Chat Transcript: Greg Biffle

March 21, 2001
10:48 AM EST (1548 GMT)

[Nascar_Host1] Welcome to NASCAR.com's chat with Greg Biffle!

[Greg_Biffle] Thanks to everyone for logging on tonight. I am looking forward to answering your questions.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [rootsradical] Greg, what's it like driving for the Jack Roush organization?

[Greg_Biffle] It is pretty rewarding to drive for the Roush Organization. The support around us, at least at my level, from the Winston Cup guys (like Jeff and Mark) makes my program solid. We hit the road running this year for sure, and that is because of Roush.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [dalejr_fan] Greg, was it hard to adjust going from the trucks to the Busch cars?

[Greg_Biffle] It has been easier than I suspected it to be. The cars are pretty easy to drive because they have more downforce. The competition is a little bit tougher as far having the top-5 guys being about the same in both, but in as far as the way the car drives compared to the truck, it hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. It is more about the depth of the competition. We have 20 guys that run strong over here every week and there are 14 guys that run strong in the trucks. When you are running around 10th or 12th in the Busch, there are still great guys racing around you. If you have a bad day in trucks, you finish in the top-15, but if you have a bad finish in Busch, you end up in the 20s. There are a ton of great drivers in each series and the truck drivers don't get as much recognition as they should.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [dalejr_fan] Greg, what do you miss most about the truck series?

[Greg_Biffle] I miss everything about it -- the drivers, the officials, and the people you see week in and week out. All those people become your extended family because you are with them more than you are at home. I miss all the people, and I miss racing the trucks as well. They were fun to race and hopefully later this year I will be able to do one or two races. I am also looking forward to seeing everybody when we are hooked up in a place like Milwaukee.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [rootsradical] Greg, does Mark Martin give you any advice on setting up the #60 car?

[Greg_Biffle] Absolutely. Mark has been a huge asset to our whole program right out of the gate. He has been a big help setting up the cars. I get to talk to Mark at the racetracks, but we also have his notes, so we are pretty prepared. There are times (like at Atlanta) where I was a bit lost in Happy Hour and we had to make a decision what to race. He sat me down and told me what not to do because you don't want to steer a guy wrong and tell someone exactly what to do. A lot of things have changed since he raced a Busch car (like the tires) but he still has a great amount of knowledge. If I hadn't screwed it up with about 15 laps to go in Atlanta I probably would have won.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [Gordo] Considering the success of Kevin Harvick (and to a lesser extent Ron Hornaday), do you think you will be rushed into Winston Cup racing earlier than you are ready?

[Greg_Biffle] It is possible. I have had some opportunities arise this season to do some Winston Cup races that Jack Roush wont let me do. He doesn't want me to detract from what we can do in the Busch Series. So partly yes and partly no. They want to keep me focused on the Busch Series but you will definitely see me in at least 7 Winston Cup races next year. We have a 2-year contract with Grainger for the Busch Series. If a driver gets a full season of Busch under his belt, I think he is pretty ready to go Cup racing, and definitely two years should be enough though.

[Nascar_Host1] How hard is it going to be to catch and dethrone Jeff Green for the title?

[Greg_Biffle] It is going to be very tough. Jeff has a lot of experience on me that I don't have and the thing about experience is that it is tough for a driver to gain experience when the guy you are trying to catch is gaining at the same time. You can't catch a guy in age, and Jeff Green has also raced at Darlington for X-years more than me. It is tough for me to have the experience there to beat him. There are a lot of tracks I haven't been to or haven't raced a Busch car at and that is going to play a role in me being able to beat him for the Championship. I am not ruling it out but it is going to be really tough.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [dalejr_fan] Greg, what do you do before a race to get pumped?

[Greg_Biffle] My race day agenda has been quite a bit busier than in the past. Usually at like 9AM I go to the souvenir trailer for an hour. Afterwards, I go to a drivers meeting and then spend 30 minutes with my crew chief. Following that, I go to Grainger hospitality for an hour and then I have about 15-40 minutes to suit up and go to driver introductions. We have a fairly busy schedule but it does give me a 15-40 minute window to get ready and think about winning the race.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [fl4mikey] Which tracks are you concerned about running at, so much so that you have practiced there already?

[Greg_Biffle] A lot of those tracks are behind us. We tested Las Vegas and Atlanta to get some speedway experience with these cars. We did test Texas, which we race in 2 weeks, and we tested Rockingham and Darlington. I tested Bristol a week ago Monday and wrecked about 60 laps into it and ruined the car. We ran good times so we came back and fixed it. Other than that we had a test at Nashville but it got cancelled because it isn't done yet. Most of the tracks I raced at in the truck and we feel the testing in the first part of the season should carry us on through for a ways.

[Nascar_Host1] Many Busch drivers complain about Cup guys driving Busch. What is your opinion?

[Greg_Biffle] I am excited when they come to race us. It raises our competition level and makes it tougher than us. My goal is to beat Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, or any of them. I would be upset if like 20 guys came down to our race, but if it is 8-10 of them, it forces us to beat the best. If we beat those guys or finish in front of them, it makes a statement. We want to be the best we can be, and if those guys can come down and beat us any time they want, I don't have a chance in Winston Cup. The way I think about it, I should have the upper hand because we race those cars every week, and they don't. Those guys didn't come down to the truck series and beat me either. The trucks are hard to drive and a guy that is in his home court has an advantage, and I feel that is what I have in the Busch series. I welcome those guys to come down and beat us.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [MikeyFan] What are your goals this season?

