BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 17, 2016) – Greg Biffle earned a solid 12th-place finish in his No. 16 ROUSH Performance Ford Fusion Sunday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. Biffle started 23rd and overcame a pit road speeding penalty to bounce back up and run in the top 10. Unfortunately Biffle lined up on the bottom line for the final two restarts and the bottom was a big disadvantage.
“We were up in sixth and those last two restarts we started on the bottom and that just killed us,” said Biffle. “I will say that all day long I started on the top, those last two were the only ones where I didn’t and that’s just luck. You’re not going to get the top every time and the last two I didn’t get it. It was lane choice that depended on a lot of that, but we all fought hard for track position and it ended up a good day for us.”
Right from the start of the 500-lap race the No. 16 ROUSH Performance Ford was handling pretty well but passing was extremely difficult at the .533-mile track. Tires, wedge and rubber adjustments all helped Biffle gain some track position but ultimately being on the top line for restarts was the key.
On a routine pit stop under caution at the halfway mark Biffle sped on pit road and was assessed a tail end of the longest line restart penalty. With the help of the top line and some pit strategy, Biffle restarted third by lap 273 and was a solid contender in the top 10 the second half of the race.
Biffle was sitting seventh when the caution came out with 15 laps remaining, lining him up on the bottom for the restart. Another caution followed and due to being on the bottom Biffle had dropped back to ninth. The odd number position once again put Biffle on the bottom line. The field took the final green flag with five laps to go and Biffle crossed the finish line 12th.
