Biffle Drives 3M Ford To 13th-Place Finish In Dover; Remains Ninth in the Point Standings

DOVER, DEL. (September 27, 2009) – Dover International Speedway is historically a good track for Greg Biffle.  He hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 there since September of 2005, the season he finished second in the Chase.  The high expectations that follow a record like that led to great frustration for Biffle and the 3M team as they fought for a 13th-place finish this weekend.  It seemed that no matter what adjustments the team made, nothing helped.  While Biffle ran in the top 10 the first half of the race, he lost ground shortly after the midpoint with a loose racecar.  He took on four fresh tires during his final pit stop and fought his way to the 13th-place finish.   Biffle remains ninth in the point standings, 138 points behind leader Mark Martin.

After running lap times consistent with the top five contenders at Dover and qualifying fourth, Biffle and the 3M team felt confident that they would be able to run up front all day on Sunday.  After getting off to a great start, Biffle lost one position before the competition caution on lap 25.  As it had rained throughout the night in Dover, the track conditions had changed and NASCAR opted to put out a pre-planned caution on lap 25 to let the teams adjust to the changes.  Biffle pitted for four tires and fuel as he was content with the overall handling of the car.

Four teams took only two tires and Biffle restarted sixth on lap 30.  He had made his way up to fourth following the restart when a multi-car incident brought out the second yellow flag of the day.  The incident which saw the No. 20 car of Joey Logano rolling several times led to red-flag conditions on the track.  All drivers involved were released from the care center without injury.  Biffle stayed out when the pits reopened and restarted fourth on lap 36.

Around lap 70 Biffle began reporting that the 3M Ford was loose in the middle of the corners and tight off of the corners.  A caution on lap 84 allowed him to pit for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.  The team picked up three positions in the pits and Biffle restarted second on lap 89.  Shortly after the restart Biffle informed the team that the car was now way too loose.  He dropped back to eighth during the long green flag run but picked up one position before the next caution on lap 163 just as he was about to pit under green for fuel.

The 3M pit crew gave him four tires, fuel, another air pressure adjustment and a wedge adjustment.  Biffle restarted in the seventh position on lap 168 and over the course of the next 150 laps he made two more pit stops for wedge, air pressure and shim adjustments.  The adjustments didn’t seem to do the trick, however, and Biffle was running 11th when debris on the track brought out the seventh caution of the day on lap 324.

This time Biffle brought the 3M Ford Fusion in for four tires, fuel and another round of wedge and air pressure adjustments.  The crew picked up two positions in the pits and Biffle restarted ninth on lap 329.  He soon reported that the car seemed a little better and he hung around just inside the top 10 until the next caution on lap 344.  This time Biffle opted to stay out to try to gain track position.  Several other teams pitted for four tires and a few of them got by Biffle shortly after the restart on lap 347.

Biffle quickly dropped back to 13th and took the opportunity to pit for four fresh tires of his own during a caution on lap 370.  He restarted 14th on lap 373 as most of the frontrunners opted to stay out.  Biffle was able to get by Casey Mears in the closing laps for a 13th-place finish.

“It was a frustrating day,” said Biffle.  “What’s probably most frustrating about the whole thing, and I hate to beat a dead horse, is that the 42 and the 48 and I don’t know who else came up here and tire tested.  So when we came back, look at the guys that didn’t get to test.  We were obviously at a disadvantage.  It was a completely different tire and it has us off our game right when we unloaded off of the truck.  We had a decent car today but we’re not going to beat guys that came here and tested.”

Greg Biffle and the 3M team remain ninth in the point standings with their 13th-place finish in Dover.  They are currently 138 points behind leader Mark Martin but only 16 points behind Jeff Gordon in eighth and 32 behind Tony Stewart in fifth.  The 3M team will return to the track on Sunday, October 4th at Kansas Speedway.