#16- Greg Biffle was involved in a practice accident during Happy Hour with #42-Kyle Larson at Auto Club Speedway. Biffle damaged the nose of his Fusion, but the team has removed the hood and is currently working to make repairs. Biffle spoke about what happened immediately afterwards.
Q) WHAT HAPPENED?
Biffle: ‘We were on new tires. That was our second lap and the 42 was on old tires, so our closure rate was super-fast. I was kind of looking at my mark on the wall and on the race track and he wrecked in front of me and I just couldn’t get stopped. There wasn’t anywhere for me to go. The groove is right up against the fence and I was going probably 15-20 miles an hour faster than he was. By the time I saw him sideways I was catching him so fast that I don’t know what happened.’(Ford Performance)
#42-Kyle Larson hit the wall during Happy Hour practice, and was subsequently hit by the #16 of Greg Biffle.
Q) WHAT HAPPENED?
Larson: ‘I was running decent laps up there on the top and just got loose there and kind of corrected and just barely hit the wall. I decided to slow down so much that the #16 (Greg Biffle) caught me in the back quarter. They’re still trying to decide if we need to go to a back-up car, or not. I didn’t hit the wall hard, so the frame is all right; there’s just body damage. I was decent there. I’m just disappointed; but it was my fault and I apologize to Biffle for that. I just had to slow down so much that he (Biffle) didn’t have time to react and got into my rear bumper there. So they’re still trying to decide if we need to go to a back-up, or not; it’s more just body damage. They may be able to (make repairs); hopefully they can because I thought that finally I felt okay. It’s been the first time all weekend that I felt that we had decent speed, especially long-run speed. So, I’m disappointed in myself. It was a mistake on my part and hopefully it’s not too much work for them (the #16 team).
Q) WHAT DID YOU AND GREG BIFFLE DISCUSS JUST NOW?
Larson: ‘Oh, just that he was on fresh tires and was coming and it’s so wide, he wasn’t really looking at my car. And he said by the time I got loose, he didn’t really have whole lot of time to react. So, I hate it for those guys having to work hard on their car, as well. Hopefully we can get ours fixed enough, and so can they to have some speed tomorrow.’
FOLLOW-UP NOTE: The team will make repairs to the #42 Target Chevy and will not go to a back-up car for Sunday’s Auto Club 400.(Team Chevy)
