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Greg Biffle was once considered one of the primary drivers in the cup series, but that was prior to Matt Kenseth leaving RFR at end of 2012 season. Ever since Kenseth's depart from the organization, the performance haven't been there for RFR. Outside of some decent races, I cannot really say that RFR have even been that competitive over the past three seasons. Biff is stage of his career where he is no longer that ''guy'' of the organization. I think age is becoming a factor and the fact that RFR doesn't have the horsepower advantage anymore, I believe his best days are behind him. I think the championship window has closed on Biffle and quite frankly the win window will probably close up too soon. If it haven't already. At age 47, you cannot really expect anything top 20s and maybe some top 15 finishes at most tracks.
I would consider the Plate tracks to be one of his better type of racetrack. I would say Daytona more specifically though. Last season at Daytona, he compiled 15.0 average finish, 16.5 average start, 19.0 average running position and 80.6 driver rating. I wouldn't say that Greg been great here over the past few seasons, but he have three top 20s in his past 4 starts. And 2 of those three races have ended inside the top 10. I would say that Talladega have been tougher on him than Daytona though. Over the past 4 races at Talladega, he have compiled 21.0 average finish, 24.5 average start, 21.0 average running position and 74.2 driver rating. Looking deeper into his Talladega finishes, he have finished 4 of his last 6 races in 20th or worse. Including finishes of 25th, 36th and 37th. On the plus side he did finish 2nd in 2014 though. I am not going to talk much about the plate tracks and bore you with all these stats. Because quite frankly there really isn't enough relevant data to go on. I view Daytona and Talladega as separate racetracks (even though both are restrictor plates), so we cannot combine data like we do at the flats, shorts and intermediate tracks to get a larger data pool. I think he will fine on the plates and probably still considered one of the better plate racer. However I don't think we will see him up front battling for the lead, like we use to see though. I expect at best teen finishes from him and that if he isn't involved in the big one either.
Larger Flats will likely be the type track that his best finishes comes at. Last season at Pocono and Indy, he compiled 12.0 average finish, 24.0 average start, 17.7 average running position and 78.9 driver rating. I would say that Pocono is his best track overall recently. Over the past 4 races at Pocono, he have compiled 8.5 average finish, 26.0 average start, 17.0 average running position and 83.3 driver rating. In those 4 races, he have finishes of 5th, 12th, 5th and 16th. Both of his top 5 finishes have came in the August races though. He been very strong in the last 6 August races at Pocono, dating back to the 2010 season. In the past 6 August races, he have compiled 7.3 average finish (Series-best), 15.0 average start, 12.7 average running position (7th-best) and 95.2 driver rating (6th-best). He also the only driver to post 5 top 10 finishes in that span and the only driver to finish all 6 races inside the top 15. Let look at more recent data at Pocono during the August races. Over the past two seasons, he have compiled 5.0 average finish, 25.0 average start, 15.5 average running position and 87.3 driver rating. It may surprise people that his 15.5 ARP (Average running position) ranked 9th best over the past two August races. And his 87.3 driver rating ranks as 12th-best in the series. He been pretty solid at Indy as well. Over the past two seasons, he have compiled 16.0 average finish, 19.5 average start, 19.5 average running position and 71.1 driver rating. In last season's race, he finished 19th. In 2014, he finished 13th and in 2013 he finished 24th. Prior to that, I would have considered this one of Greg's best tracks. In 13 career starts, he have 13.6 average finish with 6 Top 8 finishes. None coming since 2012 though. I think the decreased in performance have really killed his fantasy value at Indy. I don't really see him as a contender at Indy and probably will only be good for a middle-teen finish most likely.
