Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
Ford Performance NSCS Notes and Quotes
AAA 400 Advance – Dover International Speedway
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Ortho Ford Fusion, is without his crew chief today as Matt Puccia and his wife, Alyssa, welcomed Kennedy Harper Puccia into the world yesterday. As a result, Roush Fenway Racing Sprint Cup Team Manager Kevin Kidd is filling the crew chief role and will sit on the pit box if Puccia does not come to Dover International Speedway tomorrow. Both Biffle and Kidd spoke about the situation between practices.
GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 Ortho Ford Fusion – WE KNOW HOW MATT PUCCIA SPENT HIS FRIDAY, WHAT DID YOU DO WITH ALL THE RAIN HERE AT DOVER YESTERDAY? “I was lucky because my daughter (Emma) came with me this weekend, so we definitely enjoyed time playing in the motorhome, and then we went shopping for a little bit and then we went to a movie (Hotel Transylvania 2) and had dinner, so it was pretty fun. We had a good day.”
SO WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE WITHOUT MATT? “The great thing about it is we’ve got a solid team and it’s not early in the season, so we’ve got a good, solid program together. We would definitely miss Matt making all the decisions calling the race. One thing I already noticed is I pulled out on the track and I looked down and realized I hadn’t turned my gear fan on yet. He’s the guy that’s like ‘OK, I need your gear fan on,’ and things like that, so you miss stuff that you’re used to people doing when they’re not here, so I’ve noticed a couple of little things already with him not being here.”
CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING ABOUT THE CAR AFTER ONLY 30 MINUTES OF PRACTICE SO FAR? “The next session will really tell the tale because the track was still wet a little bit when we went out, and us having a little more rubber on the track – even if it’s a little different – will still give us a better idea. If we can get 45 minutes, that will be perfect for us.”
KEVIN KIDD, Sprint Cup Team Manager, Roush Fenway Racing – HOW DO YOU HANDLE THIS WEEKEND FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “My approach basically is just to allow the guys who have prepared all week for this to do their jobs. I’m trying not to get in the way. There are a bunch of smart guys on this race team and really the role I’m trying to do is just direct traffic and manage the overall team, but I’m not getting too spun out on chassis changes and things like that. I’m letting the smart guys handle all of that.”
WHAT IS MATT’S STATUS FOR TOMORROW? “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. 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.”
ANYTHING YOU LEARNED IN THAT 30-MINUTE SESSION? “A couple of things. We were able to get a couple of changes in that we were hoping to make and see what trends those would provide, so we’ve got those checked off the list. We have a good feel for the balance of our car and the things we need to work on for this next practice and certainly for tomorrow.”
