Greg Biffle's words speak volumes

   "We have to walk that fine line of not killing people and creating excitement."

   That's not necessarily anything new heard in NASCAR considering the dangers of the sport and it's history, but those words on Thursday during a test at Michigan International Raceway certainly provoked a big response.

   Perhaps that's more because of who spoke them. Greg Biffle has won numerous races in all three of NASCAR's national series and has championships in two of them - Trucks and Nationwide. For most of this season he has been the Sprint Cup Series points leader.

   During his career, Biffle has certainly not been known for tossing out "pipe bombs" - comments that invoke instant controversy or criticism. He's generally fairly reserved and thoughtful in his comments, although he has had his share of run-ins on and off the track with other drivers.

   Perhaps that's why his comments seemed to stand out. Perhaps that's also why more attention should be paid to them.

   Here are a couple of the questions addressed to Biffle during his media availability on Thursday. Everyone should consider his answers carefully.

   THINK IT IS GOOD FOR THE SPORT OCCASIONALLY TO HAVE A TRACK LIKE THIS WHERE THE SPEEDS ARE WAY UP THERE? IS THAT DANGER GOOD?
   Biffle: “I think so. I don’t see anything wrong with this. It definitely is going to gain some attention going 218 miles per hour and I don’t know, it has been a long time since we have gone that fast. I think that it is good for our sport to have a little – lets face it, controversy is why we have all these reality shows right? – a little action and controversy doesn’t hurt us from giving us something to talk about. It is worthy of talking about. It is fast and a new track and not quite as smooth as Pocono was but it is pretty fast.”

   SOME OF THE CRITICISM HAS BEEN THAT THE SPORT HAS GOTTEN TOO SAFE AND SOME OF THE REASON PEOPLE TUNE IN ON SUNDAY IS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT CRAZY ENOUGH TO GO 218.
   Biffle: “Yeah, but we don’t want to kill anybody either. We have to walk that fine line of not killing people and creating excitement. I think the biggest thing is that when people say that it is too fast or whatever is that it makes it hard to race other cars at that speed. You look at the places we go the absolute fastest and sometimes those aren’t the best races to watch. Sometimes the tracks that are a little bit slower put on a little better side-by-side action and more bumping and grinding. I promise you that you aren’t going to bump somebody at 218 mph, I promise you that. It isn’t going to happen. Saying that just because we are going that fast, doesn’t mean it is going to be a great race. Just because the speeds are the thrill or excitement. TV tames it down a lot. Watching in the grandstands here and watching on TV at home is a lot different. It numbs you from that speed. High speed doesn’t always mean exciting racing. Sometimes a little slower speed actually could be a little more exciting and thrilling. You are seeing guys root and gouge and go.”

  

Brad Keselowski, Twitter cult hero?

   During a national teleconference on Wednesday, Brad Keselowski took a question submitted by a NASCAR fan on Twitter and was asked later about how he sees Twitter as a communication tool with fans considering he had become "a little bit of a cult hero on Twitter."

   Here was Keselowski's answer:

   "I think it's funny that you think of it as a little bit of a cult, and sometimes I have the same thoughts, but it's a good cult to be a part of. It's a group of people that enjoy having some of the further access that the sport has the capability of providing and sometimes you're put in a spot where it doesn't work out, whether that's doing appearances and so forth and being able to tell people where I'm going to be; or just giving feedback how our weekend is going, I think it's a great tool for that.

   “I feel very fortunate to have a role as a leader in the sports integration of social media, specifically through Twitter. So that's a bit of an honor that I feel lucky to have, certainly from a competitor standpoint. I would look to other members of the media, NASCAR media, specifically, who pioneered that process, and I really feel like I'm just following a bit of their lead and I'm just lucky to get a little more attention for it. So you know, as far as that's concerned, I feel lucky to be a part of it. Those people, those members of the media that started it, were certainly some of my motivation. To be honest, what actually sold me on it was the fact that I got an iPad from Nationwide when I won the championship, I couldn't find anything else to do other than be on Twitter, so it seemed perfect. It's funny how it's progressed since then.”

James Finch talks about retaining driver Kurt Busch

   Phoenix Racing owner James Finch was on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Tuesday night with hosts Buddy Baker and Jim Noble talking about his meeting with driver Kurt Busch.

   James Finch:
   "I said, 'Kurt, we've wrecked 14 cars. You know, you didn't wreck the 14 cars. You were driving them but we did this as a team.' I said, 'We've got to get better at what we're doing and you've got to get better at what you're doing. And we're only going to talk about it here for just a little while and then it's going to be results. I believe in this kid. He's got the talent. I mean, the kid was the champion at 25 years old or whatever. He's got the talent. He's got some issues that he says he's going to get squared away, and that's what we're gonna do and hopefully he does that. And if he doesn't, then I've got to move on. But right now, we're going forward with him straightening out and doing what he needs to do. And let's get it done."

    Host/Jim Noble: "In order to move forward were there things you had to hear from Kurt today?"

   Finch: "Yes. You know, I told him, 'Everybody's got to take care of their day job. You should be tickled to death at the job you've got. You race on the weekend, you make good money and you look back in the back of the shop, and a guy back there works all year for what you make in a weekend. He seems to be happy. So I don't know why you're not happy, and if you're not happy, you need to get happy. Because that's life and life's going to go on. And we're going forward and we're going forward today after we get out of this meeting. I said, 'I don't care if you've got an argument with a driver out there but these fans and this media [are] going to have some respect from us.' And we're going to go forward and he agreed to that."

