NASCAR drivers cut loose on drag strip with personal cars

By James Bennett
Media General News Service
Published: October 2, 2008

CONCORD, N.C. - Greg Biffle takes his racing seriously, even when he’s having fun.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup driver changed his back tires and tinkered under the hood of his 2007 Ford Shelby GT 500 Wednesday night as he looked to improve his speed down the one-quarter-mile track at zMax Dragway.

“I want to see how fast it will go,“ said Biffle, who participated in NASCAR Night at the new track off Bruton Smith Boulevard.

Dozens who work in NASCAR-related industries, including drivers Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch and car owners Rick Hendrick and Ray Evernham, brought their personal hot rods and street cars to the drag strip.

Evernham drove up in a blue Dodge Viper with a license plate that read “1 Cup 95,“ a reference to his 1995 Winston Cup championship, his first of three as Jeff Gordon’s crew chief. Evernham runs Gillett Evernham Motorsports, with drivers Kasey Kahne, Patrick Carpentier and Elliott Sadler under contract this season.

With his 17-year-old son, Ray Jr., in the passenger seat, Evernham challenged Biffle, who flew down the track at 126.58 mph. Evernham was slightly behind at 111.13 mph.

“It can go faster,“ said Biffle, who was clocked at more than 130 mph in an earlier practice run.

Evernham was interested to see how his son would react to the quick trip down the track.

“He played his Nintendo the whole time and didn’t look up,“ Evernham said.

The teenager was busy with Pokemon on his Game Boy.

“It was the best of both worlds,“ Ray Jr. said of gaming and racing simultaneously.

The fun night at the track was a relief for Biffle, who’s third in the Chase for the Sprint Cup after winning at New Hampshire and Dover, Del. A night of working on his car and blowing off steam were a respite before he goes to Talladega, Ala., for this weekend’s fourth race in the Chase.

“Sure, you feel pressure in the Chase,“ Biffle said. “Sometimes I have trouble sleeping. It’s hard to go to sleep when you’re thinking of winning. What if I win two races in a row? What if I win three in a row? I think about what happens if I mess up on pit road, and we lose two or three spots.“

Biffle is only 30 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. He’s 20 behind second place Carl Edwards.

“It’s exciting . No points and no money. It’s just a fun night,“ said Biffle, who bought his car last year and drives it around town occasionally. “This is the fastest I’ve ever driven it.“

Kenseth’s wife, Katie, rode with him during his run. Kenseth raced Lowe’s Motor Speedway and zMAX Dragway President Marcus Smith. Smith prevailed.

“It wasn’t scary,“ Katie said. “It was almost like driving fast on the freeway. Driving on the superspeedway is much more exciting.“

Fans with tickets to next week’s Bank of America 500 were admitted free to Wednesday night’s event. Otherwise, spectators paid $5, with the money going to Speedway Charities.

“Folks in NASCAR have been asking us relentlessly since the grand opening if they could come over and drive on the drag strip,“ said Scott Cooper, Lowe’s Speedway’s vice president for communications. “We thought it would be fun to let them all come over at the same time.“