February 29th, 2012 
T.C. Following the way the Daytona 500 finished, with Matt Kenseth holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle for the win, I’ve seen there has been some discussion about whether or not Biffle was trying to win or just blocking for his teammate. It seems some think the latter is the case, and were lighting Biffle up because of it. If you were among those with that opinion, you won’t like this blog post, because I’m calling you out.
First, let me say one thing: this was the Daytona 500. I repeat, this was the Daytona freaking 500. Not to minimize any other race, but this wasn’t a mid summer 400 miler at (insert race track here). This was the single most important race on the entire schedule. Nobody is points racing at Daytona. Without a Harley Earl trophy in his possession, you can be sure Greg Biffle wanted to win this race.
Something else to consider here, is that Biffle hasn’t won a race since Kansas in 2010. That means coming into Daytona, Biffle’s winless streak sat at 43 races. The fact that this was the Daytona 500 aside, 43 races without a win is motivation enough to want to beat Kenseth back to the flag.
Winning a restrictor plate race these days is all about timing. It usually comes down to picking the right spot out of turn four to jump out and make your move. In Biffle’s case, he was waiting for the right moment to pull out but then came under attack from Dale Jr. At that point it was more about trying to save second, than it was about fighting for the win. If you believe Biffle was doing anything else, you are simply wrong.
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I’ll admit it, the first thing that came to mind after watching the final laps of the Daytona 500 was… what was Greg Biffle thinking, why is he blocking for his teammate Matt Kenseth to win the Daytona 500 and not going for it himself. I thought that for two reasons.
First, he didn’t make any moves on Kenseth in the final two laps despite the fact that Dale Jr. was on his back bumper.
And second, he know that if he made a move, it would have turned out just like the same way the Budweiser Shootout turned out but instead of Kyle Busch drafting past Tony Stewart, it would have been Dale Jr. drafting by Greg Biffle to win the Daytona 500.
Now two days later and after watching his interview on NASCAR RaceHUb, I understand what Biffle is saying and that he was full throttle for the final two laps, so I conclude he just couldn’t get their to win, but it would have been better if he had did something of a move a few times. And now I say goodbye to the Daytona 500, hello Phoenix and good racing.
From what I’ve read it’s been the Jr fans complaining. Not surprising.Didn’t hear any complaints back when Sr was doing the same thing. We all know what happened as a result.
Food For Thought
Greg Biffle’s Career Stats on SuperSpeedways
46 starts
1 Win
6 top 5 finishes
13 top 10 finishes
Average start of 17.7
Average finish of 19.1
Based on those career stats , the start of 2012 was great for the Biff, I wanted to see him win the 500, and to say he didnt want to win it is absolutely crazy. I think the Biff is on track for a great season and ready for a championship run. Let’s sit back and enjoy this season because I feel that this will be a great season for Roush Fenway and Ford.
I don’t know. By not making a move Biffle guaranteed himself 3rd. He said he was full throttle… so was everyone else. No one lifts at a RP track unless they have to. I suppose MAYBE he was waiting for Junior to jump out and pass, then try to get behind Jr and slingshot, but Jr is smart enough to know to not try it too early. The outside line wasn’t working, the only way to get around Kenseth was to hang him out to dry. Then basically cut back in and hope Earnhardt would get left hung out. But you can’t do THAT move starting in turn 4. Not enough time. That 3-car breakaway ruined the chance for a good drag-race finish.
I submit that some of the reasons some people are asking questions are possibly because: One. There did not appear to be any time during the race that a single car would not be sacked (passed) by a two car draft (one car pushing another — granted, the two car draft did not work as well as in the past — it still worked until the last lap). Two. I think it is widely accepted that Earnhardt knows how to push (evidence by his pushing Johnson to victory last year at Talladega). Three. Biffle had a really fast car (leading more than 40 laps). Four. Observing the previous races – Bud Shootout, Duels and the prior 497.5 miles it seemed as though Kenseth should have been a sitting duck for a two car tandem that worked together and especially one of the caliber of a Biffle and Earnhardt. It is only logical to think something was different – maybe it was simply that Kenseth had a superior hot rod or maybe it was something else. Bottom line – questions can be asked and debates can be started but History has been written and cannot be changed. Congratulations to Kenseth.
Trying to save second?! Come on. Second or third, who cares. Like you said, its the Daytona 500! You gotta go for it. As for coming under attack by Jr, I think Jr was waiting for Biffle to pull out and he was going with him. We probably would’ve had a three wide finish. There is no reason Biffle should have not made a move to “save second” coming to the checkerd flag in th Daytona 500. No way.
i agree with dawn,your statement “trying to save second” invalidates you entire post. as you said it the Daytona Freaking 500. go for it at all costs dont try to save 2nd. i know im not a driver,and i know biffle was doing everything he could,and that i couldnt possibly understand what its like to execute a last lap pass at daytona(kyle made it work)etc… im just saying you shoulda left out the part about trying to save 2nd,because its the daytona freakin 500,if you aint holding the trophy,who cares where you finish …right?
