Greg Biffle says remove Talladega from the Chase

By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer
Friday, October 31, 2008
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Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle would like to see NASCAR remove Talladega Superspeedway from the Chase schedule.

Chris Graythen
Getty Images

FORT WORTH, Texas — A few days after car owner Jack Roush suggested that NASCAR allow drivers to drop one race of their choosing from the Chase For The Sprint Cup, Greg Biffle offered a different idea on Friday: Remove Talladega from NASCAR’s playoff.

“I’d rather say take Talladega out of the Chase and not worry about trying to get rid of your worst race,” Roush Fenway Racing’s Biffle said at Texas Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Dickies 500. “The same thing has happened every year at Talladega. When you go in there and you penalize a team that’s worked as hard as all of us have, and it was none of our doing, [but] we’re involved in a wreck because something happened – a guy cut a tire or whatever. Put Bristol in [the Chase] or something else versus throwing out one of your bad finishes. That’s my opinion about what they should do with the Chase.”

With Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson holding a whopping 183-point lead over Roush Fenway’s Carl Edwards and Biffle another two points back in third with three races remaining after last Sunday’s event at Atlanta, Roush suggested that NASCAR allow each of the 12 Chase drivers to discard a race from their Chase record in future seasons. Under such a scenario, there would still be 10 Chase races, but only nine would count toward the final point tally. Theoretically, the plan would help circumvent what Johnson has done this year: build a nearly insurmountable lead down the season’s final stretch, rendering the championship race little more than a foregone conclusion.

But Biffle believes that replacing Talladega, which has hosted a Chase race since the inception of the playoff format in 2004, would be a better alternative than the so-called Chase “mulligan” that Roush proposed. That’s because Talladega – the only restrictor-plate track in Chase – can hurt a driver’s title chances if he is involved in the familiar big wreck that often results from the track’s close-quarters restrictor-plate racing.

Not everyone concurs with Biffle’s solution, though.

“I don’t buy that theory,” Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton said. “It is without a doubt the most volatile race in the Chase, but so what? Some of it is luck - there’s no question about it. ... But it is what it is. I understand how you could have that feeling, but it is the same for everybody.”

Biffle understandably would like to see his Talladega finish purged from his record after being involved in a multicar accident there earlier this month that wasn’t of his own making. The wreck, which led to a 24th-place finish, cost Biffle valuable championship points. Johnson missed the wreck and finished ninth. With their respective results, Johnson earned 47 more points than Biffle.

“[Johnson] skinned through Talladega by the skin of his teeth,” Biffle said. “He just slipped through there. We all saw the wreck. We all saw him dodge the bullets and get through it.”

Biffle concedes that Talladega isn’t the only bullet that Johnson has dodged in the Chase, however.

“They were in huge trouble at Charlotte,” the driver of the No. 16 Ford said. “He could not get that car to drive to save his life.  They threw the kitchen sink at it, and he ended up sixth, but you listen to the radio transmissions that they had and you look at how the car was going on the race track, and one more lap, we were going to pass him and four more laps four more guys were going to pass him.

“He was backing up like mad, so that’s what makes a championship team, is taking that adverse day and turning it into something good, and they did the same thing at Atlanta.”

Whether Talladega remains a part of the Chase or not in years to come, Biffle doesn’t think that there should be any significant overhauls to the playoff format just to ensure that Johnson or another driver doesn’t build a sizable cushion and run away with the title.

“You can’t make a rule to keep one guy from winning the championship,” Biffle said. “That’s never worked in our sport, and this is an equal opportunity right here.  No matter what you do, you cannot change – in this country, one guy is going to have more money than the other guy, and one guy is going to win more races than the other guy, and one guy is going to win more championships.

“There’s nothing that we can put in place, unless we make the 48 car [Johnson] have a different weight at the start of the event or run different tires or something.”

Mentioned Drivers: Greg Biffle

Comments

13 responses to "Greg Biffle says remove Talladega from the Chase ". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    Harvey Speight said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 2:10 PM

    Greg needs to stop worrying about dropping races and start worrying about winning more. Everyone always has a scheme to cut the other guys points.

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  2. 2
    Meg said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 2:17 PM

    I think we need to just give the Roushmobiles all a 500 pt head start..That might just stop some of the whining !!

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  3. 3
    Ronald Baker said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 2:19 PM

    Humm may Carl should have to get reaproved to drive on plate tracks. that solve the Dega problem.

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  4. 4
    Anonymous said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 2:30 PM

    I like Biffle, but my gosh he should stop whining and just drive!!!

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  5. 5
    Paul Baumgarten said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 2:39 PM

    I am not a Roush fan, but do agree with Greg Biffle on this issue. Including a track that is best described as a crapshoot race just isn't right. Talledaga should not be included in the Chase. Substitute a track (any track) where a driver has to use the brakes twice per lap.

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  6. 6
    Katie Wirick said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 2:51 PM

    As much as I like most of the roush drivers I don't think they should get rid of Talladega, the whole point of it is the fact that anyone can win at that race track. It makes it more interesting. And dropping your worst race from the chase will just increase someone's point lead so I think that idea is never going to work.

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  7. 7
    Nancy Hall said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 3:06 PM

    I hate restrictor plate racing they could eliminate all the restrictor plate tracks. That way they could shorten there season.

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  8. 8
    Brad Sargent said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 3:14 PM

    I think for the fall Talledega race they should do away with the restricter plate and let the real drivers like Tony Stewart show them what real racing is all about,\.

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  9. 9
    Andrew Briscoe said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 3:47 PM

    The restrictor plate tracks are in the chase for one reason: 3 races of the first 26 are restrictor plate, including the very first (and biggest race), and the Chase is meant to represent the NASCAR season.

    Whether or not Talladega is a crapshoot does not matter. The Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 (as well as the first Talladega race) are all crapshoots as well. NASCAR won't change the chase just because a couple chasers can't survive the wild card race. If you don't want a championship to ride on one race, don't make the Chase and you won't have to worry.

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  10. 10
    phyllis hamilton said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 5:07 PM

    Dont blame the track, blame the teammate that was behind you. All you need to do is keep Carl from helping you.

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  11. 11
    Kenneth Farley said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 8:53 PM

    Are you guys nuts? Take Talladega out of the chase? Jeez, why not just race on the same stupid cookie cutter race tracks you guys seem to love. Sorry, but us fans love watching you guys run at Tallagega, and you'll just have to shape up or shut up!

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  12. 12
    John Lockhart said:
    Oct 31, 2008 at 11:40 PM

    Great comment Mr.Farley,I totally agree.No more needs to be said.

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  13. 13
    Anonymous said:
    Nov 1, 2008 at 5:03 PM

    I LOVE restrictor plate races - I think they should end the Chase in Daytona and keep Talladega in the chase as well - take that Biff. We can't help that your teammate is an idiot and doesn't know how to drive restrictor plate races - maybe you should teach him.

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2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings

Driver Standings after the AMP Energy 500

1 Jimmie Johnson 6248
2 Mark Martin -184
3 Jeff Gordon -192
4 Juan Pablo Montoya -239
5 Tony Stewart -279
6 Kurt Busch -312
7 Greg Biffle -340
8 Ryan Newman -402
9 Kasey Kahne -414
10 Carl Edwards -437
11 Denny Hamlin -448
12 Brian Vickers -556

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