Greg Biffle’s crew chief welcomes new daughter

Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Ortho Ford, looks on in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 3, 2015 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Ortho Ford, looks on in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 3, 2015 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Ortho Ford, looks on in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 3, 2015 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

DOVER, Del. – Matt Puccia, crew chief for Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle, wasn’t at Dover International Speedway on Friday. Then again, with rain washing out all track activity at the Monster Mile, there wasn’t a compelling reason for Puccia to be there.

But Puccia had much more important business at hand—witnessing the birth of daughter Kennedy Harper Puccia in Mooresville, N.C., where he drove from Dover on Thursday night after wife Alyssa went into labor.

RFR Sprint Cup team manager Kevin Kidd filled in for Puccia during two abbreviated Sprint Cup practice sessions on Saturday. It will be Puccia’s decision whether to return for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at the Monster Mile.

“I tried to leave them at peace and let them get through the baby being born, but since then, we’ve talked a couple of times, and it will probably be a Sunday morning game-time decision, and I’m leaving it completely in Matt’s hands,” Kidd said.

“If he wants to come up and do the race tomorrow, then we’ll certainly welcome him. As a company, we’d love to have in back, but we also want to be respectful and do the right thing as an employer and give him some time to be with his family right now.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.