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February 21, 2006 - Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 National Guard Ford Fusion, is coming off a 31st-place finish in last weekend's Daytona 500 after blowing a tire on the final lap. Biffle, who was running 15th at the time, spoke about that disappointment as well as being the defending winner of this week's event – the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.
GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 National Guard Ford Fusion –
AFTER THE RACE ON SUNDAY YOU FELT PRETTY OPTIMISTIC THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE CREDITED WITH A TOP-20 FINISH, BUT AFTER REVIEWING THE TAPE YOU WERE DROPPED TO 31ST. YOUR THOUGHTS ON NOW HAVING TO CLIMB OUT OF A HOLE. "I was pretty disappointed. I heard 31st as we were leaving the race track and then when I got home a friend called and said that NASCAR.com had us finishing 21st, so I went and looked on the computer and they had me 21st. I thought that was great because it was only six spots and 18 points from where I was running, so I was all happy. Then when the official results came out on Monday it had me 31st, so I was back in the dumps again. It's just unfortunate for that to happen on the last lap of the biggest race. We started in this same spot last year and had to work our way to where we finishes, so we're ready to dig ourselves out of the hole so to speak."
AND CALIFORNIA IS A TRACK YOU HAVE TO FEEL GOOD AT HAVING WON AND FINISHED SECOND THERE LAST YEAR, RIGHT? "Yeah. We won and then ran second, which was really good, so my expectations going into California is coming out of there with a top-five and gaining some points. That's the obvious key right now is getting ourselves on the map as far as points go and start that climb back into the top 10 and then, hopefully, even better before it gets close to the Chase we can get up into the top three or even leading. That's what I'm focusing on. We're definitely gonna go there and try to win, but, at the same time, top-five finishes are really important and we think we can go there and do that. I'm really optimistic about it."
ARE THERE SOME UNKNOWNS WITH THE NEW FUSION AT CALIFORNIA AND THE FACT YOU COULDN'T TEST THERE IN ADVANCE? "There might be some questions, but we're taking one of our best chassis – 239. We've won a lot of races in that car and that has always been good. On top of that, it looks like it's our best car that we've had in the wind tunnel, so I'm pretty optimistic going into California that we've got our best guns out, so to speak. We've got a really, really good car and know the race track fairly well. We know what we need to do to win there, so I'm feeling pretty confident."
NOTE: Biffle finished 25th in the 2005 Daytona 500, but rebounded to win five of the next 14 races and qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup where he finished second in the overall point standings.
NASCAR Busch Series
Jon Wood, driver of the No. 47 Ford Fusion in the Busch Series, started off the season with a fourth-place finish in last week's Hershey's Kissables 300 at Daytona International Speedway. The third-generation driver from the Wood Brothers family is scheduled to compete full time in the Busch Series in 2006 as well as run selected races in the Craftsman Truck Series and Nextel Cup Series. Wood discussed the off-season changes that saw the formation of Wood Brothers/JTG Racing and his role within the new organization.
JON WOOD—47—Clorox Ford Fusion –
YOU FINISHED FOURTH IN THE BUSCH RACE AT DAYTONA AND HAD A STRONG TRUCK AS WELL. TALK ABOUT HOW THE OFF-SEASON CHANGES HELPED YOUR PERFORMANCE THIS PAST WEEK? "It's one thing to sit around all winter long and tell people how good you're going to be, and it gets to a point where that starts to be frustrating because you really can't prove it. Everybody always talks about what a great year they're going to have, but then to go to Daytona and go ahead and kind of back up everything that we talked about is a really cool feeling. The amount of preparation that we have put in to these Busch cars, trucks and Cup cars will start showing and will start reflecting in the finishes that we deserve."