Shorter flats was a place that he struggled on in 2015. Last season on the shorter flats, he compiled 20.8 average finish, 19.5 average start, 21.3 average running position and 69.9 driver rating. He didn't really perform well on either racetrack. I would say he little better at New Hampshire than Phoenix. At New Hampshire over the past 4 races, he have compiled 15.5 average finish, 23.0 average start, 22.8 average running position and 68.9 driver rating. He finished 4th and 27th last season. His 4th place finish last fall by far his best performance during the past two seasons. In that event, he started 25th, finished 4th, held 17.0 average running position and 88.2 driver rating. His in-race performance was much better, but cannot really say he deserved that 88.2 driver rating. He just happen to be in the right place at the right time when the cautions flew. His average running position for the race tells me he wasn't good. Top 20 at best probably. At the same time, his numbers haven't been bad at New Hampshire overall. 3 of his past 4 races have ended inside the top 15. In those 3 races he have finished inside the top 15, he have compiled 11.7 average finish, 26.0 average start, 21.7 average running position, and 72.9 driver rating. In 2014 at New Hampshire, he compiled 15.5 average finish, 26.5 average start, 24.0 average running position and 65.3 driver rating. His 4th place finish last fall there, really helped his stats overall. But honestly he haven't been that good. At Phoenix, he been probably worse. Especially last season! Over the past 4 races at Phoenix, he have compiled 19.5 average finish, 18.3 average start, 19.0 average running position, and 72.3 driver rating. He was bad last season at Phoenix though. He compiled 26.0 average finish with 21.0 average running position and 67.4 driver rating. Last Spring at Phoenix, he wasn't good in either race really. He only completed 6% of that race inside the top 15 and finished 27th. For the event, he probably had a low-20 car I would say. Last fall at Phoenix, the race was cut short because of rain. Regardless, he wasn't that good anyhow. He finished 25th and probably had a low-20 type car for the entire event. He never once cracked the top 15 in the race and pretty much stayed in the lower 20s.
Road course should be a type racetrack that he will perform well at. Last season he was solid at both road courses. He was strong at Sonona, but finished 27th. I believe he was running well in the teens when he made contact with someone, if I remember right it was Danica Patrick. In last season's race, he started 22nd, finished 27th, held average running position 16.0 average running position and 67.5 driver rating. Over the past two races at Sonoma, he have compiled 18.0 average finish, 20.5 average start, 15.0 average running position and 76.9 driver rating. Prior to last season's 27th place disappointing result, he have finished 11th or better in previous 7 of 9 Sonoma races. I expect results in the middle to high teens at Sonoma. Based on his performance over the past few seasons over Sonoma. At Watkin Glenn last season he finished 14th, but he had very high teen to low-20 type car for the event. He held 24.0 average running position and only completed 21% of the laps inside the top 15. Over the past two seasons, he have compiled 11.0 average finish, 26.5 average start, 19.0 average running position and 79.8 driver rating. He have finished 16th or better in every race at Watkin Glenn, dating back to the 2012 season. At Watkin Glenn, I expect him to finish somewhere between 13th-17th place probably. I think he will be solid on the road courses overall.
Intermediate racetracks was once considered a major strength for Biffle, however the recent downside of RFR have damaged Biff's performance. Even though he will have solid finishes from time to time. There a few tracks that I want to look deeper into. The first racetrack that I want to look at is Kansas. I think Kansas is one of his best tracks on the schedule and I believe this is a track where he still hold solid fantasy value at. Over the past 4 races at Kansas, he have compiled 15.3 average finish, 12.8 average start, 17.0 average running position and 76.7 driver rating. When I look at his track record at Kansas, it hard to not be impressed since joining RFR. Dating back to 2003 (18 races ago), he have finished 17 of those 18 races inside the top 19. His lone non-top 19? All the way back in 2012, where he finished 27th (40 laps down). More recently, I am want to look at his numbers over the past two season (4 races). Over the past 4 races at Kansas, he have compiled 15.0 average finish, 10.0 average start, 17.0 average running position and 76.8 driver rating. In that 4-race span, he have finishes of 17th, 12th (2015) and 15th, 16 (2014). What I like most about Greg's recent numbers? He is consistent. I think that is one of the things I am looking for in Greg in terms of fantasy value. We cannot depend on the big time performances anymore, so we have to solely depend on consistency. At Kansas, I do believe he will have that and finish somewhere in the low to middle teens. The 2nd racetrack, I want to look at is Texas. I think Texas is one of the few venues that Greg still have solid fantasy value at. I don't expect him to be the driver he was 5 years ago here, but I do expect him to be a top 20 contender though. Over the past 6 races at Texas, he have compiled 11.8 average finish, 17.8 average start, 14.7 average running position and 84.1 driver rating. Those are some strong numbers but I think they are a bit misleading though. April 2013 (4th place finish) and April 2014 (6th place finish) really helped pad his stats. So lets look at last season (2015) data instead. Last season at Texas, he have compiled 18.0 average finish, 15.5 average start, 18.5 average running position and 71.1 driver rating. Obviously those aren't great numbers, but like I mentioned earlier. It really not about volume, its rather about quantity. I think he will be inconsistent on the intermediate racetracks in general in 2016. Personally I don't think he will hold a lot of value on the intermediate tracks because of his lack of speed and flashness to fantasy players. However when he does it will be at tracks that he have had recent success at. At this point, I think we can throw away any data prior to 2013. I think RFR is a much different organization right now. So the data over the past few season is much more relevant to us.
