Ford Performance NSCS Notes & Quotes:
2015 Daytona 500 Media Day
Thursday, February 12, 2015
GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 Ortho Ford Fusion – WHAT IS A FEATURE ON YOUR RACE CAR THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO SEE ON YOUR PRODUCTION CAR? “800 horsepower. I will start with that one.”
WHAT IS ONE FEATURE OF A PRODUCTION CAR YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN YOUR RACE CAR? “Air conditioning by far. Absolutely air conditioning. It wouldn’t be something performance wise that will help but it would help with comfort when it is 150 degrees in there for four hours.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE ONE OF 43 PEOPLE THAT DO WHAT YOU DO IN THE WORLD? “It means a lot to me to be one of those guys. You have to think every day that you are not going to last forever. You won’t always be one of those guys. Kind of enjoy it and cherish it while you can.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND? “Winning. We had a tough year last year and performance wise we weren’t where we wanted to be and we feel like this year we have learned a lot during the off-season and feel we can be more competitive.”
YOU BROUGHT UP HEAT IN THE CAR. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU GO THROUGH FROM THAT ASPECT? “A lot of people think driving a car is driving a car. Your adrenaline and your heart rate and your breathing is going on and it is hot inside there. The temperature thing on the headrest, not down on the floor by our feet, but up by my head is 150 degrees. It gets hot inside there. You sweat out seven, eight or nine pounds of water weight per race. Mental fatigue. You are dehydrated. It is exhausting. Every second your adrenaline and focus is 100-percent. You don’t ever relax inside the car. It is pretty intense inside. A lot of people don’t realize that.”
THAT DOESN’T SOUND TOO FUN. “That part isn’t fun but winning is a lot of fun.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ROUSH FENWAY TEAM THIS YEAR? “I am excited. We have some new blood from engineers to management to drivers to everything and it has taken on kind of a different face. I feel pretty good about it. I feel really good about how we will be competition wise and being more competitive.”
WHAT KIND OF INPUT DID YOU HAVE IN THE CHANGES? “We struggled last year so I had, not a lot of input but we were pushing for getting some outside people in. We got Kevin Kidd, Mark and a few others – some engineers. We got an engineer from a different sport of auto racing and I think all of those things are going to help us in the end.”
WHAT ARE YOU ANTICIPATING SUNDAY FOR QUALIFYING? “I think it will definitely be different. We have all done it though. We did it at Talladega. I think it will be pretty nerve-wracking and a lot of guys are trying to get a good time that aren’t in the race yet two guys are trying to get the front row. Other than that I don’t think it really matters. If you think about it analytically and points wise. It is going to be interesting.”
WILL PEOPLE TAKE CHANCES TO GET A DAYTONA 500 POLE? “I think so but at the same time, what can you do? You just have to be in the right place at the right time. It isn’t like some pass is going to get it for you.”
DO YOU LAY BACK? “That is all you can do.”
THE BATTLE IS BEING THE LAST ONE OFF PIT ROAD IN THAT GROUP RIGHT? WHAT KIND OF A GAME OF CHICKEN IS THAT? “It is a big game of chicken and it bit a lot of guys at Talladega, including the 17. I think here, people can’t afford that. It is the Daytona 500. You have to get a time. You have to get the fastest time you can.”
KNOWING THAT, DOES IT ALLOW YOU TO WAIT A LITTLE LONGER AS OPPOSED TO SOMEONE THAT MIGHT BE NERVOUS TO MAKE SURE THEY GET A TIME TO GET IN? “Yeah, maybe. On the other hand, some of the people want us or the 16 to lead the group. We don’t need time to get in. So that doesn’t bode very well for me getting the pole does it? I understand that though. We need to get all our cars in the race, and we need to go for the front row. It is a tough spot. Everyone is going to do what they can.”
HOW MANY OF THE 43 CARS ARE CAPABLE OF WINNING? “Probably 35 of them at least. What happens is the closer the cars get on speed the harder it is to pass. It is funny, we have always worked to have the cars so equal, so everyone is the same, but then you can’t pass. If everyone is the same, the guy in the front has the advantage. You need some discrepancy in the speeds of cars in order to create passing and racing. Restrictor plate racing maybe not as much, but as guys get more educated about it and understand how the passes are created and all that and all the cars are the same speed, it does become more difficult to get up there. And this is a narrower track than Talladega. You definitely want to be in the front. It is obvious that is where you want to be. It depends on how the end of the race shakes out. Does a caution come out? It seems every 500 is restart after restart after restart.”
LAST YEAR WAS DIFFERENT WITH THE DELAY AND EVERYTHING. WHEN DO YOU HAVE TO GET PHYSICAL? WHEN DO YOU HAVE TO DO THAT? “I think with 15 or 20 to go stuff gets pretty physical. That I a lot of miles. 20 laps is 40-some miles.”
WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT RESTARTS, NOW YOU ARE LOSING LAPS UNDER CAUTION. “Yeah, you can get in a jeopardized situation. The last fuel run I want to be up front. After the last pit stop I don’t want to be trying to be passing cars if I can but that is everybody’s strategy right?”
ANY SENSE WHAT THESE CARS WILL BE LIKE IN ATLANTA? “I don’t think we will see a big change. I think they will be different but I don’t think you will see it as dramatically different. I bet, if you didn’t tell anyone, you wouldn’t recognize a lot of difference. The power and downforce equal each other out if you will. It was really kind of an equalization. So the important part is going to be the tire and the continued amount of downforce depending on how that all shapes itself out.”
KESELOWSKI SAID LAST YEAR THAT THESE CARS GET EASIER AND EASIER TO DRIVE BY THEMSELVES AND WORSE AND WORSE IN TRAFFIC. DO YOU EXPECT THAT WILL CHANGE? “No. Cars won’t get better to drive in traffic. When you are relying on downforce to stick the car to the race track, when you put it in traffic it is worse. When a car uses a tire to adhere to the race track and less aero, then when you put it in traffic it is less sensitive because that didn’t change. The car is aero dependent to stick to the race track and aero is such a premium, then when you disturb that air the car becomes hard to drive. It is simple. Anybody can figure that out.”