WITH THE AMOUNT OF PREPARATION THAT GOES INTO THE FIRST RACE OF THE YEAR, HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO GET A GOOD FINISH TO START THE SEASON? "Daytona, for the most part, is all about luck. If you can be lucky enough to miss the wrecks and not have any bad luck then you'll walk away from there looking like a hero. I don't think we lucked into a fourth-place finish, though. I don't think we lucked into the way the Busch cars and trucks ran. We qualified up front for the truck race, but then we had some silly things happen that we really had no control over. We had some trash get on the grilles of both trucks. When we wanted the Busch cars to run up front, they did. We decided that we were going to lay back and not force the issue early on in the race. That may have made it appear that we didn't have competitive cars, but when it was go time that's when we got to the front in a hurry."
YOU ARE RUNNING IN BOTH THE BUSCH AND TRUCK RACES TO START THE SEASON. HOW MUCH DOES THE EXTRA TRACK TIME HELP? "Running both series in anything helps out. It wouldn't matter if I were driving a Legends car at each of these race tracks as long as you're on the track and you see it. A race track to a race car driver is like a football field to a football player. If you go out and get a little bit of practice on it before the game, even if you're just standing out there looking at it, you're getting more accustomed to your environment. I think getting in a truck two hours before Busch practice and then racing before the Busch race is going to do nothing but make us better and more competitive."
BEFORE LAST WEEK'S RACE AT DAYTONA, YOU HADN'T COMPETED IN A TRUCK SERIES EVENT SINCE 2004. TALK ABOUT HOW YOU'VE MATURED AS A DRIVER OVER THAT TIME PERIOD. "I was more confident as a driver because I think I'm better prepared now mentally. It's almost like when you move up in any of these NASCAR series you automatically become a better driver because you're racing against better drivers, you're racing faster vehicles and you're racing longer races, so it can do nothing but make you better. So, I look at where I was when I finished my truck racing days in '04 and then I look where I am right now, and I just think that I'm overall more prepared."
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR RACING CAREER YOU'RE NOT THE JUNIOR MEMBER OF THE TEAM. TALK ABOUT YOUR ROLE WITH BOBBY EAST AND MARCOS AMBROSE. "I just hope that Kenny Schrader is as willing to help me out as I am to help out Marcos and Bobby because I know what it feels like to be in their position and to come into a new world of racing and really not know what to expect and not know what goes on. I kinda look to Kenny Schrader as I hope that Marcos and Bobby look to Stacy Compton and me in the fact that we've done this for a long time and we have a little bit of experience that we can share. Any time that you're not considered the rookie of the bunch you want to assume the mentoring role and help out whoever you can."
HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH SCHRADER? "I've had the opportunity to talk with him on many occasions, and I think of all the drivers that have come and gone in the Wood Brothers fleet that he has been the most willing to help out. The guy is very well established and he has a lot to offer any race team, and to be able to learn from him is something that I'm going to try to do."
IN YOUR NEW SHOP TEAM MEMBERS ARE ASSIGNED JOB-SPECIFIC TASKS WHETHER IT'S A CUP CAR, A BUSCH CAR OR A TRUCK. HOW DID THAT IDEA EVOLVE? "I think it makes it more of a factory-like setting. Ford vehicles are built on an assembly line in a factory and they have proven that to be successful and efficient, so why not assume that role with race cars? If you have a bunch of vehicles to be prepared for races each week, why not have one guy that's assembling brakes and have one guy doing paint work? How do you determine that a guy is only qualified to build a Craftsman truck or only qualified to build a Busch car versus a guy that is qualified to build a Cup car? In my opinion, everyone that is in our shop is of top-notch quality, so how do you sit someone down and say, ‘You're only good enough to put a truck together.' I don't think that's fair and obviously Fatback doesn't either. We just kind of do it where everybody does their own thing."
WHEN YOU'RE SWITCHING BETWEEN A BUSCH CAR, A TRUCK AND A CUP CAR, DOES THAT MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU AS A DRIVER TO ADAPT WHEN YOU KNOW THAT ONE PERSON HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO A SPECIFIC TASK THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION? "It's a little more comforting to know that the same guy that puts the seat in my Busch car puts the seat in my truck because I know that it's all going to be the same and there's not going to be any inconsistency."