Short Tracks were nightmarish for the Biff last season. He was absolutely just horrible. In 2015 on the short tracks, he compiled 25.3 average finish, 28.3 average start, 25.8 average running position and 59.1 driver rating. In 6 races on short tracks last season, he only had one top 20 finish and only 3 top 25 finishes. His best finish on the short track last season was 19th at Martinsville and that not really saying too much honestly. When your best finish is 19th out of 6 races, it pretty and. But on the positive side, he did perform well at the short tracks in 2013 and 2014 though. At Martinsville he been pretty competitive prior to last season. Over the past 6 races, he have compiled 15.7 average finish, 22.8 average start, 18.3 average running position and 76.1 driver rating. Last season he had finishes of 19th and 26th. In 2014, he had finishes of 18th and 13th. And in 2013, he had finishes of 9th and 9th once again. The fact that he finished 3 of the past 4 races (dating back to 2014) in the teens gives me a pretty good idea what he is capable of realistically. I would say it very likely that he finishes somewhere in the high teens to low 20s at Martinsville. At Bristol, he struggled last season pretty bad as well. In 2015 at Bristol, he compiled 27.5 average finish, 25.0 average start, 24.5 average running position and 64.7 driver rating. Last season he had finishes of 25th and 30th. In 2014, he had finishes of 10th and 12th though. Which is encouraging considering this use to be a great track for him. In 26 career races, he have managed 13.1 average finish with 13 Top 10s and 21 Top 20 finishes. I would say Richmond is his worst of the short tracks. Over the past 6 races at Richmond, he have compiled 22.3 average finish, 25.8 average start, 21.5 average running position and 67.9 driver rating. Last season he had finishes 31st and 21st. Last season he struggled overall and wasn't ever a contender for a top 20. In 2015 at Richmond, he compiled 26.0 average finish, 35.0 average start, 28.5 average running position and 50.9 driver rating. In previous 4 races prior to last season, he had finishes of 19th, 15th (2014) and 12th, 36th (2013). I expect a high-teen to low-20 finish from Biff at short tracks.
Let wrap this preview up, I think Biff will be a decent driver in 2016. However I think he will lack speed on most race weekends. And that will makes him a high-teen to low-20s on the average race weekend. I think he will be strongest on the larger flats and road courses. He will hold a little fantasy value on the shorter flats and plates, but not enough to be a consistent threat for fantasy players. I think he will perform decently on the shorter flats, but I am not expecting to be blown away. He could be a solid fantasy pick on intermediate tracks, but RFR's performance level in 2016 will really be the main factor in his potential. I think if RFR can improve in 2016, then Biff will be the most beneficial of the three drivers running full-time. But as of right now, I don't expect for that to occur though. I don't see him contending for nothing beyond top 20 finishes most weekends. Even though he still should have enough upside to grab some top 15 finishes.
