BROOKLYN, MICH. (AP) - When drivers discuss the contenders for the Sprint Cup championship, not many are mentioning Greg Biffle. And that’s OK with him.
“That’s good,” Biffle said. “We’ll just do the best we can and we’ll see what happens when we get (to the Chase).”
Biffle, who is just one point behind points leader Jimmie Johnson, said it’s not a sign of disrespect among his fellow drivers.
“It just keeps people from asking me questions,” he said. “Go talk to them about it. It keeps the pressure off of me. We don’t like pressure.”
The Roush Fenway driver has been out of the spotlight this season despite compiling impressive results, including one win, nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes. Biffle is optimistic he can bolster those statistics at Michigan International Speedway, a track where he has had a number of recent miscues such as running out of fuel twice and a botched pit stop.
“That was the old 16 team,” he said. “Now we don’t make those kinds of mistakes anymore. We’re definitely due. We’ll see this Sunday.”
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DEFENDING DANICA: With Danica Patrick slated to drive in seven more Sprint Cup races this year for Stewart-Haas Racing, starting Aug. 25 at Bristol, Tony Stewart said he’s getting nervous because of all the attention she is getting.
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” said Stewart, who co-owns Patrick’s Sprint Cup car. “It’s great from a publicity side. I don’t know how she handles it. But it’s making me nervous having to talk about her all the time, let alone that she’s the one that actually has to do it.”
Stewart said he wishes the media and fans would not put so much focus on her.
“I’ll be honest. I wish everybody would get off her back and just let her go racing and let her learn,” he said. “Everybody’s put so much pressure on her and so much focus on her.”
Patrick has three starts this season in a Sprint Cup car, with her best finish being 29th in the season-opening Daytona 500. In 22 Nationwide Series races this year for JR Motorsports, she has only one top-10 finish.
What advice has Stewart told the former IndyCar driver?
“Go out and learn,” he said. “That’s exactly what I told her. It’s not been rocket science. The biggest thing is every lap you run in a car, the better you’re going to get and the more you are going to learn.”
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NEW WEBSITE: Jimmie Johnson has launched a new website that will serve as a one-stop shop for fans searching online about the current Sprint Cup points leader.
“We worked really hard to focus on the fan experience,” Johnson said. “It really combined the social involvement I have and creates a reason for fans to come back to my website daily.”
The site, https://www.JimmieJohnson.com, features a home page filled with a mix of content, including tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram images and race-related information from fans and Johnson.
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