Greg Biffle, Popular or Deserving Champion?
By: Gregg A. Shultz, RaceFanVote.com 10-08-08
The driver of the no. 16 Roush-Fenway Ford Fusion has formed his NASCAR career coming up through
the ranks the old-school way as most fans claim they want. Now he is in position to be the first driver in the
history of the sport to win all three top series Championships. Would that be a popular event for the fans?
Biffle began racing the Nationwide Series in 1996 at the age of 26, running only 2 races at Rockingham
and Homestead where he finished 23rd & 36th respectively. He wouldn’t get back into a Nationwide Series
car until Feb. 17th 2001 at Daytona driving for Jack Roush in the no. 60 Grainger Ford where he finished
22nd.
In the interim he ran the Craftsman Truck Series beginning in 1998. He ran 3 seasons in truck full time and
accumulated a total of 14 wins, 12 poles, 49 top 10’s & 40 top 5’s in 76 races.
He ranked 8th in points his first season, 2nd in 1999 and won the Truck Championship in 2000.
From there he moved over to the now Nationwide Series full time in 2001 where he won a total of 5 races
and finished 4th in points. He also earned the title of Rookie of the year.
2002 was his Championship year in the Nationwide Series, winning 4 events, but more impressively
finishing in the top five 20 times in 34 races. He also had 5 poles and 25 top 10’s that season as well.
During his Nationwide Championship season, he also got his first start in Cup, qualifying for a total of 7
races and missing 3. He qualified for only one race for Roush, which was his debut-race at Fontana in the
no. 16 Ford where he finished a respectable 13th.
The other 6 Cup races that he drove that season were filling in for the injured Bobby Hamilton and Jerry
Nadeau for Andy Petree and Petty Enterprises.
His first full time season in Cup was in 2003 where he missed the 3rd race at Vegas, but qualified for the
rest of the races that season. He also managed his first victory that year at the Daytona summer race. He
rounded out the season 20th in points after leading 136 laps, earning 3-top 5’s and 6-top 10’s.
Biffle followed up his rookie season to earn 2 victories in 2004 and finished 14th in points.
In 2005 he went on a surge and visited victory lane 6 times, which was the most wins for any driver that
season. He was running at the end of all but one race for the year and posted an impressive 15-top 5’s and
21-top 10’s, leading 1322 laps with an average finish of 11.9.
Although he had one more victory than the eventual 2005 Champion, Tony Stewart, he was edged by only
35 points to finish 2nd in the Championship standing, despite winning the season finale at Homestead. The
victory moved him up from 4th in points going into the last race of 2005.
In 2006 & 2007, he missed the Chase both years despite posting 3 wins over the two seasons. He finished
13th and 14th in points those two years.
2008 has been a rollercoaster ride for Biffle as far as finishes and consistency. There was even a point
after Darlington where his future at Roush was uncertain as he voiced his displeasure with the team’s
performance and ability to build a car that could ‘stay together’.
After that he went on an impressive run finishing in the top ten 6 times in 15 races prior to the Chase. He
also, coincidentally or not, had re-signed his contract with Roush during that run.
The rest is recent with two wins in the first two races of the Chase then a 3rd place finish at Kansas. He got
caught up in the Talladega ‘wildcard’, but still managed a 24th place finish and is currently 3rd in points on
77 out of first.
The buzz over the past few seasons was a driver that could potentially win the Nationwide and Cup Series
Championship in the same year, but Biffle is the first driver to be in a realistic position to take the triple
crown, winning Championships in all three of NASCAR’s top series.
With the recent influx of drivers from other disciplines in auto racing coming in ‘not paying their dues’ and
others that seemed to take the ‘Cup-Express’, a driver like Greg Biffle fits the description of exactly what
the fans want in a Champ. He’s come up the right way through the ranks and not just stroking around down
in the other series. He’s a Champion.
Whether he would be a popular Champion or not remains to be seen, but no one could argue that he would
definitely be a deserving one.
In addition, it would probably send a message down to young drivers wanting to drive in NASCAR to go get
in a truck ride, move up to the Nationwide series and then we’ll see you in 3 or 4 years in Cup.
It would be a big boost for the other series as well as for the sport overall if the up-and-coming drivers
would follow the same path that Greg Biffle did.
