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Saturday, 10 May 2008 19:00 |
 By: Jay W. Pennell
Sprint Cup Correspondent
HardcoreRaceFans.com
Greg Biffle appeared the man to beat during Saturday night\'s Dodge Charger 400. Starting from the pole, Biffle was fast off the bat and battled with Joe Gibbs Racing\'s Kyle Busch early and often for the lead.
Biffle - who participated in the Goodyear tire test at the speedway -
swapped positions back and forth with Busch, but appeared to be saving
his equipment for the end. After hard racing with \'Rowdy\' Busch for
the lead and a great save following the first round of Green Flag
stops, Biffle\'s crew chief Greg Erwin radioed his driver, \"Let [Busch]
go, he won\'t be there at the end.\"
The Roush Fenway Racing driver kept his No. 16 3M Ford Fusion in the
top-5 for most of the evening and appeared to be in great shape after
a loose lug nut sent his main competition - Kyle Busch - back to pit
road following pit stops on lap 140.
Driving past Dale Earnhardt Jr., Biffle retook the lead going into
Turn 3 on Lap 159. Shortly after making the pass, Biffle radioed his
crew complaining of vibration - either a loose wheel or a transmission
problem. By Lap 193 the vibration had taken its toll and Biffle
headed to pit road from the lead.
Despite his unscheduled stop, Biffle regained the lead on Lap 209 when
the rest of the field completed their series of green flag stops.
With his No. 16 3M Ford out front it appeared Biffle\'s problems were
over, but instead they were just beginning.
On Lap 223, Biffle radioed to his crew, \"We\'re never going to make
it.\" Disappointment was evident over the radio, and on Lap 234 Biffle
brought his car back to pit road, this time taking it to the garage.
After leading seven times for 95 laps, Biffle was forced to settle
with 43rd. With only one other car out of the event, Biffle\'s
mechanical failure was a devastating blow on what looked to be his
night.
\"It is really frustrating, but, you know what, I\'ve just come
accustomed to expecting it because it\'s just week after week it\'s
something,\" a clearly upset Biffle explained. \"Something breaks.
Something falls off\"
Biffle was not alone however with his vibration issues. Every Roush Fenway Racing driver - Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and David Ragan - complained about a terrible vibration at some point in Saturday night\'s 500-miler at Darlington. Although Biffle\'s was the only one to secome to the problem, it was definitley an issue with each of his teammates as well.
\"It\'s just real frustrating,\" Biffle continued. \"I give it 110 percent as a driver all the time and you just want your equipment to last and be able to win these races. They\'re so hard to win these days. You can deal with a flat tire or something like that, but when it\'s self-induced it makes it even harder. It makes it so hard to swallow when it\'s self-induced like that.\"
This bad luck dropped Biffle two spots in the series standings to 11th. Heading into next week\'s All-Star race and a much-needed two week \'break\' in Charlotte, it appears this team, along with the entire Roush Fenway Racing organization has some issues they need to resolve. ![](\"/images/stories/hcrflogo.jpg\")
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