Greg Biffle blames possible flat tire for multicar wreck in Budweiser Shootout

By Bob Pockrass

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Greg Biffle (16) spins in the middle of a mutlicar crash in the Budweiser Shootout.

Jeff Robinson
NASCAR Illustrated

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle said he thought he might have a shot at winning the Budweiser Shootout, but he also knew he was taking a chance of wrecking after not pitting for tires prior to the green-white-checkered finish.

Biffle was the leader with two laps remaining as one of only two drivers that didn’t pit for tires, but he thought he had a right-rear tire going down, and once he got up to speed, he couldn’t avoid getting hit from behind by Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon.

“I definitely thought I had a shot, but I thought I had a flat right-rear tire, too,” Biffle said. “It felt like it was getting low. When I was going down the backstretch, I couldn’t hardly keep it straight with Jeff pushing me.

“The minute I turned off into [turns] 3 and 4, it just spun out.”

Six drivers in the ensuing melee didn’t make it to the finish because of the accident: Biffle, TRG Motorsports’ Bobby Labonte, Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Newman and Roush Fenway’s Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Red Bull Racing’s Ken Schrader also was involved.

Gordon was able to keep going and finished sixth.

“We got a great run down the back straightaway – Matt Kenseth was pushing me and I got to Greg,” Gordon said. “I was just pushing, pushing and pushing. I almost had him move to the inside on me, he kind of closed the door there and I was just pushing. We went into the corner and he just spun right out.

“I don’t know if he had a tire go down or just the fact that he was on old tires he couldn’t take that kind of a push. They said bump-drafting is OK now, and that’s what it’s going to take to win the race.”

For those collected, it was a typical restrictor-plate wreck.

“You don’t really expect it when you’re behind Jeff Gordon, who is one of the sport’s best,” Kenseth said. “The 16 [of Biffle] was on old tires. I don’t know [what happened]. One of them got into each other and lost it or something.”

Gordon said there was no way not to push each other in that situation.

“You don’t have a choice,” Gordon said. “They’re pushing you from behind and you’re pushing the guy in front of you and when that’s the situation, you hope that in Greg’s position that you get in there and the car sticks. And in that situation it didn’t stick for whatever reason.”