Saturday Daytona Notebook

Saturday Daytona Notebook

Notebook Items:

·        Fennig's experience is Biffle's secret weapon

·        A rough day at Daytona for Joe Gibbs Racing

·        Daniel Suarez applauds NASCAR safety after wild ride

July 2, 2016

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Fennig's experience is Biffle's secret weapon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – To those in the know, Greg Biffle’s pole run for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 (at 7:45 p.m. ET on NBC) wasn’t a surprise.

One of the primary reasons for Roush Fenway Racing’s resurgence at restrictor-plate tracks is the work of Jimmy Fennig, who was Kurt Busch’s crew chief when Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title in 2004.

Fennig now oversees the RFR plate program, and Biffle credits the veteran with the pole-winning performance during Friday’s time trials.

“Jimmy Fennig is heading up our restrictor-plate program, and this is a testament to his work,” Biffle said. “Back when we had really fast restrictor-plate cars three or four or five years ago—maybe more than that, as I am dating myself now—Matt Puccia (Biffle’s former crew chief) was heading up the restrictor-plate program. We have two really good technical guys back there working night and day, working their guts out to get us the fastest cars that (they) can.

“You take guys like that and put them in charge of a program, and it shows that they are going to get every ounce of speed out of the car that they can. We are on the receiving end of that. We are thankful that Jimmy is back there and Doug Yates and the engine department, looking for half or one horsepower here at these tracks that makes a difference. All those little things add up.”

A ROUGH DAY AT DAYTONA FOR JOE GIBBS RACING

Friday was a rough day for Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas, and the bad luck continued from morning to night.

In opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, Kyle Busch cut a right rear tire and nosed into the outside SAFER barrier near the exit from Turn 2 at Daytona International Speedway.

In Saturday night’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race, the No. 19 Toyota Camry of Daniel Suarez and the No. 20 of Erik Jones were involved in an early melee on the backstretch, and both sustained significant damage.

The No. 18 driven by David Ragan in place of Matt Tifft (who was undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from his brain) was destroyed in an accident during overtime in Friday night’s event.

For Busch, there was time for a turnaround. In a backup car with absolutely no laps on the 2.5-mile track, he qualified third for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400.

“Car felt good,” Busch said after the final round of time trials. “Everything about this Interstate Batteries Camry felt just like the primary car, so I’m real excited about that and the preparation and the skill that these guys have here in preparing great race cars for me.

“I’m optimistic about (Saturday) night. It doesn’t necessarily matter where you start. Certainly, this is just all about pit selection and being able to hopefully have a good night.”

Jones likewise managed to reverse his fortunes. He regained a lost lap and salvaged a 10th-place finish.

Ragan, on the other hand, had no time to recover. His wreck triggered the caution that ended the race moments later.

DANIEL SUAREZ APPLAUDS NASCAR SAFETY AFTER WILD RIDE

But it was Suarez, the XFINITY Series leader, who got the worst of a day that will keep fabricators working around the clock.

The early wreck ruined the handling of his No. 19 car, and on Lap 49, Suarez paid the price when his Camry veered out of control on the backstretch and plowed into the inside SAFER barrier.

“Pretty much everything started the first 15 laps,” Suarez said. “Before the competition caution (originally scheduled for Lap 15), everyone was racing crazy in the back straightaway. A bunch of cars wrecked.

“My car wasn’t right after that. The car was super tight, and I wasn’t able to go anywhere, and that point (on Lap 49), I had a car really close to my right side and he didn’t know it but when I had a car very close to my right side, it was getting super tight and that’s exactly what happened.

“I was just trying to turn the wheel. I feel like I barely touched him and then I went around. I guess that’s how it works sometimes in superspeedways.”

Suarez finished 31st and lost all but six points of his series lead over second-place Elliott Sadler. The only bright spot was that he escaped a wreck without injury.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Suarez said. “NASCAR does a very good job with safety on these cars, and I’m fine.”