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE START OF THE SEASON? "My goals are probably a little bit different than the generic goals that every other driver seems to set. I'm not going to say that I'm going to go out and finish in the top five or go out and finish in the top 10. I want to be able to look back on each race and say, ‘I didn't make any mistakes.' When you don't make mistakes, obviously, the best finish that you can achieve is whatever your car is capable of. I'm not going to say that I'm going to go to California and Mexico and Vegas and finish top 10 because that could be underachieving. I'm also not going to say that I'm going to win because that could be an overachievement. I just want to look back and say that I did not make any mistakes and the car finished where it was supposed to finish."
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Mark Martin, winner of last week's Daytona 250 Craftsman Truck Series race, and Erik Darnell, the sixth-place finisher and highest-finishing rookie, were the participants in this week's Craftsman Truck Series teleconference. Martin, who will compete in seven races throughout the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series season, will split time in the No. 6 truck with David Ragan, while Darnell, the winner of the Roush Racing: Driver X talent search, will campaign the No 99 truck on a full-time basis.
MARK MARTIN—6—Scotts Ford F-150 –
HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE COMPETITION IN THE TRUCK SERIES? "Well, it's great. I was real fortunate to drive a great truck. Mike Beam and the Scotts team had really done their homework over the winter and had a really nice superspeedway truck, and so it made my job a little bit easier. It's pretty tough competition. They've got a lot of great drivers and all the great teams that are in that thing, so I'm not getting used to it any time soon. I know that we've got our work cut out for us for this race this weekend."
IF YOU WIN THIS WEEK'S TRUCK RACE AT CALIFORNIA, YOU WOULD BECOME THE FIRST DRIVER TO WIN IN ALL THREE NASCAR SERIES THERE. "I think it's going to be a blast. It's so much fun to race in the truck series, and in my opinion it's the best racing in NASCAR. I know that I have my work cut out for me. I haven't raced the trucks that much and I'm still learning about those things. It's going to fun and it's a challenge, and I look forward for it."
TALK ABOUT YOUR WIN LAST WEEK AT DAYTONA. "I was really happy. It was a blast. It's great to win. Most of those guys have not had won before and had not been to Victory Lane in a NASCAR race on the Scotts team. Of course, Beam has, but I don't think hardly any of the other guys had and it's always just a blast when you can do that. They were so excited. They've worked for it and they deserve it."
GOING TO CALIFORNIA, YOU MIGHT BE THE FAVORITE TO BACK UP YOUR WIN AT DAYTONA WITH ANOTHER WIN THIS WEEK. "I think you underestimate the competition. I appreciate your confidence and I'm confident that we'll do a good job, but this is tough competition. I can't be so sure about that. I know we'll do a good job, but there are some tough characters out there with really fast trucks."
MIKE BEAM SAID THAT HE IS BUILDING THE TRUCK TEAM TO RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2007. HOW INVOLVED ARE YOU IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS ON HOW TO BUILD THE TEAM? "I would say that I'm engaged more than a lot and not as much as some. I don't know how to gauge that against other people, but I am engaged as much as possible considering that I am an absentee employee. I talk to Mike Beam a lot. The whole reason that I'm running seven races this year is to help develop our team and refine our trucks, and to try to give Erik Darnell and our other rookies that come along and drive these things a better opportunity to show what they can do by giving them better equipment. We didn't really give Todd Kluever a fair shot last year to show what he could do because our equipment was off a little bit."
YOU AND ERIK DARNELL SHARE A SIMILAR RACING BACKGROUND. WHAT ADVICE HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO GIVE HIM? "Erik's been on the fast track. I think this Driver X program was pretty intense. I don't know if I could have prepared him for that or not. I'm there for Erik, and anything he needs I'm there for."
