Click Here

Biffle and Brewco Record Third Place Finish in Daytona

 

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (July 1) - A lot can be said for merely making it to the end of a 250-mile race at Daytona International Speedway.  Friday night, Greg Biffle, driver of the #66 SUBWAY® Ford, did just that and much more.  Biffle, who was making his 14^th start of the year for Brewco Motorsports, Inc., started 25^th and finished 3^rd in the Pepsi 300.  Slicing and dicing his way to the front of the field early in the race, Biffle distanced himself from the "big one,", which occurred on lap 98, collecting a dozen plus competitors.  As a result of the finish, Team Brewco #66 moved from ninth to eighth in NASCAR Busch Series owner's points.

 

In typical Florida fashion all on-track activity scheduled for Thursday afternoon was cancelled as a result of summer showers.  Team Brewco #66 would have only one hour of practice Friday morning to prepare for the evening's 100 lap race.  "It's really no big deal that practice time was shortened.  At Daytona, you are kind of stuck with what you unload.  We'll make sure that the engine is running the way it should and that we aren't dragging the racetrack, simple stuff," Biffle added after Friday morning's practice session. 

 

With practice behind them, Team Brewco set their sights towards Busch Pole qualifying.  Not expecting much from the #66 SUBWAY® Ford, Biffle was content with a 25^th place starting position.  "For whatever reason the Ford's are not very good in qualifying.  We'll be fine once the race starts.  These cars 'suck up' really well in traffic, but are a little sluggish in clean air," Biffle said.

 

As usual the 2002 Busch Series champion hit the nail on the head.  At the drop of the green flag, Biffle quickly settled into the draft patiently working his way towards the front of the field.  From past experience, Biffle knew he had to keep his nose clean in order to be there at the end.  With a premium placed on aerodynamics, Biffle cautiously planned his moves in an effort to avoid damaging the car.  Citing a "loose" racecar, Biffle pitted under caution on lap 15.  After taking on four tires and fuel, Biffle restarted the race in 26^th place.  With fresh rubber and a "tightened" up sled, Biffle shot to the front of the field in no time.  By lap 40, he cracked the top-ten and showed no signs of letting up.

 

As the leaders headed to pit road for their first stop of the evening, Biffle settled into third place.  While trailing veteran driver Sterling Marlin, Biffle had to make a heads up move on lap 56, when the driver of the #40 Dodge blew a right front tire.  Diving to his left, Biffle avoided contact with Marlin and headed to pit road for his second stop of the night.  He would return to the race in fifth place.

 

With the help of Denny Hamlin and Tony Raines, Biffle managed to draft his way to second place.  In typical Daytona fashion, he was quickly shuffled back to sixth place on lap 72.  When asked how the car was handling he radioed, "It's too loose to hold on the bottom.  I'm really good up top, so hopefully I can get some people to go up there with me.  We'll see what happens."  Team Brewco #66 made their third and final stop of the night on lap 80.  In fourth and out eighth, Biffle would return to the race with four new Goodyears and "tightened up" racecar.  Within three laps of the restart, Biffle found himself in second place, bumper to bumper with race leader, Martin Truex Jr. 

 

Eventually, Kevin Harvick joined the mix and took the lead on lap 93.  Shuffling back and forth, high and low, Biffle settled into third place with only a handful of laps remaining.  An atypical, relatively caution free race to this point, took a turn for the worse on lap 98.  As in most restrictor plate races, the "big one" was inevitable.  As fourteen cars collided off of turn two, NASCAR ultimately threw the red flag setting the stage for a green-white-checkered finish.  After a lengthy 30-minute delay, Biffle tightened his belts and prepared for one last shot at the lead.  Unfortunately, the driver of the #66 SUBWAY® Ford would have to settle for a third place finish, his seventh top-five of the season.

 

"I think that's about all we had.  There was no way we were going to get by the 8 (winner Martin Truex Jr.).  I thought for a minute that I was going to be able to push Harvick by him, but we just ran out of time.  In the big picture, we came out of here with a solid finish, gained some points, and don't have a scratch on the car," Biffle added after finishing third.

 

Next up Team Brewco #66 heads to Chicagoland Speedway for the USG Durock 300 on Saturday, July 9^th.  NBC and MRN will provide live coverage of the event beginning at 2:00pm ET.