   Click here to catch up on why Busch's job may have been in jeopardy.

NASCAR drivers' take on the "new" new Bristol

   Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton took part in a Goodyear tire test on Tuesday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. They are the first NASCAR drivers to make runs on the track since track owner Bruton Smith made changes to the surface in hopes of bringing back more close-knit racing.

   Tony Stewart (who is the only driver to try to run the high groove):

   “Well, you’ve definitely lost the top groove. Guys who run up there aren’t going to be able to do that because it’s pretty slick up there. There’s going to be less room to race, that’s for sure. We’ve gone from a three-groove track to two grooves and any time you’ve got less room to get around it can get pretty interesting.

   “I’m one of the guys who likes that high groove so it’s really going to change things up for me. It’ll change things for everybody though because when you take away room to race on a track this small with 43 cars… yeah, it’s going to tighten things up.”

   Clint Bowyer:

   “That outside line – the upper groove – is out of play now. There’s going to be a lot closer racing then we’ve had here in the past. I don’t typically run up there but a lot of guys do and I can’t see them going up there now. If they do… it’s pretty slippery and they’ll figure that out in a hurry.

   “The closer we have to race just means something’s going to happen. Is it going to make fans happy? Well, narrowing up the track means less room to get around so there’s no question there’s going to be closer action.

   “I tell you what though… this place has always been – and will always be – far and away the best race we have. You wanna see a great race in the best atmosphere we have? Just be here in August. “

   Jeff Burton:

   “Goodyear is looking to bring a tire with more grip. I really think they have found some stuff that is really promising. As for the track itself, I really can’t imagine running up there in that top groove. I think it is going to force everyone more to the middle and bottom of the track. The drivers aren’t going to be happy, but the spectators probably will be because it is going to put more cars in a closer space.

   "By taking away that groove, it is going to change your mind about going up there. I think it is going to be two grooves, unless Goodyear brings a tire with a lot of grip. If that is the case, you’ll want to run around the bottom. Making the groove smaller is a good thing, it is going to put the action back to the bottom and middle of the track. What has changed is up near the wall, the bottom is the same. Tony experimented and tried out that top groove, and I know he won’t be trying that again.

   "If people liked the older track more than the new, they are going to like this. This takes the top groove out and brings it back toward the old track. Taking the groove out moves the track closer to what it used to be. Taking the banking out is what is going to make the difference. You won’t run the top groove on a short track without more banking. There is no way you will run around the outside. If there is less banking on a short track near the wall, you are not going to go there.

   "Every race track should look at the fan experience. The fans come to see action here because this is Bristol. That is why there are so many seats. This is why it is like a gladiator stadium. We always will walk a tight rope of what is in the best interest of the fan. The sport is under more scrutiny all the time. For us, it is a more constant conversation about changing. Some races are better than others. Some are phenomenal, some are sleepers. But all sports are like that. Not every NBA game is great.

   "This track always has been different. Fans always want to see action here. That is why pressure is always put on this track."

Ford makes changes to its 2013 Fusion in NASCAR

   After unveiling the 2013 Ford Fusion its plans to run in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in January, Ford Racing has made some design updates to the car, including enhanced design cues, including new grille work and hood lines.

   Gone is the stickered front grille from the January reveal and in its place are actual grille bars which will adorn the 2013 Cup Fusion, in addition to several other key tweaks to the front end of the car.

   “We had an opportunity to add more personality and detail to the race car,” said Garen Nicoghosian, Ford design manager in charge of the NASCAR project. “We took advantage of this opportunity and sculpted a more aggressive front end and we added grille bars that are identical in design to the production car. We also added more detail to the fog light housings, and created a more detailed headlight area as well.
  
   “In addition, we also sculpted a more aggressive hood, and were able to achieve a closer look to the production car. Our race car is even closer in design to the production car now, and we are very pleased with the results.”

   The latest enhancements have allowed Ford to more closely match the production Fusion while remaining within NASCAR guidelines as the manufacturers inch closer to submitting their final designs to NASCAR for the 2013 season.

Why Dale Junior doesn't want to mess up on pit road

   Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not among the drivers caught speeding on pit road during Sunday's Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. Apparently, that's a very good thing.

   While Earnhardt never wants to make mistakes on pit road - which can ruin an opportunity at a win or even a good run - there is a particular reason Earnhardt would like to avoid such issues.

   You might be surprised at the reason, which Earnhardt describes in this answer to a question about the abundance of speeding penalties on Sunday.

   "Steve (Letarte, crew chief) told me about them and just said to be careful. So I was extra careful. I was probably really ridiculously slow coming onto pit road. But I just don’t want to get popped.," he said.

   "I get burned on TV and by the fan base whenever we do anything stupid on pit road such as miss our stall or something. It takes me about a year-and-a-half to get over that in a lot of people’s eyes; so I can’t make too many mistakes on pit road. We have to be pretty careful."

Cotton Owens laid to rest

   Everett "Cotton" Owens, recently elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, was laid to rest on Sunday in Spartanburg, S.C. The funeral was held at Milestones Church. A private burial was held in Sunset Memorial Gardens.

   Owens, 88, was elected last month to the Hall of Fame and will be among five inductees in the Hall's 2013 class in February.

   Memorials may be made to Mobile Meals, P.O. Box 461, Spartanburg, SC 29304; or Spartanburg Regional Hospice, 101 E. Wood Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303.

   Dunbar Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Owens' family.

   Click here to read the complete obituary.