Over the past several years, multiple longtime NASCAR drivers have had ballyhooed final seasons and retirement tours, with plenty of bouquets thrown at their feet on their way out. That's not quite Greg Biffle's style.
Although he stopped racing in NASCAR full-time at the end of the 2016 season, Biffle never actually retired. After a few years of toiling in mid-pack, Biffle opted to walk away from the full-time Cup ride he long held at what is now RFK Racing in favor of a better opportunity -- whenever that came about.
"It wasn't my goal in racing was show up at each race and try and be on the lead lap at the end of it. I didn't want to do that anymore," Biffle said Thursday. "I want to win, and if I don't feel like I have the opportunity, if that truck inside that trailer going to the racetrack I don't think I can win with it ... We knew we were beat before we left the shop, and I'd had enough of that. Unfortunately that's when I decided to walk away.
"I always said with the right opportunity I'd come back, or a situation like this where a guy needs a hand up and they want to start a new team, and if I feel like I can help them, I would come back and see if I can."
It took six years, and it took Biffle turning from a NASCAR star into a semi-occasional racer in his early fifties, but on Thursday night he signaled his triumphant return to the NASCAR Cup Series by qualifying for the Daytona 500. Biffle is now the oldest driver in the field at 52, and he has an upstart race team.
In a deal that came together late in the offseason, Biffle jumped on board to give NY Racing and car owner Jonathan Cohen an assist in building their program. The team's car, prepared by Richard Childress Racing with a Hendrick engine, was more than adequate to make the starting field. Biffle was able to hang with the lead pack throughout his Duel qualifying race, finishing 14th and making the starting field despite fueling issues.
In making the field for the Great American Race, Biffle's race team has already accomplished a great deal. Biffle himself, though, isn't set to be satisfied with just that.
When Biffle has raced over the past several years, he's made it resoundingly clear and obvious that he still has what it takes. He won a one-off Truck Series race for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2019 and was competitive in a limited scheduled of SRX racing last summer. As he entertains the prospect of more races this season, Biffle stated that his objective will be to make sure NY Racing has what it takes to put their best foot forward competitively.
"I certainly don't want to come and run 38th and try and stay out of the way. I've already done that before at different times in my career," Biffle said. "If we can get a program put together, get the proper alliance with some teams, get some help -- which I have to say Chevy and RCR and Hendrick have been a huge help to this team so far ... It's really up in the air.
"I know it's difficult to get cars and parts, so every team is facing that, so it's kind of a waiting game, wait and see. I'm willing to continue to try and help them if we can put the right program together."
Biffle will now compete in his 15th Daytona 500, a race where he has competed for the win on multiple occasions. During a stretch in the early 2010s, he finished third twice after contending for the win on the final lap in 2010 and 2012. Biffle was also the polesitter for the 2004 Daytona 500.
