NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Q & A — Greg Erwin
Greg Erwin has helped Greg Biffle make the Chase for the Sprint Cup three years in a row...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 22, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Crew chief Greg Erwin (Right) has guided Greg Biffle (Left) to considerable success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Greg Erwin, crew chief for Greg Biffle and the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion, is an old-school racer, who got his start racing Late Models in his native Northeast Pennsylvania.

After getting his NASCAR crew chief start with Robby Gordon in May 2005, the Clemson-educated engineer moved to Roush Fenway and Biffle’s team in 2007. With Erwin at the helm, Biffle finished third in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2008 and seventh last year.

Following are Erwin’s thoughts on this year’s title hunt, as well as Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, historically one of the team’s best tracks and a place Biffle has two victories.

WHAT DOES MAKING THE CHASE DO FOR YOUR TEAM MENTALLY KNOWING THAT YOU ARE IN AND CAN NOW REALLY FOCUS ON THESE 10 RACES?
Probably the best part of it is knowing that we have been there three years in a row. Up until the start of the Richmond race, we probably thought we were in better shape than we have been in the last two years as far as how the car was running and being competitive and challenging for wins.

At the end of the day, we should be able to challenge for this championship. The winner of the championship will more than likely be the guy that doesn’t blow engines or get flat tires with 20 laps to go or get speeding penalties. The guy that is going to dodge all the bullets is going to win the championship.

DOES YOUR APPROACH CHANGE BEING IN A CHASE RACE AS OPPOSED TO THE REST OF THE SEASON?
It really doesn’t. We look at these races just like we look at the five or six races leading up to this. We spend a lot of time looking at what we did and what some of our teammates did at the first event at that track.

Kansas is a bit of a wild card because we haven’t been there yet this year, but we also think a few race tracks really apply to Kansas and also Homestead at the end of the year.

There is nothing that we are really doing with the exception of a couple new race cars that we hope will be a little bit better and lighter. We bring those in to start the Chase. We hope to run those cars at five or six Chase events.

Procedurally and personnel-wise, everything is the same. We have the same group of people here and we aren’t bringing any more or less. We are paying attention to all the same things we have paid attention to since the start of the season. This is really just a culmination of how good are you at taking notes and learning from your mistakes. The magic bullets and magic set ups are hard to find. What you try to do is not make mistakes. That is what this is all about.
Greg Biffle has one win this season. (Photo: Getty Images)

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET OFF TO A GOOD START AND TO DO WELL ON SOME OF THE TRACKS YOU KNOW GOING IN MIGHT NOT BE YOUR BEST TRACKS?
Getting off to a good start is very important considering that this Chase season is only 10 races long and it is pretty hard to come back from a bad finish. Every one of them is important and we weigh them all the same. With five or maybe four to go, you will be looking at your top three guys as the serious Chase contenders, so that is where you go with it.

I can’t say that we flip a switch and this is playoff baseball or playoff football and everything we do is different from what we did during the course of the season. What we have been doing all year got us here and we need to play to our strengths and survive the places where maybe we aren’t so strong.

YOU HAVE HAD SOME SUCCESS AT DOVER OVER THE YEARS. HOW MUCH DOES THAT PAST SUCCESS PLAY INTO YOUR MINDSET FOR THIS DOVER RACE AND WHAT DO YOU EXPECT AT DOVER THIS YEAR?
You go there knowing that with five laps to go you should be in a position to win the race. Greg knows it. We went through a stint there about five races over two and a half years where we didn’t finish out of the top five. I think we finished sixth in the spring. We had some troubles early in the race that set us back and we had to come from a long way back. You go there knowing that if you are right and you don’t make a big step in the wrong direction, you should have a shot to win the race. That is hands down that simple.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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