GREG BIFFLE POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE
TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP OUT THERE TODAY. “That was a spectacular lap considering everything we did today. We were fortunate enough to get an extra hour of practice here and unfortunately we had about eight minutes of practice today before qualifying. The guys worked really hard to get the engine changed. I got out with three minutes to go to make a lap and we made adjustments from that lap and we were able to put down a pretty fast lap. Obviously the car is pretty close. I am anxious to get some track time. I can’t wait to see how my car runs and hopefully we will get that right tomorrow. We are going to get a good pit stall for the race and we will have to start at the back so that is unfortunate but I am proud of the team for how hard they worked and the car that we are going to have for the race.”
DID THEY DIAGNOSE WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE ENGINE? IS THERE CONCERN WITH KESELOWSKI’S ISSUE AS WELL? “I don’t have all the details. They are actually taking the engine apart now. They were going to do it after qualifying. I wish they would have done it right away but maybe I will sleep better tonight finding out what it is. We feel like the issues could be common between the 2 car and my car. I think they are thinking it is the same issue and something mechanical, something parts wise inside the engine at the bottom of the engine I think. I will know and we will know here after we take it apart but right now we are sort of guessing.”
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PASS 40 CARS ON SUNDAY? “Same way I did at Bristol. This ought to be a lot easier. I started at the back at Bristol – we started 29th and in 60 laps I was 9th under green. It was a heck of a run for us. Hopefully we can do the same thing here. This race track has a lot more room and I wouldn’t say is easier to pass but there is a lot more opportunity to pass than last week. Certainly we aren’t going to do it in a short amount of time. Definitely it will take probably 100 laps at a minimum or maybe 50-75 laps to get our way up through the field. Hopefully we can. Maybe some pit strategy too. We will see what we can come up with.”
DID YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE SPLITTER? “We haven’t. We did more so at Las Vegas than here. Here we have been pretty good on that, although we have only had seven laps or so total of practice. Qualifying the car was really good. There were no issues qualifying.”
HOW ABOUT HANDLING THE SEAMS? “They are difficult to go across. What will happen is you get down in the corner and if the car starts to drift or get a little tight and gets to that seam then the car kind of wants to skate across it. It is the same for everyone though and they aren’t as bad in three and four kind of as they are in one and two. One and two are a little tricky and that is what gives a race track character and makes it challenging.”
WHEN YOU ARE IN THE RACE DO YOU WANT YOUR SPOTTER TALKING TO YOU A LOT, A LITTLE OR JUST GIVE YOU WHAT YOU NEED? “I am middle of the road on that. What I need and keep me up to speed on what is going on around us.”
YOU GUYS HAD AN ENGINE CHANGE AND WILL START FROM THE REAR BUT TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP TODAY AND YOUR CAR FOR SUNDAY. “The car is extremely fast and I am ready to get going. I am a little nervous about the engine issues the 16 and 2 cars both had in practice and hopefully those will subside for the race and we are both going to start in the back. Is that the first time that has ever happened? There should be a stat man in here for that. Ford isn’t here? He is at home on Twitter looking this up right now isn’t he? It is unfortunate but we will have a good time hopefully racing to the front.”
HOW TOUGH IN THIS DAY IN AGE IS IT TO TAKE A CAR THAT MAYBE ISN’T A TOP-FIVE CAR AND FINISH IN THE TOP-FIVE? “You know, right now it is pretty early with this Gen 6 car and so I don’t think anyone really knows who the favorite is to beat. I know we might have the points lead but I think it is too early to label any one team ahead or behind. You see a couple trends so far and Kasey Kahne has been really fast. Matt Kenseth has been fast. Denny and Kyle (Busch) have been really fast. It is so early that it is hard to tell and have a real scope of who the guys to beat are out there. In any professional series to get to the top is a hell of a challenge and there is always somebody trying to pull you down. Right now I wouldn’t say it is the hardest it has ever been because it is a new car and new opportunity and you see the strong teams capitalizing on it.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE IN THE ZONE A LITTLE WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING? “Things are falling our way and we are doing a great job of executing and it takes both. You can have all the luck in the world and screw up your end and it means nothing or you can do everything right and not have any luck and it doesn’t mean anything. All those things are coming together now and I hope we aren’t using it up too early in the season because the Chase is when it really counts. It is a pleasant surprise to start the year with runs this solid and the chance to lead the points this early in the year, especially with the change from Dodge to Ford. That gives us something to hang our hat on.”
BIFFLE THOUGHT THE ENGINE ISSUES MAY BE SIMILAR. IS IT MORE CONCERNING IF THAT IS THE CASE? “If it is one particular item then I guess it is easier to fix it, assuming that can be done in the time frame available but I think it is too early to tell on that as well because those engines aren’t scheduled to be tore down until tonight and tomorrow morning.”
BIFFLE SAID HE THOUGHT IT WOULD TAKE 100 LAPS TO GET TO THE FRONT. ANY COMMENTS ON THAT? “I feel like I can do it in 99.”
CAN YOU GIVE US YOUR OPINION ON THE LATINO PARTICIPATION IN NASCAR AND ANY ADVICE FOR THE KIDS? “It seems like every time we come here there is a larger base. You notice it. I noticed when I was driving in turns three and four that there were different writing that were in Spanish so that shows the commitment the sport has to be as diverse as we can. Certainly there has been some progress for sure in the western side of the country and hopefully that will spread more broad.”
