| | | | | | JUST MAD NOT TALKING | Biffle says he's not talking to other Cup teams | |
| | Bob Pockrass / SceneDaily.com Greg Biffle says that while he was mad after a disappointing series of setbacks at Darlington Saturday night, “I doubt very seriously I’ll end up someplace other than Roush” after the 2008 season.
Biffle, upset over a loose wheel and a timing belt break that ended his day at Darlington Raceway, said Thursday during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pit Crew Challenge that people should not think that his one night of frustration will lead to his beginning talks with other teams as he works to extend his contract with Roush Fenway Racing.
“After Darlington, I never considered, the thought didn’t cross my mind does somebody have a better opportunity,” Biffle said. “I was just mad that we weren’t able to finish. I was mad about the points. My heart sank. We have worked so hard.”
Two weeks ago at Richmond, Biffle said it was his 100 percent intent to stay at Roush Fenway. Yet, with at least two major rides possibly open – one at Richard Childress Racing and one possibly at Joe Gibbs Racing – speculation continues that Biffle is a candidate for other jobs. His comments Saturday at Darlington and Monday during a test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway seemed to imply that he might be reconsidering, further fueling the speculation.
“I don’t know how somebody would imply that [the post-Darlington comments] meant I would abandon ship,” Biffle said. “I have no intention of that and didn’t mean to imply that. We’ve been so busy working on our cars, working on the tests … it’s so hard to spend time on working on the contract or looking it over or thinking about what you want.”
Having driven for team owner Jack Roush his entire six-year career, Biffle said when loose wheels occur, it reminds him of his 2005 championship run where a loose wheel at Texas Motor Speedway doomed his hopes. He ended up finishing second in the standings.
“When a wheel is loose, it’s like a light switch comes on instantly,” Biffle said. “It pulls on my heartstrings even harder.”
Biffle said he talked to his crew members about the issue.
“You have go to go pat them on the back – they’ve got to show up this week and do their jobs,” he said. “The guys build great engines. I don’t have a problem with that. The fact of the matter is this is a tough business. A lot is expected of me. A lot is expected of all these crew guys.
“You cannot leave wheels loose on these cars. People make mistakes. That happens. … You can’t get too down on a guy for leaving a wheel loose. Because if you go back and analyze how or why you leave a wheel loose, [it’s] because he’s trying too hard.”
As far as the timing belt, Biffle said that was a simple case that parts break. The team actually had changed his engine earlier in the week because it believed the original engine it was going to take to Darlington had a timing belt that was part of what they believed to be was a bad batch.
“Certainly we have timing belt issues, there’s no doubt,” Biffle said. “But at least they made every effort possible.”
Teammate Carl Edwards understood Biffle’s frustration.
“When we blew that engine at Atlanta, I was really, really frustrated about that,” Edwards said. “And then we were at Talladega and we blew that tire and I was real frustrated about that. Big-time. And I’d be lying if I said that didn’t make me think for a second that maybe the grass would greener, maybe it would be better somewhere else.”
Edwards said he soon realized that everyone has those problems and any thoughts of that nature went away. He said that hopes Biffle will stay at Roush Fenway.
“I definitely don’t want to see Greg Biffle leave Roush Fenway,” Edwards said. “He’s one of the most talented drivers ever in the sport. He’s a guy I can talk to about stuff.”
Still, Edwards won't be doing any sales pitches.
“It’s his decision,” Edwards said. “It’s not anyone else’s.”
Thursday, Biffle sounded like a man who intended to stay.
“Show me one driver out of 43 of us that wouldn’t have been frustrated after that, “ Biffle said. “How could that be [misoncstrued] to not [being] happy with my contract or I’m leaving and going somewhere else? I wasn’t happy. I was leading the race. We had pit-stop problems and then the timing belt broke. … I’m working on staying at Roush and working on a contract.”
Of course, though, he hasn’t signed anything.
“Anything in this world can happen … [but] I haven’t talked to anybody else,” Biffle said. “There have been inquiries, but that’s about the extent of it.”
| | Posted May 16, 2008 , 3:31 am EST
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