CONCORD, N.C. –Given the importance of track position for the final 10-lap segment of Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race, drivers are unlikely to take tires during a mandatory pit stop before the dash for the $1 million top prize.
Greg Biffle says he expects the winner of the race to come from the first three rows on the final restart — whether a driver has new rubber or not.
“There’s no mystery to what’s going to happen,” Biffle said Friday. “Track position is what’s going to win the race, and we’ll see what this track thinks of new tires. As the track ages, as the tire is maybe a little bit different . . . the same tire, but maybe it acts a little different on the racetrack — so after 20 laps, we’ll see how important a new tire is.
“Maybe it doesn’t really matter that much, so we’ll have some practice and a little bit of the race to figure that out — but you’ve got to be at the front at the end. You’re not going to win from the fourth, fifth or sixth row just because you have new tires, I don’t think. Anything can happen, but it’s going to be track position, and maybe it’s two tires, maybe it’s no tires (on the final stop).”
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.
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