Pop Secret 400 * North Carolina Speedway * Sunday, November 9, 2003
Greg Biffle
Team: Roush Racing
Car: No. 16
Sponsor: Grainger
Owner: Jack Roush
Driver: Greg Biffle
Crew Chief: Doug Richert
Chassis: JR-011: This is the same car the Grainger Team used at
California (18th-place finish), the first Michigan (31st) and the second
Dover race (seventh).
Greg Biffle on racing at Rockingham:
"Rockingham is definitely one of the more challenging race tracks on
the circuit. It only takes a few laps to wear out the tires and from
then on you're pretty much sliding around for the rest of the run. It
really tests your abilities because the handling changes constantly and
it requires you to search around and find something that works. We had
a solid performance in our first Winston Cup race there early in the
season and I think we can better that this weekend.
"I'm pretty excited about this weekend's event because I get the
chance to participate in my first 76 Pit Crew Challenge. The Grainger
Team has been practicing really hard for the competition and I believe
we're going to give them a run for their money."
Crew Chief Doug Richert on racing at Rockingham:
"Rockingham is tough when it comes to the setup. It's not too hard
to get the car to go for a few laps, but the trick is getting it to run
fast once the tires wear out. It doesn't take long for the tires to
go, and if the car's handling goes with them it makes for a long day.
Greg and the guys had a pretty good run there in the spring and towards
the end of the race they had the car running times as fast as the
leaders. That will give us something to start with and we'll just
tweak on it and get the car ready to go for Sunday."
ROUSH RACING FAST FACTS:
Mark Martin's five poles ties for the most at Rockingham.
Martin raced to his first career victory at Rockingham in the
AC-Delco 500 on Oct. 22, 1989.
Martin has 24 top-10 starts,19 top-10 finishes and 12 top-five
finishes in 34 races at Rockingham.
Martin has finished eighth of better, including one victory, in
seven of the last 11 races at Rockingham.
Martin holds virtually every record in the Rockingham Busch
race, including 11 wins and six poles. Last spring he was named the
Grand Marshal of the Busch race there.
Matt Kenseth now has 24 top-10 finishes in 34 starts, a
league-leading statistic. Kenseth's 2003 Winston Cup point lead is
now 228 points over second place Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with just two
events remaining.
The DEWALT pit crew brings their back-to-back Pit Crew
Championship Titles into this weekend's Unocal 76/World Pit Crew
Competition. They won in 2001 and 2002.
If Kenseth finishes 30th or better in the remaining two events,
he will win the 2003 Winston Cup Championship. If he finishes 18th or
better at Rockingham, he will clinch right here at North Carolina
Speedway on Sunday.
Kurt Busch sits ninth in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
point standings after 34 events, 516 points out of the fifth place and
845 points out of first.
If Busch's recent trend at Rockingham continues, a trip to
victory lane would be in order. He finished third at North Carolina
Speedway one year ago, and second in the fall event earlier this year.
Busch's crew chief Jimmy Fennig is tied for winningest active
crew chief in the Winston Cup Series with 24 wins.
Jeff Burton has won once at this track in the fall in 1999.
Burton has scored six top-10 finishes, including one victory and
five top-fives, in his last nine races at Rockingham.
Burton has completed 98.9% of his laps run at Rockingham.
Burton has led the second most laps at a total of 437, surpassed
only by Dale Jarrett who has led 495.
Burton holds the track race record; on 10-24-99 he ran the race
in just 3hr, 02 min, 55 sec at an average speed of 131.103 mph.