[Greg_Biffle] Jack Roush and I were talking about this today. My goals starting out were to finish in the top-10 and gain some experience to challenge for wins and points later in the year. We are well above my expectations so far and I have changed them drastically. A lot of it has been luck but two weeks ago I felt that I could race for the points championship, but my wrecks at Bristol and Darlington (along with an 11th place finish) has lessen my goals. I want to challenge for wins. My overall goal is a points Championship, which I probably wont reach this year, but if you don't set that goal you will never reach it. I certainly wouldn't be upset finishing 5th.

[Nascar_Host1] Do you go on any special diet or workout plan during the offseason to get in shape?

[Greg_Biffle] Not too much in the offseason. I watch what I eat all the time. I prepare a month before the season, but I stay in shape year round. You can relax your schedule in the winter a little bit but you have to stay in pretty good shape and be prepared for the beginning of the season.

[Nascar_Host1] [dalejr_fan] Greg, what would your ideal track be?

[Greg_Biffle] I really like to race on 1-3/8 or 1.5 mile racetracks. The ideal track would be D-shaped, 1-3/8 miles with about 18 degree banking. I feel like I am describing Nashville's new superspeedway to you. I have not seen the track yet but I am excited to get there. That would be my favorite track to race on.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [Sherman75] GREG, DO YOU EVER GET TO THE PUB WHEN YOU ARE IN TOWN? THE BURGERS ARE GREAT!

[Greg_Biffle] Yes, I miss the place a lot. I go there every time I am in town and visit. I love to eat there and spend as much time as I can there. I look forward to the offseason when I can spend some time there with the fans and visit with people there.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [fl4mikey] How many of the guys from your old truck team and Mark's old Busch team make up your current team?

[Greg_Biffle] There are 2 guys that came from the truck team -- Randy Goss, my crew chief, and Kevin Starland, our car chief. We don't have any of Mark's Busch guys -- they are all new guys.

[Nascar_Host1] What are your thoughts going into this weekend's race at Bristol?

[Greg_Biffle] I am pretty excited about going to Bristol. It is fun but it is a tough racetrack. I am really focused on getting a top-5 there. That will keep us in the points hunt. If you are out of the top-10 there you can easily get caught up in a wreck. I want to come out of there without wrecking a racecar and I want to come away with a good finish because I am very excited about Texas.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [DEIfan] Are there any plans for a special paint scheme this year?

[Greg_Biffle] No, not to my knowledge, but they are changing the paint on the car as we speak. The area below the hood on the nosepiece will be all red. People are saying that it is hard to see because the gray matches the track. I am curious to see if they change the diecasts and postcards mid-stream. I don't think they are going to change the paint AGAIN because they are changing it already.

[Nascar_Host1] Do you take anything on the road with you that reminds you of home?

[Greg_Biffle] No, really I don't. I don't have a motorcoach, so if I did, I might take some more things.

[Nascar_Host1] Are there any sports you like to participate in besides racing?

[Greg_Biffle] I like to do a lot of things. I am a real active person. I play some golf but I am not very good at it. I like water sports, boating, and I like to motorcycle ride. I don't really play a lot of stick-and-ball sports, but I am an active person and I like to be outdoors.

[Nascar_Host1] Question from: [fl4mikey] How critical are the drivers meetings to you especially as a rookie?

[Greg_Biffle] They are pretty critical especially for places we haven't been. Jeff Green is the person that does the rookie meetings prior to any on-track meetings. He talks about the racetrack and where things happen and what to do. I did rookie meetings for the truck series drivers last year, and now I am sitting in the rookie meetings. You get some insight from a person that is knowledgeable so it definitely helps.

[Nascar_Host1] What are your thoughts on the extended season?

[Greg_Biffle] I am not for it. I don't think that our season needs to be extended. There are plenty of races right now, and I need to be careful on how I express my opinion, but I don't feel we should go to any racetrack twice. It has nothing to do with the tracks, but we can't make our season year round. We are always on the road and we can't see our families. We have tons of sponsorship obligations to handle and your life just becomes chaos from the morning to the night, 7 days a week. It really is not be fun at times. It isn't about the tracks that we go to twice, like Darlington or Daytona. I just think we should give the other tracks a chance for us to go there one time instead of extending the schedule. I also like night racing because it is cooler for us in the cars and it is cooler for the fans during the hot summer days. In the future, if the Busch races were Saturday day and the Winston Cup races were Saturday night, then everyone would have Sunday off and people could be at home with their families instead of it being race day. When we had Friday night races in the trucks, we were home Saturday and Sunday and I got to watch the races from home. NASCAR should be commended on the way they have compacted the weekend schedules this season. The demand on our time has decreased considerably but I think Saturday night racing is the ticket.

[Nascar_Host1] That's all the time Greg has for us today. Thanks Greg!

[Greg_Biffle] I appreciate all your support and all the fan mail and things you do for our sport. The fans make up our sport and that is what made NASCAR today. I thank you for all the great questions and I look forward to seeing you all at Bristol. Onward with the rest of the season!