What a Comeback!--Greg Biffle Wins Texas Truck Race

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FORT WORTH, TX - RIS - Greg Biffle, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Champion and NASCAR Xfinity champion, came back to the track Friday night to win the SpeedyCash.com 400.  It was his first NASCAR race since leaving Roush Fenway Racing in 2016.  He survived a 13-caution race to gain the checkered flag. Diving for Kyle Busch Racings No. 51 truck, he helf off a charging Matt Crafton for the win.

“It means a lot to me,” Biffle said. “There’s a lot of competitive trucks here. These guys [in the pits] make the difference. I don’t even know what to say. This truck was really fast. It took me a little bit.”

“It was not easy,.  I had my work cut out for me. At the beginning of the race, so much odd stuff happened. We ran five laps at a time and then the caution would come out. There was a lot of people wrecking in front of me and behind me. I was just trying to keep the truck clean and stay out of trouble. Then we got four-wide off of turn 2, and I didn’t know you could do that here.

“We beat the fenders in a bit, but the Mobil 1 Toyota ran really good tonight. I want to thank those guys for coming on board and helping us. Kyle Busch assembles a great group of guys. The pit stops were phenomenal. Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) did a great job calling the race from the top of the box. It’s not easy to win these, but I can see how Kyle has done very well.”

It marked the sixth time in nine races the No. 51 Toyota has won this year, with Busch winning five times.

Biffle survived the record-setting 13 cautions and then won a 10-lap duel against veteran Crafton for his first Truck Series win since 2001. That was the last time Biffle ran full-time in the Trucks and the Monster Energy NASCAR driver had raced just one time in the series in the last 18 years.

“I needed a few more,” Crafton said. 

It’s the only scheduled start of the year for the 49-year-old Biffle, who also won the Truck Series at TMS in June 2000. It was the fourth win for Biffle at TMS, who also won twice in the Cup series.

Tyler Ankrum, who graduated from high school at the track before the race, finished third.

Biffle’s win came on a night when only 18 of the 32 trucks were running at the end of the 167-lap race, with just nine on the lead lap.

Johnny Sauter, who has five TMS wins including last spring’s race, won the first stage but his chances at winning No. 6 came to an end early in Stage 2. After getting shuffled back during the pit stops after the stage, Austin Hill got loose inside Sauter and sent him into the wall in Turn 4.

It’s the only scheduled start of the year for the 49-year-old Biffle, who also won the Truck Series at TMS in June 2000. It was the fourth win for Biffle at TMS, who also won twice in the Cup series.

Tyler Ankrum, who graduated from high school at the track before the race, finished third.

Biffle’s win came on a night when only 18 of the 32 trucks were running at the end of the 167-lap race, with just nine on the lead lap.

Johnny Sauter, who has five TMS wins including last spring’s race, won the first stage but his chances at winning No. 6 came to an end early in Stage 2. After getting shuffled back during the pit stops after the stage, Austin Hill got loose inside Sauter and sent him into the wall in Turn 4.

That dropped Sauter – one of just four Gander Outdoor Truck Series regulars to win this year – out of contention as he finished 13th.

Polesitter Todd Gilliland’s bid for his first Trucks win also came to an end in Stage 2. Gilliand led 31 laps and got loose while running first. He hit the wall, ending the night for the No. 4 Toyota.

It was a triumphant victory for Biffle-winner of 17 truck races, 20 Xfinity races, and 19 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races. 

Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race Number 9
Race Results for the 23rd Annual SpeedyCash.com 400 - Friday, June 7, 2019
Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX - 1.5 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 167 Laps - 250.5 Miles