I love being among the folks called out as a tin-foil hat wearer. When Jr made his move, Biffle stuck w/ Kenseth, thus negating any advantage of the two car draft. In hindsight, I suspect Biffle DID want to win the D500, and he didn’t think he had anything for Kenseth, however, him not going with Jr sealed his fate.
Hey Fireball, I was actually writing about you directly, I just didn’t want to drag your good name through the mud.
Classic America 2012, land of “If you think” something different than me then “you are crazy” because my opinion is the only truth that matters, especially if it is my blog and I am trying to make NASCAR happy with me, so I can keep my job.
aka
Rigged America, land of “us and them” where if you are not with us, you are against us and the best way to show you are with us is to spread the “truth” as they/we/NASCAR says it is.
On a different note: Why no “Ask the Insiders” on Wednesday? Thought since the season started we would see it. I was with a few friends who meet every Monday night and a question came up during the race that none of us could answer. I knew where we could get the answer so I submitted it to you guys and I’m waiting for “Ask the Insiders” so I can email your site to them. Ya see this makes me look good since they don’t follow NASCAR as as closely as I do. Like to give the impression I know more than they do.LOL
T.C., sweet, good to feel the love.
I always love comments like the one Fred left…
I’m with Dan. I love this entire site, but Ask The Insiders is must-reading for me. Please bring it back!
I assume you just didn’t get a lot of questions in the off season and pre-Daytona 500.
It’d be more fun with big blocks and no plates… stupid aerodynamic cars…
*smirk*
There is an idea… bring back the old long wheelbase race cars for the Daytona and Talladega… ha ha ha.
Everyone wants to win the 500… I want to win the 500… if yer in the top 5 with two to go, yer going for it.
At this point in the season, points pick positions back up, quick!
-W
IMO Biff did want to win the 500, but his tactics said he didn’t want to lose the 500. In the end he lost a position and only a single point and has a very pleased owner. I’m sure Biff would never admit it, but given the same circumstance he would do something more to win. Matt snookered him in the Duel, as he should have, and Biff should have cashed in on Monday (uh Tuesday morning).
I always love comments like the one TC left…
btw- I didnt know TC was Egyptian, or maybe he just lives in denial…. of the fact that we all know, that he knows that NASCAR knows who he is, and he better toe the NASCAR line (kissing ass NASCAR style) or he will feel their boot, as many many have.
Of course Biffle blah blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda, and if you dont believe that then you are crazy, because NASCAR said that.
Be a good NASCAR boy TC…. and all will fine.
Fred: I can assure you of one of two things here. Either NASCAR doesn’t know who I am, or if they do, they have not made it known. So either way, I can write what I want, and how I want. That’s kind of the point of running an anonymous blog. I kind of thought that was pretty evident. Apparently I was wrong. And since you seem to not know a thing about our history, there have been countless times over the last four years we’ve written this blog that we’ve disagreed with NASCAR. The search box and archive links on this very page will provide all the proof of that you’d need.
If you are so against “rigged” America, and it would seem NASCAR, why do you bother to read and comment on a NASCAR blog? The post was written to be a bit polarizing and cause discussion. And clearly it got your goat. Biffle himself said he ran the last two laps at full throttle. I’m not sure what else the guy could have done to win the race. If you are so sure Biffle wasn’t trying to win, why don’t you leave a comment with a well thought out argument as to why you feel the way you do, instead of leaving ignorant comments attacking a website you clearly know nothing about.
And don’t you think that if I was so worried about people disagreeing with me, that I wouldn’t allow reader comments? We’ve always said that if you disagree, fine, no problem. If you want to call me an idiot, I have no problem with that either. But when you do so, you better be ready to back up why you think so. You aren’t the first ignorant commenter I’ve taken on, and you won’t be the last.
I’d have to agree that Jr pushing Biff for 2 entire laps and Biff staying right in Matt’s draft the entire time looked an awful lot like team play.
But then I remembered all of the ways I’ve seen Biffle go backwards after getting to the front and thought, nope, no team play there, it’s just Biffle getting ready to go backwards…A-gain.
Don’t get me wrong, the guy can drive and I’m a definite fan. But “strategery” isn’t his strong suit and I’ve even heard him admit as much in interviews a few times.
… and now for some actual racing!
The weekend is here!
whoooo hooo!!!
-W