
In 2003, Biffle moved to the Sprint Cup level with the Roush Racing No. 16 team. Biffle’s inaugural season at NASCAR Cup level produced mixed results, highlighted by his first career Sprint Cup win in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July, 5, 2003. Overall, he and the No. 16 team recorded one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes en route to a 20th-place position in the final point standings.
The 2004 Sprint Cup Series season got off to a promising start when Biffle took the pole for the Daytona 500. The first half of the season was a little rocky for Biffle and the No. 16 team. However, they refused to give up and their persistence paid off with a top-five finish in Pocono and a dominating win at Michigan International Speedway. Following the Michigan victory, Biffle picked up another top-five and two more top-10s on his way to a dramatic season-ending win at Homestead. Biffle finished 17th in the 2004 Nextel Cup driver’s point standings. Biffle also completed a full Nationwide Series schedule in 2004, driving the No. 60 Ford. He finished the season third in the points with five wins, two poles, 15 top-fives and 21 top-10s.
Heading into the 2005 season, Biffle was a dark horse for the championship. During that season, Greg ran nine races with 3M’s Post-it® Products as a sponsor. He quickly turned some heads when he won five of the first 15 races, two of which were with the Post-it® sponsorship livery (California and Texas). The second half of the summer was filled with several top-fives and top-10s, but it wasn’t until the dramatic season finale at Homestead that Biffle drove the No. 16 Ford to the victory lane for the sixth time of the season. With the victory at Homestead, Biffle took second in the point standings.
In the 2006 NASCAR Sprint season, Biffle again experienced mixed results, but had two poles, two victories, eight top-fives and 15 top-10s on his way to a 13th place finish. Greg also competed in the Nationwide series in 2006 where he finished in ninth place and recorded three top-fives and 30 top-10 finishes.
For the 2007 Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series seasons, Greg piloted the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion in 19 Nationwide Series races and 7 Sprint Cup races. His results for 3M and his other sponsors netted him a 9th place finish in the Nationwide Series (even though he only competed in 31 of the 35 races) and a 14th place finish in the Sprint Cup Series. Although his results were not what he had hoped for in the Sprint Cup Series, he was able to win at Kansas and collect a pole at Atlanta on his way to five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. However, these results were overshadowed by the fact that he started working with a new crew chief (Greg Erwin) part way through the 2007 season and, more importantly, was married to Nicole Lunders. These changes in Greg’s life set the stage for a great season in 2008.
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season for Greg and the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion Team started out with a top ten finish in the Daytona 500 and saw Greg in the top 10 in the points standings for the entire season, except for three weeks (when he was eleventh). He and the team made the “Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship” which they started off with wins at New Hampshire and Dover (the first win for a 3M livery car). After the final race in Homestead, Greg was third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. This finish was especially important for the future of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion Team because it was a “building year” for a new crew chief and many new team members and bodes well for the 2009 season and beyond.
During the off season, Greg relaxes by working on various projects around his and Nicole’s home. This includes home improvement chores, working on some of the customized cars he has restored and making property improvements in his Triple B Ranch property so he can develop a business retreat experience for companies to use for their executives and customers. He and Nicole are also very active with the Greg Biffle Foundation for Animals. (http://www.gregbifflefoundation.com) which includes working with other animal shelter groups and raising money to help support “no-kill” shelters through donations and sales of their NASCAR Pets calendar. When he’s not “working,” he enjoys fishing around the area and in Mexico as well as trips to the sand dunes with his sand car and quads.
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