DID THE WIN LAST WEEK HELP MOTIVATE YOU FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON? "No, I don't think so. Motivation is not something that I've ever had to look for. I'm intensely competitive and real fortunate to be able to work with great teams and all. I'm pretty lucky there. It was really nice to win the truck race. It was an honor to drive such a great truck, and it was the first time that Ford has won there. Well, I guess they won a few years ago, but it's been a while and with the manufacturers going at it like they do, that was really a good thing for Ford and for all of us and especially for our team."
YOU'VE RACED AT CALIFORNIA 11 TIMES IN A CUP CAR. WHAT INFORMATION CAN YOU CARRY OVER TO THE TRUCK RACE? "Well, I'm short on experience with the trucks themselves and you have very limited practice, so it's a great challenge for me because I don't know really what the truck wants, and we'll have to try to learn that within about 20 laps of practice and then do our best in the race. We have some challenges in front of us just not having experience in the truck."
DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE AT THE SAME LEVEL AS ERIK COMING TO CALIFORNIA IN A TRUCK? "Well, I don't know. I would hope that my experience would stand for something, but he definitely has less experience with the truck than I do. He's going to have a steep learning curve, but he's young and incredibly talented and will make up for a lot of that through his talent."
ERIK DARNELL—99—Woolrich Ford F-150 –
TALK ABOUT THE START OF YOUR SEASON WITH LAST WEEK'S SIXTH-PLACE PLACE FINISH AT DAYTONA. "My first start and coming into this thing as a rookie, I don't think we could have asked for any better way to start the year. I know I have a great team behind us, we've got Roush Racing and then I've got Mark Martin as a teammate. I can just go and ask him anything. It's made it a lot easier for me. I think the team was capable of doing it and it was just going to be up to me to come in there and run well. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start the year."
TALK ABOUT THE DRIVER X PROGRAM, AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SEE YOURSELF ON TV? "It was definitely kind of weird. Going through the whole the process I think is more nerve-wracking than actually being out on the track itself. The on-track activities weren't so back bad when we were out there, but doing the media week, doing the Victory Lane celebrations in front of all the cameras is something that I had never been used to before. It was definitely pretty tough. I was fortunate to win the thing and get out there on track in Daytona, and once I got out there that was the easy part just to go out there and drive. I'm looking forward to trying to continue this start that we've had to our season next week."
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE SAID IF SOMEONE TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE GOING TO FINISH SIXTH IN YOUR FIRST TRUCK SERIES START? "I would have told you that the team was capable of it, but it was going to be up to me and I probably wouldn't have believed you. We were just looking to get out of there with a finish, with the truck in one piece, and to come out of there the way we did was incredible."
WITH SUCH A STRONG RUN LAST WEEK AT DAYTONA, HAVE YOU REASSESSED ANY OF YOUR GOALS? "Well, not a whole lot. I knew coming into this thing that we had a great team behind me and we had the equipment in place and the personnel in place to go out there and run well, and it was just going to be up to me to go out and do it. To be honest with you, I was extremely pleased to come out of Daytona with the finish that we did. I didn't know that we'd be able to do it or not, but our main goals when we started the year were to go out and win rookie-of-the-year honors and win a race or two and finish top five in points, and I definitely think that's realistic."
WHAT WAS TOUGHER, COMPETING IN DRIVER X OR AT DAYTONA LAST WEEK? "Man, both of those were pretty tough. The final day of the Driver X thing wasn't too bad, but out there at Daytona and drafting with all of those veterans was something that I had never done before, it was a learning experience for me. It was a lot of fun, though."
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO GO TO A TRACK THIS WEEK WHERE IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE CAR? "I'm definitely looking forward to be able to go out there and be able to drive the track instead of being at the mercy of the draft and not being able to get away from anybody. It's something I'm really looking forward to. I want to get out there and show what I can do in these things."
WILL THIS WEEKEND'S RACE BE YOUR FIRST AT CALIFORNIA? "This will be my first race. I was lucky enough to get to run Michigan in the ARCA race last year. From what I've seen, California is similar to Michigan and I really enjoy running there. I'm definitely looking forward to the truck race this weekend."
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