Twitter - @JeffNathans
Greg Biffle was once considered one of the primary drivers in the cup series, but that was prior to Matt Kenseth leaving RFR at end of 2012 season. Ever since Kenseth's depart from the organization, the performance haven't been there for RFR. Outside of some decent races, I cannot really say that RFR have even been that competitive over the past three seasons. Biff is stage of his career where he is no longer that ''guy'' of the organization. I think age is becoming a factor and the fact that RFR doesn't have the horsepower advantage anymore, I believe his best days are behind him. I think the championship window has closed on Biffle and quite frankly the win window will probably close up too soon. If it haven't already. At age 47, you cannot really expect anything top 20s and maybe some top 15 finishes at most tracks.
I would consider the Plate tracks to be one of his better type of racetrack. I would say Daytona more specifically though. Last season at Daytona, he compiled 15.0 average finish, 16.5 average start, 19.0 average running position and 80.6 driver rating. I wouldn't say that Greg been great here over the past few seasons, but he have three top 20s in his past 4 starts. And 2 of those three races have ended inside the top 10. I would say that Talladega have been tougher on him than Daytona though. Over the past 4 races at Talladega, he have compiled 21.0 average finish, 24.5 average start, 21.0 average running position and 74.2 driver rating. Looking deeper into his Talladega finishes, he have finished 4 of his last 6 races in 20th or worse. Including finishes of 25th, 36th and 37th. On the plus side he did finish 2nd in 2014 though. I am not going to talk much about the plate tracks and bore you with all these stats. Because quite frankly there really isn't enough relevant data to go on. I view Daytona and Talladega as separate racetracks (even though both are restrictor plates), so we cannot combine data like we do at the flats, shorts and intermediate tracks to get a larger data pool. I think he will fine on the plates and probably still considered one of the better plate racer. However I don't think we will see him up front battling for the lead, like we use to see though. I expect at best teen finishes from him and that if he isn't involved in the big one either.
Larger Flats will likely be the type track that his best finishes comes at. Last season at Pocono and Indy, he compiled 12.0 average finish, 24.0 average start, 17.7 average running position and 78.9 driver rating. I would say that Pocono is his best track overall recently. Over the past 4 races at Pocono, he have compiled 8.5 average finish, 26.0 average start, 17.0 average running position and 83.3 driver rating. In those 4 races, he have finishes of 5th, 12th, 5th and 16th. Both of his top 5 finishes have came in the August races though. He been very strong in the last 6 August races at Pocono, dating back to the 2010 season. In the past 6 August races, he have compiled 7.3 average finish (Series-best), 15.0 average start, 12.7 average running position (7th-best) and 95.2 driver rating (6th-best). He also the only driver to post 5 top 10 finishes in that span and the only driver to finish all 6 races inside the top 15. Let look at more recent data at Pocono during the August races. Over the past two seasons, he have compiled 5.0 average finish, 25.0 average start, 15.5 average running position and 87.3 driver rating. It may surprise people that his 15.5 ARP (Average running position) ranked 9th best over the past two August races. And his 87.3 driver rating ranks as 12th-best in the series. He been pretty solid at Indy as well. Over the past two seasons, he have compiled 16.0 average finish, 19.5 average start, 19.5 average running position and 71.1 driver rating. In last season's race, he finished 19th. In 2014, he finished 13th and in 2013 he finished 24th. Prior to that, I would have considered this one of Greg's best tracks. In 13 career starts, he have 13.6 average finish with 6 Top 8 finishes. None coming since 2012 though. I think the decreased in performance have really killed his fantasy value at Indy. I don't really see him as a contender at Indy and probably will only be good for a middle-teen finish most likely.
