Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 3M/Give Kids a Smile Ford, climbs into his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 14, 2013
Photo – Geoff Burke/Getty Images
Greg Biffle‘s season has stalled this summer, as his last top-five finish was a victory in June at Michigan International Speedway. Biffle is also the defending winner of the two-mile track’s August event in 2012. The good news for his team is they are returning to Michigan this weekend, hungry for another victory that could be his third consecutive and fourth overall win at the track.
Ninth in NASCAR‘s Sprint Cup Series standings, Biffle needs a boost as he’s barely hanging on to a provisional Chase berth. He’s just four points ahead of 11th-place Kurt Busch, who is looking for success to secure his place in the Chase. Provisional Wild Card holder Kasey Kahne fell out of the top-ten last Sunday by a late-race accident at Watkins Glen is another marker back in 12th-place and already owns a pair of victories this season.
Biffle’s closest competitors, Martin Truex Jr (10th), Busch, Kahne, Gordon (13th) and Indianapolis winner Ryan Newman (14th) are close enough behind – only 22-points of separation – to make chasing a Wild Card interesting. Another Michigan victory, this season could give Biffle the insurance he needs to punch his post-season ticket in the Chase.
Biffle is at the right place at the right time – and in the right seat.
Roush Fenway Racing (RFR) is the dominant organization at the Irish Hills, Michigan track. The organizations’ headquarters are less than 100 miles east in the Detroit suburb of Livonia and the principal owner, Jack Roush, shared the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup victory record with NASCAR Hall of Fame member Glen Wood and the Wood Brothers before breaking it with Biffle’s win last August.
Biffle’s driver rating of 110.0 is tops at Michigan, and teammate Carl Edwards also owns a pair of victories, in 2007-08, and boasts a series-high average finish of 8.1. Edwards is third in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup standings, finishing eighth in June’s Michigan event.
RFR’s third driver, Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished 16th in June. Stenhouse continues to chase his first top-ten finish in NASCAR’s premier series.
Fans can watch the Pure Michigan 400 at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN, and listen to the broadcast on MRN Radio, SiriusXM Radio.
