Biffle Looks for Third Michigan Win

The NASCAR Busch Series returns to action this week at Michigan International Speedway for the 23rd of 33 races after an off-weekend, which allowed the teams a chance to regroup. Not all of the drivers took advantage of the downtime, however, as Greg Biffle competed at Nashville Superspeedway in his second Craftsman Truck Series start of 2001.

Biffle, coming off a seventh-place performance at Nashville, will return to the wheel of the No. 60 Roush Racing entry this weekend at the 2-mile oval where he has a proven track record. In his two prior starts at Michigan in the truck series, Biffle has won each race, leading 124 of a possible 200 laps. Biffle spoke about his prior success at MIS and his fill-in role in the Roush Racing truck program this season.

GREG BIFFLE-60-Grainger Ford Taurus - YOU'VE GOT A GREAT TRACK RECORD AT MICHIGAN. "We have a pretty good win record there. It's a fun track to drive. A lot of people say that it drives like California; I don't think so. I don't think it's much like California, but it's a fun race track. It's a pretty standard deal where each corner is different. You try to keep your momentum up and try to keep your car turning across the middle of the corner. I've got a lot of laps there and a couple of wins, so that's definitely to my advantage."

DID YOU TEST THERE THIS YEAR? "No, that's probably not to our advantage, but I think we'll probably be all right."

THERE HAVE BEEN SIMILARITIES DRAWN BETWEEN MICHIGAN AND CALIFORNIA. YOU DOMINATED THE CALIFORNIA RACE, BUT LOST IT TO A FUEL MILEAGE GAMBLE BY SOME. CAN THIS WEEK'S RACE CAN WON ON FUEL MILEAGE? "We finished sixth at California because of that and we could certainly see that again this weekend. I hope it doesn't come down to that for us, but maybe the shoe will be on the other foot and we'll win it on mileage. It could be. Those big race tracks like that, the 2-mile speedways and with the tires that Goodyear is bringing, it can definitely turn into a fuel mileage race very easily."

THE SHOE HAS BEEN ON THE OTHER FOOT. YOU WERE ON THE WINNING END OF A FUEL-MILEAGE GAMBLE AT MILWAUKEE THIS YEAR. "You'll lose nine races for every one that you win playing that game. Not very often will it work out for you, but it worked out for us in Milwaukee. We're one and one. We lost one and we won one. Normally that doesn't happen."

YOU'RE THE ONLY ROOKIE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE. NOW THAT THE SERIES IS VISITING TRACKS FOR THE SECOND TIME, DO YOU FEEL THAT PLAYS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE? "I think we expect to see greater improvement now that we've seen some of these tracks in a car. Sure, some of the other guys in the points chase have seen these tracks more often, but there are a lot of new variables that they're dealing with as well. They are all probably expecting to run better the second time around because they've run on the new tires and have had some laps with the new motors. The only two that I'm not real excited about going back to are Bristol and Darlington. We didn't run very well at either one; that's probably why I'm not looking forward to going back. I definitely think that by going back to them for a second time with some experience there in a Busch car will definitely help me."

YOU DIDN'T LOSE ANY GROUND TO KEVIN HARVICK AT IRP, BUT YOU DIDN'T MAKE ANY UP EITHER. DO YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR HIM TO MAKE A MISTAKE? "Absolutely. That's what we need to win the championship, obviously. That's unless he has several bad runs in a row, which isn't likely. We're just going to have to do the best we can and if we can't catch him, we can't catch him. We certainly hope we can and we're going to give it our best effort."

ONE BAD RUN FOR HARVICK AND YOU COULD BE WITHIN POINTS OF THE LEAD. "We've got Bristol, Darlington and Richmond coming up and those are all tracks where a mistake, not even by you but by another driver, can end your day early. We had problems at all three the first time around so we know that the luck could be turned this time around. It could be somebody else's mistake that catch him up in it. We know Kevin isn't going to make many mistakes, but he could get caught up in somebody else's. We don't wish him bad luck by any means, but we know that we need to be prepared if that event does happen. Those are the races where it's easiest to make up points. We just need to stay out of those situations and have good runs, but in the end, what happens, happens."

DO YOU SEE THE POINTS RACE AS A TWO-CAR, THREE-CAR OR FOUR-CAR BATTLE? "It's certainly a four-car battle because, like I said, anything can happen. If I have a problem in another race, I'm back to third or fourth. If Kevin and I have problems, then Keller is leading by 60 points, so a lot of things can turn around here right at the end, especially with how tight it is."

YOU COMPETED IN YOUR SECOND TRUCK RACE THIS WEEKEND AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY. WHAT ENTICES YOU TO DRIVE THE TRUCKS? "Jack (laughs). He called and asked if I would be interested in helping him. It's not like I'm not being compensated; it's a little extra money. And, I'm born to race. I wanted the week off. I wanted to go play on the lake on my boat, but I'm a lot better off here. It keeps me out of trouble and it keeps me sharp behind the wheel. This is what I need to be doing."

NOW THAT YOU'VE SPENT SOME TIME BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A BUSCH CAR, ARE THERE ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE CARS AND TRUCKS? "It's like jumping into something completely different. They are quite a bit different. They react different, act different, a lot of things like that. It's pretty tough. I'm having trouble getting a grasp on the new aerodynamic package of the trucks. The spoiler's back, they've got a new nosepiece and I'm having trouble getting the balance that I like. It will only be a matter of time before I get it ironed out, but we're struggling a little bit right now."

DO YOU HAVE TO DRIVE THE TRUCKS MORE AGGRESSIVELY WHERE THE CARS NEED TO BE FINESSED? "I think the trucks, you have to drive them on the edge. You seem to have to drive them looser because you don't have as much downforce all together. They have a longer wheelbase and so they're more forgiving, but it's kinda two different driving styles."