Biffle Drives No. 16 3M Throwback Ford Fusion to a Fifth-Place Finish at Pocono

Greg Biffle led 11 laps Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway on his way to a fifth-place finish in his No. 16 3M Throwback Ford Fusion.  With just over 20 laps remaining, Biffle took over the lead and held the position for over 10 laps as the field spread out conserving fuel.  A late race caution took away the lead Biffle had acquired, and in the final laps Biffle lost ground to fresher tires, crossing the finish line fifth.

“We had a good strategy there and we might have been able to sneak one out,” said Biffle.  “The No. 4 was pretty fast, but if that second caution wouldn’t have come out for Kurt(Busch), we might have had a prayer to try and steal one, but, overall it was a great day to get the 3M Throwback Ford Fusion up in the top five.  We beat the No. 24 car, which I’m not sure how we did that.  They were definitely the fastest car, but we feel good about it.  We’ve got to keep working on our car and trying to find the rest of that speed.”

The 3M Racing fans had the design of the No. 16 in their hands for this weekend in Pocono.  With many years of logos to choose from, the fans choose 1942 and Biffle proudly showcased the Throwback design while leading laps at Pocono.

Biffle started the Pocono race from the 25th position and had his hands full right from the start struggling with no turn.  By the halfway point of the race Biffle reported back that his Ford had neutral balance and was the best it had been all weekend.  One set of tires later and his handling went to extremely loose. 

A gamble with fuel mileage got Biffle the track position he needed and on lap 136 he took over the lead.  Biffle extended his lead over the next 10 laps while others pitted for fuel or conserved on the track.  A caution with under 20 laps to go bunched the field together and cost Biffle the lead he had acquired.  The race ended with a three lap shootout and Biffle conserved just enough fuel to cross the finish line fifth, losing ground slightly to fresher tires.  The finish moved Biffle up to 13th in the point standings and currently holding the last position to make the Chase field.

RFR PR