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When Geoff Smith, the president of Roush Fenway Racing, decided to discuss with the NASCAR media about Greg Biffle's contract situation, he must have felt that explaining how Biffle was involved with negotiations would put out some fires. Instead, it apparently lit a fire under Greg Biffle. Said Biffle:

"The biggest thing that's been a bit of a deterrent for me is that Geoff Smith put in the paper that we're negotiating -- Roush and Greg Biffle -- an extension. And in my eyes there was no reason for that. I'm under contract."

Biffle says that many, many teams have been lighting up his cell phone inquiring about the status of the negotiations and if he'd be interested in discussing other options. Apparently, a bunch of those teams thought that his contract expired at the end of this year, when the true story is it lasts through 2008.

Think about it on Biffle's end. The guy is still under contract with Roush for more than a season and a half, but yet his own team is setting him for questions and controversy. That's just gotta suck.

Biffle is a senior guy at Roush now with the departure of Mark Martin and Roush would crazy to let him go. Right now, it sounds like he's easily, and happily, on the road to extending his currect contract for many a year to drive the Fords.

I'd be happy, too, if the organization trying to re-hire me was thinking I was at the top end of the current Nextel Cup Series pay scale. But first, I'd be getting a new cell phone number.

Previously at the NASCAR FanHouse
Biffle Looks Like He Could Be Odd Man Out at Roush
Another Thorn in Jack Roush's Side

Prior to today's race, Kevin Harvick was "comfortable" in his car of tomorrow.

But he wasn't too comfortable today when he had to pull over and jump out of his car after the IMPAXX foam went up in flames.

In the broadcast interview, Harvick said, "This thing just started burning up. So ... it's almost turning into a joke now."

Is this the consistent performance at temperature extremes that Dow promised?

Last week when the foam in Matt Kenseth's car melted, NASCAR said it was because the #19 team didn't have the foam "properly encased."

That's not what Kenseth says.

Maybe making a deal with the owners of the Boston Red Sox changed where the Curse of the Bambino takes form.

AmeriQuest Mortgage, a new sponsor for Greg Biffle on the Cup Series side for Jack Roush's Roush-Fenway Racing told the team last week that they wanted out of the role. The mortgage company has suffered significant losses recently and is also pulling out of a deal with the Texas Rangers to name their ballpark.

Essentially, the revolving door of sponsors on the side of Biffle's car has just been pushed again. The National Guard left last year for Hendrick Motorsports and other names such as Pennzoil, Post-It Notes, Charter Bank, and Subway have been on the hood since 2004.

Roush Racing team president Geoff Smith was optimistic about the upcoming sponsor search.

"We have the full selling season. Greg Biffle is a fantastic driver. And the economy is still very good, and there's a lot of sponsorship interest right now. There was a period a couple of years ago when it was really, really tight. But we've got lots of time, and there's lots of sponsor interest, so I think we'll be able to work it out just fine."

It's tough not to be optimistic. NAPA has got to have a growing resent for Michael Waltrip not making 4 of 5 races so far and Dominoes has got to find it tough promoting a driver that isn't in the race. There's going to be several openings next year for a high-caliber team to get a yearlong sponsor -- especially if Toyota's struggles continue through November and over 5 teams continue to go home each week.

The news comes on the heels of an announcement from NASCAR that Roush had to get to the NASCAR-mandated team limit of four in the Cup Series by the 2010 season, in addition to Biffle's car being impounded by NASCAR after the Food City 500 for being too low.

Conspiracy theorists (yeah, you too, Jack.) take note. And Jamie McMurray better take note, as well. Roush has got to get rid of one driver somehow.

Greg Biffle's #16 Jackson Hewitt Ford 5th place finishing team faces fines and penalties after the car was found to be too low in post-race inspection -- somewhere outside the quarter-inch tolerance allowed:

NASCAR will take the car back to its Research and Development Center in North Carolina to determine if there were any extenuating circumstances as to why the car was too low. "We'll get back where we have better equipment to look and measure and try to understand it," [NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin] Pemberton said. "We want to do everything we can to make the right call."

How is transporting the car back to North Carolina the right call? Will it be traveling over bumps to get there? Won't that affect the measurements? Note to Roush Fenway Racing: Grounds for appeal!

Matt Kenseth found his way to the Auto Club 500 victory lane for the second year in a row--and the second day in a row following his Stater Bros. 300 win to sweep the weekend at California Speedway.

The Busch and Cup wins are the first for the newly created Roush Fenway Racing team.

Jack Roush recently sold half of Roush Racing to the Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, for support in marketing and sales activities. The intention is to "use FSG's experience, network of relationships, and powerful demographic base to add value to Roush Fenway Racing sponsors and help Roush Fenway Racing maintain an unsurpassed position among NASCAR teams on and off the track."

Yada yada yada ... marketing speak. But it's good marketing speak.

Hiring good drivers helps them on the track ... they definitely have that one down (see also: Kenseth, Greg Biffle).

Hiring the ones with personality and who articulate themselves well in the media is a plus (see also: Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards).

And it won't hurt if they're young and total cuteness, either (see also: David Ragan).

The growing female fan base will not be denied. Many of them certainly pick their favorites based on other factors, too, but admit it, girls, more than likely your fav is easy on the eyes.

Speaking of the easy-on-the-eyes--and articulate--Ragan, also an RFR driver, my rookie pick placed highest again ... this week in the 17th spot.

I feel a sudden desire to become a AAA member.

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