Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
Federated Auto Parts 400 Advance (Richmond International Raceway)
Friday, September 7, 2012
Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, heads into Saturday nights race at RIR locked into the Chase field and standing third in points. Biffle talked with media members after the second practice session Friday afternoon.
GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – HOW WAS THE PRACTICE SESSION? “You know, it is the same old Richmond. It is slick, hard to get ahold of and we are wondering what the track will be like at night when the sun goes down. It always seems like you get out at the most inopportune time. We got out with three minutes to go with our last set of stickers and that doesn’t do you justice because you can’t get enough laps on them. Right as the car is coming in the black flag is out. I think we are pretty decent and I think we are a little better than we have been here in the past. We will just have to wait and see tomorrow night. I think we will be okay in qualifying trim but we will have to wait and see where we end up.”
HOW GOOD A FEELING IS IT KNOWING YOU ARE IN THE CHASE ALREADY? “It is a great feeling to have. The last four weeks we have been really happy with the way our first part of the season went and focused on the Chase races. Quite frankly, we haven’t had that great of a last few races. It has been a combination of things but the 10 races that are coming up for us in the Chase are very good races for us.”
DO YOU GO FOR THE WIN TOMORROW NIGHT OR TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT THINKING ABOUT DOWN THE ROAD? “This is probably a little out of our realm for a track that we feel strong about a victory at. We feel strong about running in the top-10 or top-five and if we win here tomorrow night it is going to be pit strategy that got us up front and our car took off good. We have led a fair amount of laps here but we have always been mired in about that top-five position at this race track.”
KESELOWSKI SAID THAT THIS RACE WILL FEEL LIKE AN ALL-STAR RACE FOR GUYS THAT ARE LOCKED IN. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT? “Yeah, I totally agree. The last three races for us have been that way. Bristol, Atlanta and now here have all felt that way. Ever since we won at Michigan we have felt like we were locked in so do what you can do. Our results aren’t very good with all hands off and the go for it approach. We finished 19th, 15th and whatever we get here tomorrow night. It hasn’t been all that great with all the pressure off and running as hard as we want.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO GET A WIN TO ADD THE EXTRA BONUS POINTS? HOW BIG OF A DEAL IS THAT TO GET THREE MORE POINTS GOING INTO THE CHASE? “It would be really big for us. We would go into the Chase second in points if we win tomorrow night and that would be really neat for us instead of going into the Chase fifth. We know it is only three points but the championship was decided last year by zero. We are going to do everything we can to win, just like we have the last four or five races.”
WITH THE FIVE 1.5 MILE TRACKS IN THE CHASE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR 1.5 MILE PROGRAM? “I feel very, very good about our 1.5 mile program. It is a solid program. Somebody asked me that after our finish in Atlanta last week but Atlanta you almost have to take it off the 1.5 mile program. It is like a Rockingham, Darlington, it is slick and doesn’t compare to any of the 1.5 mile tracks we run on now. The five in the Chase we run very good at and are really excited about. We feel like we could win any or all of those five.”
Greg Biffle Continued … WHAT TONY STEWART DID LAST YEAR IN THE CHASE WINNING FIVE RACES. CAN THAT BE DONE AGAIN? “I think somebody could do that. If somebody gets on a roll it could be done. We are super good at 1.5 mile programs and could win two or three 1.5 mile races. We finished third at Phoenix and have won at Loudon and Dover so I think somebody could win five races again. I wouldn’t say it is out of the question. The competition keeps getting tougher and tougher and tougher. You look at how close we are together it just seems unlikely for someone to get on a run to win that many.”
IF YOU HAD TO PUT SOME MONEY DOWN ON IT, HOW MANY WINS WOULD YOU SAY A GUY NEEDS IN THE CHASE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “I would say three wins in the Chase, not total, in the Chase would probably be who is going to win it. I think that is my gut feeling. Denny Hamlin has a really, really strong chance at winning here tomorrow night and he has been really fast here and is the fastest again. If you look at the last three tracks we have had, these slick type of race tracks, they have a great setup on those like we do on the 1.5 mile tracks. He won at Bristol and Atlanta and this race track is no different than those type of race tracks and the type of setup you need to win. He is fast on the lap tracker so I wouldn’t put it past him for a guy like that to go into the Chase with maybe even one more win but then it is a different program. They are good at 1.5 mile tracks but we don’t really have any tracks like that in the Chase per se, except maybe Martinsville.”
BEING THE POINTS LEADER FOR MOST OF THE SEASON, DO YOU PLAN ON RACING ANY DIFFERENTLY DURING THE CHASE? “It seems like it has worked for us so far. We have been the points leader for a decent amount of the regular season and we really don’t want to change anything. We want to be the points leader for a major part of the Chase and hopefully the last part of the Chase going into Homestead. Whatever we have been doing as a team seems to be working for us. We have had good, solid consistent finishes and won a couple races. That is what we need to do in the Chase.”
HOW MUCH PREP HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TOWARD THE CHASE THE LAST FEW WEEKS? “We have been doing a lot of prep in terms of getting cars ready, strategizing on what we need to do and these last few tracks coming up don’t dictate like anything we have in the Chase. Bristol, Atlanta and here are uncharacteristic to anything we have coming up in the next 10. There is not a lot we can learn from the last three weeks that will take us into the Chase.”
THE FACT THAT KENSETH IS LEAVING AT THE END OF THE YEAR, CAN THAT PLAY INTO YOUR HANDS AS FAR AS LEADING ROUSH INTO THE CHASE? “You know, it could at some point when it comes down to it but we will have to wait and see. I don’t really see it making much of a difference though.”
