Biffle and Brewco
Battle Loose Car, Finish
Fifth
RICHMOND,
VA (May13) - Greg Biffle,
driver of the #66 Henkel®
Ford, started 17th
and finished 5th
in the Funai 250 at
Richmond International
Raceway. Having posted
four top-ten finishes in
the last five NASCAR Busch
Series races, Team Brewco
#66 carried a ton of
momentum into Friday
night's two hundred and
fifty lap event.
Unloading the same racecar
they won Phoenix with a
few short weeks ago,
expectations were high
entering the season's
first stop in Richmond.
Nevertheless, Team Brewco
spent much of the day
struggling to get a grip
on their ill-handling
machine. Change after
change, close call after
close call, Greg Biffle
and his Brewco Motorsports
teammates were able to
leave with their heads
held high. The
hard-earned finish marked
Biffle's fifth top-five of
the season. As a result,
Team Brewco #66 moved from
7th to 4th
in NASCAR Busch Series
owner's standings.
Despite
unloading a car that had
recently visited victory
lane, Team Brewco fought
handling issues for the
majority of Friday
morning's practice
session. "Even though we
posted the seventh fastest
time in practice this
morning, I'm really not
happy with the car. This
thing is wicked loose.
Every time I go into the
corner I'm on the verge of
spinning out. The rear
tires are chattering up
the track. I've
definitely got my hands
full," a concerned Biffle
added.
After
making significant changes
to the #66 Henkel® Ford,
crew chief Newt Moore
could only wish for the
best and hope that he had
made the right call. In
one of the more exciting
events of the day, Biffle
posted a solid time on his
first lap of qualifying
only to spin out on the
second. Fortunately,
Biffle managed to keep the
#66 Ford off of the wall
and avoid any damage. Per
the 2005 NASCAR Busch
Series rulebook,
competitors must start the
race on the tires they
qualified on. "Wow that
was exciting. That's the
second time I've spun out
on my own this year.
Loose is fast, but this
car was way, way too
loose. We're definitely
going to have to make some
major adjustments at the
start of this race,"
Biffle said after posting
the 17th
fastest lap in Busch Pole
qualifying.
With the
worst behind them, Team
Brewco set their sights on
the evening's two hundred
and fifty lap race. At
the drop of the green
flag, Biffle fought to
control the "loose"
racecar. With no choice
but fix the ill-handling
racecar, Biffle headed to
pit road on lap seven.
After taking on four tires
and a major chassis
adjustment, the #66 Henkel®
Ford returned to the track
in 37th place.
While the change helped
tighten up the car, Biffle
continued to complain that
it had no rear grip. With
his hands full, the 2002
NBS champion did the best
he could to maintain
valuable track position.
After a series of stops,
the #66 Henkel® Ford
finally tightened up-
perhaps too much. By lap
one hundred and eighty,
Biffle cracked the top-ten
and set his sights on the
leaders. Not sure whether
or not the last set of
tires made the car too
tight or the major chassis
adjustments made earlier
had, Biffle choose to
leave the car alone on the
final stop. With only a
handful of laps remaining,
Biffle fought his way into
the top-five but was
unable to advance any
further as the car was too
tight on long runs. After
struggling in practice and
spinning out in
qualifying, Biffle crossed
the finish line in fifth
place with his head held
high.
"I've got
to give Newt (crew chief
Moore) and the guys a
bunch of credit. We
fought this car all day
long. It would have been
really easy to give up,
but in the end their hard
work was rewarded. We
were good when it counted-
maybe adjusted a little
too far, but we'll take
what we can get. Had this
race been a little longer,
we could have had a shot,"
Biffle added after posting
his fifth top-five finish
of the season.
Team Brewco
#66 has a much needed week
off before returning to
racing action on Saturday,
May 28th at
Lowe's Motor Speedway. FX
and PRN will provide live
coverage of the CarQuest
Auto Parts 300 beginning
at 6:30pm EDT.