Shorter flats was a place that he struggled on in 2015. Last season on the shorter flats, he compiled 20.8 average finish, 19.5 average start, 21.3 average running position and 69.9 driver rating. He didn't really perform well on either racetrack. I would say he little better at New Hampshire than Phoenix. At New Hampshire over the past 4 races, he have compiled 15.5 average finish, 23.0 average start, 22.8 average running position and 68.9 driver rating. He finished 4th and 27th last season. His 4th place finish last fall by far his best performance during the past two seasons. In that event, he started 25th, finished 4th, held 17.0 average running position and 88.2 driver rating. His in-race performance was much better, but cannot really say he deserved that 88.2 driver rating. He just happen to be in the right place at the right time when the cautions flew. His average running position for the race tells me he wasn't good. Top 20 at best probably. At the same time, his numbers haven't been bad at New Hampshire overall. 3 of his past 4 races have ended inside the top 15. In those 3 races he have finished inside the top 15, he have compiled 11.7 average finish, 26.0 average start, 21.7 average running position, and 72.9 driver rating. In 2014 at New Hampshire, he compiled 15.5 average finish, 26.5 average start, 24.0 average running position and 65.3 driver rating. His 4th place finish last fall there, really helped his stats overall. But honestly he haven't been that good. At Phoenix, he been probably worse. Especially last season! Over the past 4 races at Phoenix, he have compiled 19.5 average finish, 18.3 average start, 19.0 average running position, and 72.3 driver rating. He was bad last season at Phoenix though. He compiled 26.0 average finish with 21.0 average running position and 67.4 driver rating. Last Spring at Phoenix, he wasn't good in either race really. He only completed 6% of that race inside the top 15 and finished 27th. For the event, he probably had a low-20 car I would say. Last fall at Phoenix, the race was cut short because of rain. Regardless, he wasn't that good anyhow. He finished 25th and probably had a low-20 type car for the entire event. He never once cracked the top 15 in the race and pretty much stayed in the lower 20s.
Road course should be a type racetrack that he will perform well at. Last season he was solid at both road courses. He was strong at Sonona, but finished 27th. I believe he was running well in the teens when he made contact with someone, if I remember right it was Danica Patrick. In last season's race, he started 22nd, finished 27th, held average running position 16.0 average running position and 67.5 driver rating. Over the past two races at Sonoma, he have compiled 18.0 average finish, 20.5 average start, 15.0 average running position and 76.9 driver rating. Prior to last season's 27th place disappointing result, he have finished 11th or better in previous 7 of 9 Sonoma races. I expect results in the middle to high teens at Sonoma. Based on his performance over the past few seasons over Sonoma. At Watkin Glenn last season he finished 14th, but he had very high teen to low-20 type car for the event. He held 24.0 average running position and only completed 21% of the laps inside the top 15. Over the past two seasons, he have compiled 11.0 average finish, 26.5 average start, 19.0 average running position and 79.8 driver rating. He have finished 16th or better in every race at Watkin Glenn, dating back to the 2012 season. At Watkin Glenn, I expect him to finish somewhere between 13th-17th place probably. I think he will be solid on the road courses overall.
Intermediate racetracks was once considered a major strength for Biffle, however the recent downside of RFR have damaged Biff's performance. Even though he will have solid finishes from time to time. There a few tracks that I want to look deeper into. The first racetrack that I want to look at is Kansas. I think Kansas is one of his best tracks on the schedule and I believe this is a track where he still hold solid fantasy value at. Over the past 4 races at Kansas, he have compiled 15.3 average finish, 12.8 average start, 17.0 average running position and 76.7 driver rating. When I look at his track record at Kansas, it hard to not be impressed since joining RFR. Dating back to 2003 (18 races ago), he have finished 17 of those 18 races inside the top 19. His lone non-top 19? All the way back in 2012, where he finished 27th (40 laps down). More recently, I am want to look at his numbers over the past two season (4 races). Over the past 4 races at Kansas, he have compiled 15.0 average finish, 10.0 average start, 17.0 average running position and 76.8 driver rating. In that 4-race span, he have finishes of 17th, 12th (2015) and 15th, 16 (2014). What I like most about Greg's recent numbers? He is consistent. I think that is one of the things I am looking for in Greg in terms of fantasy value. We cannot depend on the big time performances anymore, so we have to solely depend on consistency. At Kansas, I do believe he will have that and finish somewhere in the low to middle teens. The 2nd racetrack, I want to look at is Texas. I think Texas is one of the few venues that Greg still have solid fantasy value at. I don't expect him to be the driver he was 5 years ago here, but I do expect him to be a top 20 contender though. Over the past 6 races at Texas, he have compiled 11.8 average finish, 17.8 average start, 14.7 average running position and 84.1 driver rating. Those are some strong numbers but I think they are a bit misleading though. April 2013 (4th place finish) and April 2014 (6th place finish) really helped pad his stats. So lets look at last season (2015) data instead. Last season at Texas, he have compiled 18.0 average finish, 15.5 average start, 18.5 average running position and 71.1 driver rating. Obviously those aren't great numbers, but like I mentioned earlier. It really not about volume, its rather about quantity. I think he will be inconsistent on the intermediate racetracks in general in 2016. Personally I don't think he will hold a lot of value on the intermediate tracks because of his lack of speed and flashness to fantasy players. However when he does it will be at tracks that he have had recent success at. At this point, I think we can throw away any data prior to 2013. I think RFR is a much different organization right now. So the data over the past few season is much more relevant to us.