Stage 2 Pos
Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 6 51 Greg Biffle Toyota Toyota 167 6 45 Running 2 18 5
2 10 88 Matt Crafton Chi-Chi's/Menards Ford 167 5 8 44 Running
3 8 17 Tyler Ankrum # RAILBLAZA Toyota 167 34 Running 1 9
4 3 98 Grant Enfinger ProtectTheHarvest.com Ford 167 3 4 48 Running 2 44
5 11 18 Harrison Burton # Safelite AutoGlass Toyota 167 10 3 41 Running
6 7 2 Sheldon Creed Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet 167 8 10 35 Running 1 5
7 18 30 Brennan Poole Bad Boy Mowers Toyota 167 5 36 Running
8 5 16 Austin Hill Ennis Steel Toyota 167 2 38 Running 1 34
9 20 04 Cory Roper Preferred Industrial Contractors Inc Ford 167 28 Running
10 15 38 Ross Chastain Niece Equipment Chevrolet 166 4 7 38 Running
11 4 24 Brett Moffitt Central Plains Cement Company Chevrolet 166 26 Running
12 13 15 Anthony Alfredo # STEELSMITH/Friends of Jacelyn Toyota 166 25 Running 1 3
13 2 13 Johnny Sauter Tenda Heal Ford 166 1 34 Running 1 3 1
14 23 33 Josh Reaume Colonial Countertops Chevrolet 166 23 Running
15 28 3 Jordan Anderson Bommarito.com/Lucas Oil Chevrolet 165 9 24 Running
16 29 34 Scott Stenzel Personal Comfort Chevrolet 165 21 Running
17 31 6 Norm Benning H & H Transport Chevrolet 164 20 Running
18 30 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet 162 19 Running
19 19 22 Austin Wayne Self SrghmSmrtChce/GOTEXAN Chevrolet 136 18 Electrical
20 14 52 Stewart Friesen Halmar International Chevrolet 117 2 26 Suspension
21 22 99 Ben Rhodes Carolina Nut Ford 104 1 26 Transmission 2 20 1
22 32 54 Natalie Decker # N29 Technologies LLC Toyota 95 15 Accident
23 27 20 Spencer Boyd ClickandBuyGuns.com Chevrolet 95 14 Accident
24 24 14 Trey Hutchens III HntzPrfrmnc/TmTXPrfrmDvgSchl Chev 95 13 Accident
25 12 02 Tyler Dippel # LOBAS! Productions Chevrolet 89 6 9 19 Accident
26 26 8 Anthony Mrakovich Nemco Chevrolet 85 11 Brakes
27 1 4 Todd Gilliland Mobil 1 Toyota 69 7 14 Accident 2 31
28 21 87 Joe Nemechek Romco Equipment Chevrolet 48 9 Vibration
29 25 44 Angela Ruch The Ruch Life Chevrolet 33 8 Accident
30 16 9 Codie Rohrbaugh Grant County Mulch Chevrolet 27 7 Accident
31 9 45 Kyle Benjamin Spray-on.com Chevrolet 20 6 Accident
32 17 12 Gus Dean # Basin Pump Down Services Chevrolet 10 5 Accident
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 29 Mins, 39 Secs. Average Speed: 100.434 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.963 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 13, 16, 98, 38, 88, 02, 4, 2, 3, 18
Stage 2 Top 10: 99, 52, 18, 98, 30, 51, 38, 88, 02, 2
Race Comments: Greg Biffle won the Speedycash.com 400 at Texas Motor Superspeedway, his 17th NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory. Prior to the start of the race the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: #52 (backup truck) and #54 (unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: (1) 25 Ted Minor.
Caution Flags: 13 for 63 laps; Laps: 12-17 (#12 Incident Backstretch [None]); 22-25 (#45 Incident Turn 1 [17]); 29-32 (#9 Incident Backstretch [17]); 35-38 (#44 Incident Turn 2 [Red Flag - 1:16] [None]); 42-46 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]); 58-62 (#13, 16 Incident Turn 4 [None]); 65-68 (#04 Incident Turn 2 [13]); 70-74 (#4 Incident Turn 2 [13]); 81-87 (#3 Spin Turn 2 (Concludes Stage 2) [13]); 91-94 (#02 Incident Turn 2 [17]); 97-103 (#04, 14, 18, 20, 54, 99 Incident Backstretch [17]); 109-112 (#52 Incident Turn 2 [3]); 154-157 (#22 Stalled Turn 2 [16]).
Lead Changes: 12 among 9 drivers; T. Gilliland 1-5; G. Enfinger 6-39; J. Sauter 40-42; T. Gilliland 43-68; B. Rhodes 69-83; S. Creed 84-88; B. Rhodes 89-93; G. Enfinger 94-103; G. Biffle 104-108; A. Alfredo # 109-111; A. Hill 112-145; T. Ankrum # 146-154; G. Biffle 155-167.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: June 15, 2019 - Iowa Speedway