09/08/2015
Biffle Overcomes Flat Tire and Spin to Finish 18th at Darlington
DARLINGTON, S.C. (September 6, 2015) – NASCAR racing returned to their roots with Darlington Raceway returning to Labor Day weekend and the track celebrated the return with a 70’s “throwback” weekend. Greg Biffle’s Ortho Ford took on a throwback scheme in honor of the weekend and led the first of two practice sessions. Biffle started the race 24th after brushing the wall in qualifying and suffered a flat tire early on in the race. Biffle rebounded from the flat tire only to spin around the halfway mark. Tire management became the name of the game and the early stop for the flat put the team behind others. Biffle lost track position saving a set of stickers for the end and ultimately crossed the finish line 18th.
“We ran short on tires because I had a flat and I pitted under green,” said Biffle. “We went almost two laps down. We were two car lengths from two laps down and came all the way back to the top-10 then had a spin and worked our way back up again. Then we were out of tires and had to stay out so that cost us. Overall that was a fun race. I thought it was a great package with everyone slipping and sliding and racing hard and driving their cars and not waiting on aero. Look at the passing we had and everything else. I think it was the same as Kentucky and it will only get better.”
There were two practice sessions on Friday and Biffle showed everyone just how fast his No. 16 Ortho Ford was by leading the way in the first practice and then by finishing up final practice second on the speed chart. During qualifying on Saturday Biffle got a little loose and brushed the wall, resulting in a 24th-place starting position.
From the drop of the green flag Biffle made up ground with a fast Ortho Ford until suffering a flat tire just 22 laps into the 367-lap race. The unplanned trip down pit road cost the team a set of sticker tires. Biffle was able to make up ground with fresh tires, but around lap 200 the No. 16 went for an unplanned spin with some help from another competitor.
As the race neared the end it came down to those who had sticker tires left verse those who did not and when to use the stickers. Those on older tires were at a tremendous disadvantage. Biffle was able to save a set for his final pit stop despite the flat tire and spin, but had lost too much track position. In the closing laps, Biffle was able to make up a few positions to finish 18th in the Ortho Ford Fusion.
