Greg Biffle and the #16 3M Ford Fusion made steady progress all night and barely avoided a multi-car crash in the closing laps to finish eighth in Saturday’s NASCAR Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup event at Darlington (SC) Raceway. Following the race, Biffle’s crew chief, Greg Erwin, received Federal-Mogul’s MOOG “Problem Solver of the Race” Award in recognition of the #16 Ford’s improvement throughout the race.
The MOOG Problem Solver award is presented following each Sprint Cup contest to the crew chief whose car posts the largest increase in average lap speed over the second half of the race while finishing on the lead lap. The #16 Ford delivered a race-best .006-second change on Darlington’s 1.366-mile oval.
“The #16 car was good enough for a top-five finish by the end of the race and might have won the thing if the team had 20 more laps to work with,” said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson. “Greg Erwin and the Roush Fenway crew worked hard on the car’s handling throughout the race to get the right balance of tire grip and steering and to stay ahead of changing track conditions. It was fun to watch them move through the field over the final 30 laps.”
Erwin ordered a series of precise adjustments to the car’s MOOG-equipped chassis throughout the night and seemed to have the #16 car in top form over the final 70 laps. Biffle fell back to 13th after a pit stop on lap 359 but quickly charged back into the top 10 before a multi-car accident nearly collected him with just two laps remaining. He picked up two additional positions after the restart for his fourth top-10 finish of the year. His strong finish helped him gain two positions, to 12th, in the Sprint Cup standings.
“That wreck happened right in front of the #16 car, but Greg somehow was able to steer around it, thanks to fresh tires and excellent handling,” Nelson said.
MOOG parts are the leading choice of crew chiefs and automotive repair professionals and have helped drive an unprecedented 45 consecutive NASCAR Cup champions to victory. The unique benefits of MOOG components and other Federal-Mogul products are highlighted in the company’s innovative "Smart Choice" campaign, which reinforces the message that longer lasting, better performing replacement parts are today’s best option for technicians and consumers.
For additional information regarding MOOG chassis parts, visit the brand’s technician-focused www.moogproblemsolver.com website or contact your MOOG supplier. To identify the right MOOG part for virtually any application, use the convenient, free www.FMe-cat.com electronic catalog.