By: Gregg A. Shultz, RaceFanVote.com 10-08-08
The driver of the no. 16 Roush-Fenway Ford Fusion has formed his NASCAR career coming up through
the ranks the old-school way as most fans claim they want. Now he is in position to be the first driver in the
history of the sport to win all three top series Championships. Would that be a popular event for the fans?
Biffle began racing the Nationwide Series in 1996 at the age of 26, running only 2 races at Rockingham
and Homestead where he finished 23rd & 36th respectively. He wouldn’t get back into a Nationwide Series
car until Feb. 17th 2001 at Daytona driving for Jack Roush in the no. 60 Grainger Ford where he finished
22nd.
In the interim he ran the Craftsman Truck Series beginning in 1998. He ran 3 seasons in truck full time and
accumulated a total of 14 wins, 12 poles, 49 top 10’s & 40 top 5’s in 76 races.
He ranked 8th in points his first season, 2nd in 1999 and won the Truck Championship in 2000.
From there he moved over to the now Nationwide Series full time in 2001 where he won a total of 5 races
and finished 4th in points. He also earned the title of Rookie of the year.
2002 was his Championship year in the Nationwide Series, winning 4 events, but more impressively
finishing in the top five 20 times in 34 races. He also had 5 poles and 25 top 10’s that season as well.
During his Nationwide Championship season, he also got his first start in Cup, qualifying for a total of 7
races and missing 3. He qualified for only one race for Roush, which was his debut-race at Fontana in the
no. 16 Ford where he finished a respectable 13th.
The other 6 Cup races that he drove that season were filling in for the injured Bobby Hamilton and Jerry
Nadeau for Andy Petree and Petty Enterprises.
His first full time season in Cup was in 2003 where he missed the 3rd race at Vegas, but qualified for the
rest of the races that season. He also managed his first victory that year at the Daytona summer race. He
rounded out the season 20th in points after leading 136 laps, earning 3-top 5’s and 6-top 10’s.
Biffle followed up his rookie season to earn 2 victories in 2004 and finished 14th in points.
In 2005 he went on a surge and visited victory lane 6 times, which was the most wins for any driver that
season. He was running at the end of all but one race for the year and posted an impressive 15-top 5’s and
21-top 10’s, leading 1322 laps with an average finish of 11.9.
Although he had one more victory than the eventual 2005 Champion, Tony Stewart, he was edged by only
35 points to finish 2nd in the Championship standing, despite winning the season finale at Homestead. The
victory moved him up from 4th in points going into the last race of 2005.
In 2006 & 2007, he missed the Chase both years despite posting 3 wins over the two seasons. He finished
13th and 14th in points those two years.
2008 has been a rollercoaster ride for Biffle as far as finishes and consistency. There was even a point
after Darlington where his future at Roush was uncertain as he voiced his displeasure with the team’s
performance and ability to build a car that could ‘stay together’.
After that he went on an impressive run finishing in the top ten 6 times in 15 races prior to the Chase. He
also, coincidentally or not, had re-signed his contract with Roush during that run.
The rest is recent with two wins in the first two races of the Chase then a 3rd place finish at Kansas. He got
caught up in the Talladega ‘wildcard’, but still managed a 24th place finish and is currently 3rd in points on
77 out of first.
The buzz over the past few seasons was a driver that could potentially win the Nationwide and Cup Series
Championship in the same year, but Biffle is the first driver to be in a realistic position to take the triple
crown, winning Championships in all three of NASCAR’s top series.
With the recent influx of drivers from other disciplines in auto racing coming in ‘not paying their dues’ and
others that seemed to take the ‘Cup-Express’, a driver like Greg Biffle fits the description of exactly what
the fans want in a Champ. He’s come up the right way through the ranks and not just stroking around down
in the other series. He’s a Champion.
Whether he would be a popular Champion or not remains to be seen, but no one could argue that he would
definitely be a deserving one.
In addition, it would probably send a message down to young drivers wanting to drive in NASCAR to go get
in a truck ride, move up to the Nationwide series and then we’ll see you in 3 or 4 years in Cup.
It would be a big boost for the other series as well as for the sport overall if the up-and-coming drivers
would follow the same path that Greg Biffle did.
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