Thats right he changed engines and lost the pole.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If Greg Biffle is going to repeat the magic he found at Daytona International last year when he won the Pepsi 400, he's going to have to pass the entire Daytona 500 field to do it.
The pole-winner will be starting from the back of the pack on Sunday after a practice session early Saturday in which he discovered his No. 16 Roush Racing Ford was losing power. The team brought the car in and found a leak in one cylinder.
So while Biffle was on the track in Saturday's rain-hampered Busch Series race, his team was feverishly working to swap engines in his Nextel Cup car.
"It's a two-fold thing; we're glad we found something to cause it not to blow up, but the bad thing is we'll be at the back of the pack," crew chief Doug Richert said. "North pole, South pole, we've got them both covered."
Biffle will run the parade lap in the pole position but will drop to the back of the field before the green flag drops. His misfortune means Dale Earnhardt Jr. will move up to the inside front row spot beside Elliott Sadler, possibly making Junior even more of a favorite to add to DEI's dominance at Daytona.
However, Biffle won the Pepsi 400 after starting 30th and none other than Jeff Gordon said that being on pole for the Daytona 500 is not all it's cracked up to be.
"If there's any race where you don't need to be on the pole, it's this one," Gordon said.
Still, moving from the inside front row to the back of the field is a serious blow to a driver who came to Daytona believing he had a shot to win. The lowest starting position by a Daytona 500 winner is 33rd, that feat being pulled off by Bobby Allison in 1978.
Richert said after Biffle radioed in that he was having trouble finding power in the draft, the team didn't hesitate to pull the engine.
"It's a no-brainer whether it's here or any other racetrack, we're here to finish the race and we had the potential not to finish," Richert said.
Biffle finished 20th last season in the Cup points race when he finished second to Jamie McMurray for the Rookie of the Year award.
Also forced to drop to the back of the field after changing engines were Ryan Newman, Ricky Craven and Derrike Cope. Scott Riggs, who wrecked his primary car in Thursday's qualifying race, also must move back after switching to a backup.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If Greg Biffle is going to repeat the magic he found at Daytona International last year when he won the Pepsi 400, he's going to have to pass the entire Daytona 500 field to do it.
The pole-winner will be starting from the back of the pack on Sunday after a practice session early Saturday in which he discovered his No. 16 Roush Racing Ford was losing power. The team brought the car in and found a leak in one cylinder.
So while Biffle was on the track in Saturday's rain-hampered Busch Series race, his team was feverishly working to swap engines in his Nextel Cup car.
"It's a two-fold thing; we're glad we found something to cause it not to blow up, but the bad thing is we'll be at the back of the pack," crew chief Doug Richert said. "North pole, South pole, we've got them both covered."
Biffle will run the parade lap in the pole position but will drop to the back of the field before the green flag drops. His misfortune means Dale Earnhardt Jr. will move up to the inside front row spot beside Elliott Sadler, possibly making Junior even more of a favorite to add to DEI's dominance at Daytona.
However, Biffle won the Pepsi 400 after starting 30th and none other than Jeff Gordon said that being on pole for the Daytona 500 is not all it's cracked up to be.
"If there's any race where you don't need to be on the pole, it's this one," Gordon said.
Still, moving from the inside front row to the back of the field is a serious blow to a driver who came to Daytona believing he had a shot to win. The lowest starting position by a Daytona 500 winner is 33rd, that feat being pulled off by Bobby Allison in 1978.
Richert said after Biffle radioed in that he was having trouble finding power in the draft, the team didn't hesitate to pull the engine.
"It's a no-brainer whether it's here or any other racetrack, we're here to finish the race and we had the potential not to finish," Richert said.
Biffle finished 20th last season in the Cup points race when he finished second to Jamie McMurray for the Rookie of the Year award.
Also forced to drop to the back of the field after changing engines were Ryan Newman, Ricky Craven and Derrike Cope. Scott Riggs, who wrecked his primary car in Thursday's qualifying race, also must move back after switching to a backup.
Thats very true Mvb, atleast in the past. After seeing that demolition derby they called a truck race, I think the odds of being in a wreck are so high in the back, you gotta put that into consideration.
They interviewed a bunch of drivers in the busch race, including Michael Waltrip, Jason Keller, Bobby Hamilton Jr, Ashton Lewis who all tried a new technique. They purposely slowed way down and got away from the main draft to avoid a wreck.
The theory was, that there was no way they could get to the front before the first big wreck. I think it worked out well for them, well have to see on Monday.
The thing about Biffle and Rousch is, that three times last year Roush trucks changed engines, went to the back, and won the race. Carl Edwards did the same thing last night again, in a Rousch Ford. One of the times they did it last year, Edwards got fined and lost his points because of something illegal.
I heard the reason they changed engines is because they thought they were low on power... It was not a blown engine. It really makes me wonder what they might do to his engine to try to win the Daytona 500...
They interviewed a bunch of drivers in the busch race, including Michael Waltrip, Jason Keller, Bobby Hamilton Jr, Ashton Lewis who all tried a new technique. They purposely slowed way down and got away from the main draft to avoid a wreck.
The theory was, that there was no way they could get to the front before the first big wreck. I think it worked out well for them, well have to see on Monday.
The thing about Biffle and Rousch is, that three times last year Roush trucks changed engines, went to the back, and won the race. Carl Edwards did the same thing last night again, in a Rousch Ford. One of the times they did it last year, Edwards got fined and lost his points because of something illegal.
I heard the reason they changed engines is because they thought they were low on power... It was not a blown engine. It really makes me wonder what they might do to his engine to try to win the Daytona 500...
Cecil nice to see a fellow Nascar lover on here,I was in vegas for the four day test and all I heard was the drivers complain about the new tire Nascar is my bread and butter as far as betting but I am gonna be cautus the first few weeks till they get this new tire figured out but I still have Rusty huge
today
