Greg Biffle finished third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Although Auto Club Speedway is two miles long and relatively flat – not really close to other Sprint Cup tracks in its dimensions, how teams perform at the facility this weekend could forecast a lot about their seasons.
The second race of the year – and the first at a non-restrictor plate track – is considered a strong yardstick by many.
“That will really kind of tell the tale of where we’re at and how we’ve done, so as soon as this first practice is over, we’ll have a pretty good idea, and then Sunday with how we race and next week (at Las Vegas Motor Speedway), as well,” Greg Biffle said Friday. “I think we’re all anticipating that – all the teams are. It’s kind of like this is the Daytona 500. Everybody has worked all winter. Everybody has done their best, and now we’re waiting to see how we all stack up.
“I think Sunday will really tell the tale. I felt confident when I was talking earlier that we’ll see a lot of Ford ovals at the front at the end of the day on Sunday. I really feel that way. I feel that there’s gonna be myself, Matt (Kenseth), Carl (Edwards), Kasey (Kahne), AJ (Allmendinger), David (Ragan) – I really do. Elliott (Sadler) has run good here. I think we’re all gonna be there at the end of this thing.”
Biffle started the season in fine style last week, threatening to win the Daytona 500 and ultimately finishing third. He says the first race and the second, though, are similar only in that they both involve race cars.
What’s the difference? “One is like snow skiing, and one is like water skiing,” he said. “It’s the same kind of thing, but completely different. Here, I don’t want to see anybody in front of me, behind me or beside me. You want your car out by yourself. There’s no drafting. There’s no such thing as drafting, except for possibly on the straightaway for a short portion, but when it comes to the majority of this race track, clean air is most important.
“Last week is a little skewed compared to what we do every week.”
Much of the winter was consumed with preparing cars for the spotlighted tests of Daytona, but Biffle said Roush Fenway Racing also has put a lot of effort into the other early weeks of the season.
