Roswell, Ga. (October 5, 2010) – Greg Erwin, crew chief for the No. 16 Sherwin-Williams 3M Ford and driver Greg Biffle, has been named the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race following Sunday’s Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Coming into Kansas, Biffle and company were mired 140 points behind in the “Chase for the Championship” and needed a solid, top-five finish. Erwin, however, had victory in mind. Not satisfied with running in the top-five all day, he made a gamble in the latter stages of the event for an adjustment to Biffle’s car. It paid off, vaulting Biffle to the lead for 60 of the final 79 circuits.
“It was a great day for us,” said Biffle, who, once he got the lead, scorched the field by 7.638 seconds. “The car was flawless. (Greg) Erwin just made great calls in the pits, and the car just kept getting better. It was loose for about the first three-quarters of the race. I didn’t want to adjust on it because I was running in the top-three, but they tightened it up, and off it went. All it needed was a little bit of wedge in it to take off.”
The victory – the 16th of Biffle’s career and second this season- now puts the team 85 points out of the lead with seven races remaining. Biffle’s finishes in the first two “Chase for the Championship” races were 17th at Loudon and 19th at Dover.
“After two bad weekends, Greg Erwin and his crew responded to the challenge to perform,” said WYPALL Wipers crew chief representative Jeff Hammond. “They were impressive. The team qualified fifth and stayed up front all day long, and Greg Erwin made good calls on pit road to help Biffle get to the front.”
WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief Results
Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevy led by Todd Berrier finished a disappointing 18th. Like Biffle, Burton was a contender most of the day, running in the top-10. However, an unexplained extreme loose-handling condition took over Burton’s car with 80 laps left.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Burton after the race. “The run before the final caution, we were the fastest car on the race track. We chose not to put on tires and the Caterpillar Chevrolet wasn’t as good. And, then we went to (being) the slowest car on the race track. It’s really frustrating. I don’t know if we had a bump stop fail or something else went wrong, but we went from having a really good race car and being able to, I thought, contend for the win, to where we wouldn’t have stayed on the lead lap if we had gone another run.”
Marcos Ambrose and the No. 47 Kroger Toyota Camry, led by Frank Kerr, finished a disappointing 34th position after enduring electrical woes in the second part of the race.
Starting from the rear of the field due to an engine change during Friday’s practice session, Ambrose climbed inside the top-20, but his engine cut off with 80 laps to go and refused to re-fire. It took the team some time to figure out the problem on pit road, and Ambrose finished 10 laps down to the leaders.
“It’s a shame about the problems this weekend,” said Ambrose. “We had a pretty quick car, and we were definitely on target for a top-15 finish.”
WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief Team
Berrier, Kerr and Hammond, along with representatives from the WYPALL Wipers brand, serve as the panel for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge and vote for the weekly crew chief winners. In addition to the $500 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at season’s end.
Former winners of the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge include Tony Eury, Sr. (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.), Robbie Reiser (Matt Kenseth), Doug Richert (Greg Biffle), Mike Ford (Denny Hamlin) and Chad Knaus (Johnson).
About WYPALL Wipers
WYPALL is a brand of Kimberly-Clark Professional. Since 2004, WYPALL Wipers has been affiliated with some of racing’s top teams. Offering heavy-duty to versatile light-duty towels, WYPALL Wipers provide race teams with a number of products that demonstrate strength and durability. Defeating the toughest of challenges, from absorbing tough grease and oil to wiping down windshields without leaving residue behind, WYPALL Wipers continue to offer performance and versatility.
The WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge will continue throughout the 2010 season and spotlight the men behind the machines. For more information, log onto www.wypall.com.
