Chase Capsules: Greg Biffle - MotorSportsTalk

16 – Greg Biffle
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Crew Chief: Matt Puccia
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Best Finish: 2nd (2005)
Chase History: 7th Chase Appearance, Best finish of 2nd in 2005

Regular Season Recap: Three top-five finishes and 10 top-10s through the first 26 races are not stellar numbers, but prior to Greg Biffle’s 19th at Richmond Saturday night he had banked five top-10s in a r0w, so there was some upward momentum the last month or so. Biffle could afford to qualify better – he only has six top-10 starts this year – and that would help the No. 16 team on race days as well. He hasn’t won this year but was still one of three drivers to make it on points.

Chris’ Take: His strong run of Top-10 finishes ended last night at Richmond, but despite a sub-par race, Biffle managed to hold on to the final Chase spot by seven points. The good news for him is that he’s shown he can be consistent enough to at least escape the Challenger Round. The bad news is that his Roush Fenway Racing team is still a step or two behind the Hendrick, Penske, and Gibbs camps. Getting bounced in the Contender Round appears likely.

Jerry’s Take: Biffle has a history of rising to the occasion in the Chase. Remember the year he won the first two races in the playoffs (2008)? But The Biff will not have an easy time of it in this year’s Chase. Sure, he had five top-10 finishes prior to Richmond, but 2014 has been a year of constant struggles — not only for him but also for Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Biffle has the talent to pull off a surprise or two in the Chase, but with the way Team Penske has been far outperforming RFR, don’t be surprised to see Biffle and Edwards have quick exits from the Chase.

Tony’s Take: It’s hard for me to see Biffle doing too much beyond advancing through the Challenger round, if that. As mentioned above, he’s been decent, but it will take a hot streak to make noise in this Chase. He was the 16th man in… he drives No. 16… it’s hard to see the finish much better than that. He is a three-time winner at Homestead, so if he does advance beyond projections, he could play spoiler.

Greg Biffle’s Career Statistics at Chase Tracks
Chicagoland (1.5 mile) – No wins, 1 Top-5, 1 Top-10 in 11 starts
New Hampshire (1 mile) – One win, 6 Top-5s, 9 Top-10s in 24 starts
Dover (1 mile) – Two wins, 6 Top-5s, 11 Top-10s in 24 starts
Kansas (1.5 mile) – Two wins, 7 Top-5s, 9 Top-10s in 16 starts
Charlotte (1.5 mile) – No wins, 5 Top-5s, 8 Top-10s in 23 starts
Talladega (2.66 mile) – No wins, 3 Top-5s, 6 Top-10s in 23 starts
Martinsville (half-mile) – No wins, no Top-5s, 5 Top-10s in 23 starts
Texas (1.5-mile) – Two wins, 8 Top-5s, 13 Top-10s in 21 starts
Phoenix (1 mile) – No wins, 5 Top-5s, 7 Top-10s in 21 starts
Homestead-Miami (1.5 mile) – 3 wins, 4 Top-5s, 5 Top-10s in 12 starts

Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers — *Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports*

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

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Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points

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