#99-Carl Edwards understood when #16-Greg Biffle wouldn’t give up a big lead to help clean paper off his grille with about 40 laps remaining in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
Edwards’ issue with his Roush Fenway Racing teammate came around lap 70 when he wanted Biffle to drop about six car lengths to help with the same issue that was causing an overheating problem with them racing for sixth or seventh.
“I want us to be the best teammates we can be,” Edwards told ESPN.com on Tuesday. “I never want somebody to give up a shot at winning a race. … My hope is he never heard the communication on lap 70.”
Biffle told ESPN.com he didn’t recall getting a message from his spotter or crew chief on lap 70 and totally understood Edwards’ frustration if there was a miscommunication that led to that.
“I can see where he’d be upset under those circumstances,” said Biffle, who went on to win the race. “All I can say is I’ll help Carl absolutely anytime I can. We go out of our way to help each other. It’s a team sport. None us do it all on our own.” Edwards admitted he was frustrated the first time his spotter asked the #16 team for help.
He said over his team radio that “he ain’t my teammate” when told Biffle wouldn’t come back. After the race, when a reporter asked if Biffle should have helped and he responded with “it’s his job to help,” Edwards thought it was in reference to the first request. Edwards had no major issue with the second request as Biffle led by 20 to 25 car lengths.
“That one I understood,” Edwards said. “It was toward the end of the race and it was for the lead. And frankly, our car was pretty fast. That was probably wishful thinking [he would drop back].”
The two discussed the situation briefly during Monday’s team debriefing call, and even then Biffle was unclear they were talking about two different situations. They plan to meet on Friday at Sonoma to clear up any miscommunication there might have been so that it makes all RFR teams stronger moving forward. (ESPN.com)