Short Tracks were nightmarish for the Biff last season. He was absolutely just horrible. In 2015 on the short tracks, he compiled 25.3 average finish, 28.3 average start, 25.8 average running position and 59.1 driver rating. In 6 races on short tracks last season, he only had one top 20 finish and only 3 top 25 finishes. His best finish on the short track last season was 19th at Martinsville and that not really saying too much honestly. When your best finish is 19th out of 6 races, it pretty and. But on the positive side, he did perform well at the short tracks in 2013 and 2014 though. At Martinsville he been pretty competitive prior to last season. Over the past 6 races, he have compiled 15.7 average finish, 22.8 average start, 18.3 average running position and 76.1 driver rating. Last season he had finishes of 19th and 26th. In 2014, he had finishes of 18th and 13th. And in 2013, he had finishes of 9th and 9th once again. The fact that he finished 3 of the past 4 races (dating back to 2014) in the teens gives me a pretty good idea what he is capable of realistically. I would say it very likely that he finishes somewhere in the high teens to low 20s at Martinsville. At Bristol, he struggled last season pretty bad as well. In 2015 at Bristol, he compiled 27.5 average finish, 25.0 average start, 24.5 average running position and 64.7 driver rating. Last season he had finishes of 25th and 30th. In 2014, he had finishes of 10th and 12th though. Which is encouraging considering this use to be a great track for him. In 26 career races, he have managed 13.1 average finish with 13 Top 10s and 21 Top 20 finishes. I would say Richmond is his worst of the short tracks. Over the past 6 races at Richmond, he have compiled 22.3 average finish, 25.8 average start, 21.5 average running position and 67.9 driver rating. Last season he had finishes 31st and 21st. Last season he struggled overall and wasn't ever a contender for a top 20. In 2015 at Richmond, he compiled 26.0 average finish, 35.0 average start, 28.5 average running position and 50.9 driver rating. In previous 4 races prior to last season, he had finishes of 19th, 15th (2014) and 12th, 36th (2013). I expect a high-teen to low-20 finish from Biff at short tracks.
Let wrap this preview up, I think Biff will be a decent driver in 2016. However I think he will lack speed on most race weekends. And that will makes him a high-teen to low-20s on the average race weekend. I think he will be strongest on the larger flats and road courses. He will hold a little fantasy value on the shorter flats and plates, but not enough to be a consistent threat for fantasy players. I think he will perform decently on the shorter flats, but I am not expecting to be blown away. He could be a solid fantasy pick on intermediate tracks, but RFR's performance level in 2016 will really be the main factor in his potential. I think if RFR can improve in 2016, then Biff will be the most beneficial of the three drivers running full-time. But as of right now, I don't expect for that to occur though. I don't see him contending for nothing beyond top 20 finishes most weekends. Even though he still should have enough upside to grab some top 15 finishes.
Twitter - @JeffNathans
