2007 Preseason No. 4: Greg Biffle

No. 16 Ameriquest Ford

2007 Spin
Greg Biffle will look to rebound from what has to be considered a disappointing 2006 campaign. Although he earned two race wins, it was a far cry from his six-win, 21-top 10 performance of ’05. He came up 35 points shy of winning the Nextel Cup championship that season, and expectations were high entering ’06.

The team started out in a hole, with a crash at Daytona and a blown engine — in a race he was thoroughly dominating — at California. The season wouldn’t get much better for a few weeks, as another crash at Texas, via Kurt Busch, and another engine loss, this time at Talladega, kept the team in a points hole.

A hot streak ensued thereafter — Biffle scored seven consecutive top 10s, winning Darlington during that stretch. Reaching as high as ninth in points, he seemed ready to once again challenge for a Cup. It was not to be, though, as he scored only six top 10s through the remainder of the season.

We expect a strong recovery this year. Biffle will likely welcome the Car of Tomorrow. He can wheel whatever they put underneath him, and Jack Roush will undoubtedly pour in whatever resources are needed to find success.

One slight concern centers around Biffle losing his crew chief. Doug Richert was shown the door after the season concluded. He and Biffle had a good relationship, and that will be hard to replace.

In Richert’s spot will be Pat Tryson, who led Mark Martin to three consecutive Chase appearances from 2004-06. Whether these two will hit it off is the big question. Martin only won two races under Tryson’s leadership, and Biffle is a go-for-broke-type driver. If this relationship jells, they could have a big year; if not, Tryson may be gone quickly, as Roush does not hesitate to pull the trigger.

Fantasy Stall
Looking at Checkers: Darlington and Homestead (as always).
Pretty Solid Pick: He’s usually stout at Michigan or any cookie cutter-type track.
Good Sleeper Pick: Phoenix, regardless of what his last trip shows.
Runs on Seven Cylinders: Not exactly a Dale Junior-type at Talladega.
Insider Tip: Assume Biffle’s intermediate track results will be closer to 2005 than ’06. The R&D Roush Racing has put into the COT will pay off.

2006 Performance Rankings
Flat Track Ranking: 13th — Best Finish: 3rd, New Hampshire
Intermediate Track Ranking: 10th — Best Finish: 1st, Darlington and Homestead
Plate Track Ranking: 38th — Best Finish: 31st, Daytona
Road Course Ranking: 21st — Best Finish: 4th, Infineon
Short Track Ranking: 11th — Best Finish: 4th, Richmond

Read Greg Biffle's entire preview in the 2007 Athlon Sports Racing Magazine