The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

Sprint Cup - Matt Puccia Celebrates One Year Anniversary At New Hampshire


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)

CONCORD, Jul. 12, 2012: This weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will mark the one-year anniversary of Roush Fenway crew chief Matt Puccia being teamed up with driver Greg Biffle. After a rocky start to 2011 for Biffle, Puccia was brought in to take over as the crew chief on the No. 16 3M team. Immediately the two clicked. From this race a year ago, up until now, the two have tallied one win, five poles, 10 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. They kicked off the 2012 season with three third-place finishes in a row, took over the NASCAR point lead in Vegas and held it for 11 weeks straight. Currently they are sitting third in points and looking towards making a run for the 2012 Sprint Cup Championship.

“This weekend is the one-year anniversary with what my wife calls ‘my boyfriend’ and I call my crew chief,” Biffle said. “We have an excellent relationship and work well together. It’s been a lot of fun so far; we’ve won a race and led the points for 11 weeks. It’s been good and we are lined up to make a run at the title in our first full season together. I’m pretty excited about it.”

“It’s been a year full of ups and downs, but it’s one of my best years out of my 17 or 18 years doing this full time,” Puccia said. “It’s been the most enjoyable year for me in the sport. We’ve accomplished a lot and it’s a great opportunity for me to be able to work with Greg. It’s the relationship we’ve built, and the relationship we’ve built with the team that has gotten us to where we are today. We’ve accomplished a good amount, but we still need to take it to the next step to be able to run for the championship at the end of the season. It would be most rewarding at the end of the day to be able to give Greg his first championship in Sprint Cup.”