Michigan: Ford - Greg Biffle interview

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 National Guard/Subway Taurus, qualified 13th for tomorrow's DHL 400. He spoke about his chances of winning on Sunday as well as addressing rumors about his driving status.

GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 National Guard/Subway Taurus

YOU'VE BEEN IN THE NEWS A LOT LATELY. "Yeah, it's kind of crazy what we see on the internet, but I've got a contract with Roush and I'm fulfilling my contract. We're not going anywhere right now. Things are getting pretty crazy out there. There are other teams that are starting up and things going like that, so there's speculation about what's gonna happen. But we're here and we're trying to get the 16 car in victory land, and I think we're gonna do that soon. We've definitely been running good lately and that's what counts."

YOU STILL PLAN ON DOING FULL DOUBLE DUTY? "Yeah, and that's one of the reasons why we went and tested at Sonoma because we're gonna miss happy hour there. I've elected to go ahead and leave Friday after qualifying and fly to Milwaukee to do the all day show on the Busch car and forfeit happy hour in Sonoma. But we've tested and we're gonna go there and run the whole practice in race trim - just tape it up and move the fenders in and qualify, then leave. So we're gonna have a lot of race practice. I feel happy hour is just an opportunity for me to get in the grass or in the gravel, so we're gonna skip out on that."

WILL YOU BE BETTER TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE AFTER YOU SEE HOW THIS SEASON GOES OR IS IT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO NOW? "I think when you get to the point that you're in the final year of your contract, then certainly that's time to start deciding what you're gonna do. I'm not quite there yet. I'm working as hard as I can here to get this program turned around and capable of making the top 10 in points. That's what we've got to do in this day and age. We've got to make the top 10 in points or you're out of it. We've had so many problems where, obviously, we're not gonna be able to make the top 10 in points this year. There's still an outside chance, but mathematically it's almost not possible so that's kind of frustrating. About 10 races or 12 races into the season we had the best qualifying average of any Nextel Cup team and we've run that well in the races but haven't gotten to the finish. That's frustrating but we're getting this program turned around."

DO THESE RUMORS HURT WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO BUILD A PROGRAM? "It does because the guys are looking over their shoulder like, 'What's gonna happen next?' Yeah, it's difficult for our team and sponsors with all that stuff cropping up on the internet."

SOME PEOPLE WITH DO THAT INTENTIONALLY TO THROW A TEAM OFF BALANCE, RIGHT? "Yeah, that will happen. Other teams possibly that want to make changes will do the same, so I don't know where all that stuff comes from."

YOU TALKED ABOUT WINNING RACES SOON. COULD TOMORROW BE THE DAY? "Yeah, I feel like we're really close. The National Guard car was pretty good in that first happy hour. Certainly, we're looking to be as good in the second happy hour as we were in the first. Usually when we're good in the first one, we stink in the second one, so we're just hoping to maintain in that second happy hour - not make too many changes here and, hopefully, the track conditions stay close to what they're gonna be tomorrow. That's what we want. We're definitely on the edge. At this race track, fuel mileage, long green runs, pit stops, all kinds of things come into play. Normally here not the fastest race car will win. The guy that has a top five race car and doesn't make any mistakes all day and has good runs is the guy that wins here."

DO YOU HAVE A TOP FIVE CAR? "Yes. I feel we have a top five car - definitely."

IS THIS A DRAFTING TRACK? "It will pull you up closer to the car in front of you, but that's about the extent of it - just that bit on the straightaway it will suck you up a little closer. When cars are side by side, certainly it punches a pretty big hole in the air like Pocono last week, and the cars will draft up a lot faster. You'll kind of see that slingshot deal, so there are some advantages because we are going so fast here."

-Ford-