Greg Biffle will return to NASCAR Thursday as he shakes down a truck during Gander Outdoors Truck Series practice at Texas Motor Speedway. The 49-year-old, who has not raced in NASCAR since the end of 2016, will then return in a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck when the Gander Trucks returns to the Lone Star State in June.
Biffle teased via Twitter on Wednesday night he will shake down the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 Toyota during Thursday’s practice sessions. Thursday KBM announced his return to race and the practice session Thursday are in order to get some laps before his full-blown return for the June race.
“I’ve always said that I would return to NASCAR in the right situation and when Kyle and I started talking about that KBM needed a driver for the June Texas race, I felt like this was the right opportunity to return to the track. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be able to drive such good equipment,” Biffle said in a team release. “I started my career in the Truck Series and it was one of the greatest times of my life, so it’s going to be a lot of fun to get back behind the wheel of a truck.”
Team owner Kyle Busch also will practice Thursday, and he still will drive the No. 51 this weekend in Friday night’s Vankor 350 (9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch has won all three of his starts in the Gander Trucks this season.
Biffle is no stranger to the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, either. He scored 16 of his 55 NASCAR national series victories in the series and won the 2000 championship.
“As we were putting the finishing touches on our driver lineup for this year, we found ourselves looking for someone to drive the No. 51 Tundra in the June race and we are fortunate to be putting a driver of Greg’s caliber behind the wheel,” Busch said in a team release. “I’ve been friends with Greg for a long time and we’ve always joked about how it would be cool for him to drive trucks again. When this opportunity came about the talks got serious and we both decided it was smart decision. Not only is he capable of stepping right in and getting another win for the No. 51 team as we work towards the Owner’s Championship, he will also be an experienced teammate for Harrison (Burton) and Todd (Gilliland) to lean on that weekend as they try to secure a spot in the playoffs and pursue another Truck Series Driver’s Championship for our organization.”
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.
- Hamlin: ‘We just couldn’t get it going’ - April 14, 2024
- Finally: Chase Elliott wins at Texas in a double overtime finish - April 14, 2024
- Photos: NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday April 14, 2024 - April 14, 2024