3M Team Battles Their Way into The Chase with a 13th Place Finish in Richmond

Richmond, Va. (September 12, 2009) – While Greg Biffle and the 3M team had a little breathing room heading into the final race before the Chase this weekend, they were far from breathing easy.  Biffle qualified 24th and spent a great deal of the race trying to hold onto to top 20 position.  With the help of his pit crew, who picked up a total of 26 positions in the pits, he was able to make his way into the top 15 with just over 100 laps remained.  Biffle was able to stay there for most of the final laps and eventually took a 13-place finish.  While this was not the finish the team was looking for, it was enough to earn them their spot in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

While Biffle was fast in the first practice of the weekend, the 3M team seemed to know they still had a lot of work ahead of them.  Biffle qualified 24th during time trials on Friday evening and that made the picture even clearer.  He would have to come from the middle of the pack and race his way to what the team had calculated as a solid top-15 finish to make the Chase no matter where the other drivers finished.

Shortly after the green flag dropped, a caution came out on lap five and Biffle reported that the car was good but he just couldn’t get anywhere.  The field restarted on lap nine and Biffle was in the 26th position.  He soon radioed the team to let them know that the 3M Ford had become loose entering the corners and tight through the center.  A caution on lap 44 allowed him to pit while running in the 30th position for a round of adjustments.  The newly named “3M Pit Bulls” crew picked up two positions in the pits and sent Biffle out 28th for the restart on lap 50.

The car seemed to gradually improve over the course of the next 200 laps and four pit stops for additional adjustments.  The crew continued to gain ground in the pits and Biffle was running 17th when a caution on lap 278 gave him the opportunity to pit for four tires, fuel and minor wedge and air pressure adjustments to try to fine-tune the car’s handling.  This time the “Pit Bulls” picked up three positions in the pits and sent Biffle out 14th for the restart on lap 287.

Biffle continued to report that the car was a little tight and the crew continued to adjust on it during the final two pit stops.  During their last pit stop of the night on lap 382, the crew picked up four positions in the pits and sent Biffle out 14th for the restart on lap 386.  Biffle was able to grab one more position in the closing laps for a 13th-place finish.

“I’m certainly excited,” said Biffle.  “It’s been a stressful eight or 10 weeks leading up to this.  I know I’m gonna sleep good tonight and re-focus for the chase and go to Loudon.  Hopefully, we started off the chase last year as a miracle chase – I won the first two events, so, hopefully, we can mirror that or get a couple top fives or something.  But we’re just happy that we ended up 11th in points before the seeding process.  We ran good enough tonight to get in.  We knew we were gonna run in the top 10 or top 15 and we did all night, but I’m just real excited for the guys at 3M and Roush and everybody that’s worked so hard to get this team where it’s at.”

Greg Biffle and the 3M team will start the Chase 12th in the standings but only 40 points out of the lead.  Although the team finished 11th in the “pre-season” point standings, they will be seeded 12th for the Chase because Brian Vickers who finished 12th in the preseason points has one win and therefore 10 bonus points.  The 3M team will return to the track on Sunday, September 20th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.