Greg Biffle not slowing down, but concedes retirement is nearing

Jeff Gordon retired after the end of last season and following the conclusion of the 2016 campaign Tony Stewart will do the same. That two of NASCAR’s longtime mainstays have or will soon be walking away is part of a generational shift within the sport and caused speculation about which veteran driver may soon join Gordon and Stewart in retirement.

It’s a question Greg Biffle himself thinks about often, and the 46-year-old winner of 19 career Cup races admits his days behind the wheel are winding to a close. The former Xfinity and Camping World Truck series champion is the oldest active full-time driver in NASCAR’s premier division.

“I think about it every year, every day, and every race,” Biffle said Wednesday during Day 2 of the annual preseason media tour. “I want to race forever, but I also realize I want to do other things in life, too. I want to watch my daughter grow up and pursue other things I want to do.

“I want a third championship; I want to win races. I’m not ready to hang the helmet up yet, but I’m not going to do this for another several years. I’m not doing it for another five or six years, but we’ll see how long that span is.”

Having not won a race since August 2013 and coming off a season where he posted his worst average finish and ranked 20th in points suggests Biffle’s ability may have waned. That perhaps he’s no longer the driver who once finished second in points and earned a Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff six times over a nine-year span.

But Biffle refutes any notion he’s no longer the driver he once was. He contends he’s in better shape than he was five years ago -- “Got my ass in the gym and started paying attention to what I eat,” Biffle said -- and his struggles relate more to Roush Fenway Racing’s performance regression overall than anything else.

The three-car team went winless in 2015 and for the first time failed to place a driver in the Chase. Amongst teammates Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Trevor Bayne, Biffle racked up more top-five and top-10 finishes and accumulated more points. Stenhouse finished 25th, Bayne 29th.

That collective lack of competitiveness is why Roush made sweeping personnel changes over the offseason to help the organization reclaim its status as a powerhouse, including Brian Pattie taking over as crew chief on Biffle’s No. 16 team.

“Our expectations are to do significantly better than we did last year -- it was a disappointment,” Roush president Steve Newmark said. “But I think that although it was a disappointment, we were able to step back and logically say, ‘Let’s take emotion out of this and let’s figure out how we get back up there, because our goals haven’t changed.’ It’s not like we’ve now lowered our goals and said we’re going to be content to run here.”

A rebound would be welcome by Biffle, who readily acknowledges just how frustrating the past two seasons have been. But the implementation of a low downforce aerodynamic rules package buoys his confidence, as he ran well in both races where the setup was used last year. He expects that to carryover to 2016 and with it, a return to the form he’s exhibited for much of his career.

“I think it will be a great season for us,” Biffle said. “We were trending in the right direction at the end of 2015 and we know with these changes we will continue that.”