Jeffery Purvis
Born	(1959-02-19) February 19, 1959 (age 53) Clarksville, Tennessee
Awards	Inducted in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in the inaugural 2001 class
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
50 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
Best finish	39th - 1993 (Winston Cup)
First race	1990 Hanes Activewear 500 (Martinsville)
Last race	2001 EA Sports 500 (Talladega)
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
187 race(s) run over 15 year(s)
Best finish	6th - 1999 (Busch Series)
First race	1989 All Pro Auto Parts 300 (Charlotte)
Last race	2004 Goulds Pumps/ITT Industries 200 (Pike's Peak)
First win	1996 Hardee's Fried Chicken 250 (Richmond)
Last win	2002 O'Reilly 300 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 57 6

Jeff Purvis (born February 19, 1959 in Clarksville, Tennessee) is a former race car driver in NASCAR's Nationwide Series. He is a 15-year veteran with four wins and 25 top-five finishes. Purvis is still recovering from a massive brain injury suffered in 2002. He races "Late Model Crates" at Golden Isles Speedway.

Winston Cup Series Career[link]

Purvis made his NASCAR debut in 1990. He was hired to drive Bobby Allison's #12 Raybestos Buick at Martinsville Speedway. He started in 31st position for that race, but crashed out and finished 28th. After that, Purvis raced four more times in 1990 in the #51 Plasti-Kote Chevrolet owned by James Finch, who once owned his cars when he raced late model dirt races. His best finish among those was a 31st at North Wilkesboro. He also set his best start of 1990 there: a 24th.

Purvis would run 6 races for Finch in 1991. His best start of that year at 22nd. He set his career best finish to that date at Atlanta. After starting 29th, Purvis completed many laps and finished in the 24th position. Unfortunately, he only finished two races that season.

Once again, Purvis would race 6 times in 1992. He ran two races for Finch finishing 27th at Michigan and 36th at Phoenix. He ran 4 more races for the #12 Raybestos Brakes Chevy for Bobby Allison. His highlight was his career-best finish of 22nd at Richmond.

In 1993, Purvis ran the most races in a season for his career. Making 8 starts, Purvis ran 3 races for Finch and 5 races for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in their #4 Eastman Kodak Chevy. At Talladega in July, Purvis was able to top his previous best starts with a 21st, as well as enjoying the best runs of his career. He earned his best qualifying effort of 18th at Richmond and quickly followed it up with his career-best 16th place finish. The next week, he broke his best finish again with a 13th place finish at Dover and also added a 17th at Martinsville.

In 1994, Finch picked up sponsorship for the #51 from Country Time, and Purvis raced in the Chevy for 6 races, replacing original driver Neil Bonnett, who was killed in a practice accident for the Daytona 500. His best finish of the year came in his first start of 1994. At Atlanta, Purvis finished 21st. However, at Michigan, Purvis was able to break his best start record, with a 13th place start in the race. In the fall race at Michigan, Purvis made the race with T.W. Taylor's #02 Ford. He started that race in 23rd and finished 28th.

Finch once again found sponsorship from Jackaroo BBQ Sauces for the newly renumbered #44 Chevy. Purvis raced 6 races again for Finch in 1995. They struggled, and the best finish for Finch and Purvis was a 29th at Talladega, though once again he set a personal best qualifying effort of 12th. In the fall Atlanta race, Purvis drove for Rick Hendrick and the #58 Leukemia Society Chevy at Atlanta, finishing 26th, his best finish of the year.

Despite only racing 4 races for Finch in 1996, the #44 MCA Records Chevy had their best season effort. In the 1996 Daytona 500, Purvis increased his best career finish to 12th place, where it stands today. He also earned two top-10 qualifying efforts in 1996, the better being his best career start of 6th at the Pepsi 400.

In 1997, with Purvis driving for himself in the Busch Series, he drove his #12 self-owned Chevy into 3 races. He mustered only a 37th, 38th and 39th in those efforts, but did start 8th for the fall race at Charlotte.

After a 3-year absence from the elite division of NASCAR, Purvis returned for his final season in 2001. Purvis was able to make 4 races in the #51 owned by Finch, who bought Fords from Bill Elliott Racing. He started in the top-20 for three of the four racees, but his best finish of the year was a 34th in the #51 Subway Ford at Talladega.

Busch Series Career[link]

While racing with Finch's Phoenix Racing many years in the Cup series, Purvis also competed in the Busch Series for Finch.

In 1989, Purvis made his debut at Charlotte driving the #49 Phoenix Racing Buick. He made the field at 14th position. However, engine problems forced him to 40th place in the 42 car field, ending his debut.

In 1990, Phoenix Racing and Purvis once again teamed up, with Purvis driving the #15 Buick. In four races, he finished 26th twice (Bristol and Charlotte) and had a best qualifying effort of 22nd at Richmond. The next year, Purvis added four more races to his Busch career, driving Finch's #23 Seal-Tech Buick. At Charlotte, he set his career best finish with a 17th place finish. However, he did not finish in any of his four starts. For the third straight season, Purvis competed in four Busch events in 1992. At Talladega, he drove Finch's #51 to his first NASCAR top-10, a 7th place after a 27th place start. Then, Robert Yates Racing offered Purvis a ride in the #28 Texaco Ford for 3 races, finishing 12th, 20th, and 21st, respectively. Also, at Darlington, Purvis matched his career best qualifying effort of 14th.

Purvis ran two races in 1993, both with Morgan-McClure Motorsports, who he was also racing with in the Cup Series. He qualified in 11th and 7th the two races, the 7th at Atlanta being his career best. In 1994, Country Time Lemonade sponsored Finch and Purvis in the Busch Series in a four-race deal in 1994. At Talladega Superspeedway, Purvis and Finch collected their first career Busch Pole Award. Purvis ran up front all day, and finished in 5th position. However, that was the only race he finished, with his next best finish in 1994 being a 29th. However, he qualified 4th at Bristol and 9th at Richmond.

In 1995, Finch and Morgan-McClure decided to resurrect the #4 Kodak Busch Series car. Purvis would drive the car in 9 races, the most starts in a season to date. Purvis had a career season, finishing 9th at Atlanta and Charlotte, 12th at Michigan, and then back at Charlotte, he set his career best finish of 3rd. He also won the pole at Talladega once again, setting his sights on a full 1996.

In 1996, Purvis and Finch got a new sponsorship deal with MCA Records for 5 races in 1996. Even without sponsorship for the other 21 races, Purvis got a shot from Finch to do the whole 1996 schedule. Immediately, he won the pole for 2 of the first 3 races, at Daytona and Richmond. He finished 3rd at Rockingham in the 2nd race of the season. Then after winning the pole at Richmond, Purvis led 38 laps and shot by Joe Nemechek for his first career Busch Series win. Despite a disappointing mid-season, Purvis rebounded with a 2nd place finish at Myrtle Beach, 6th at Talladega, and a 7th at IRP. After the 7th at IRP, Purvis rolled onto Michigan, where after blowing past a fading Mark Martin, and held off Terry Labonte for his 2nd win of his career. By season's end, Purvis had 7 top-10s in 26 starts, earning 7th place in the final standings.

Purvis and Finch looked toward 1997 with high hopes, but Finch informed Purvis that the team could not run a full season without solid sponsorship. After running the first four races, and only a 9th at Daytona to show for it, Finch and Purvis parted. Purvis went and teamed with Larry Lockamy to drive the #28 Opryland Chevy for a handful of races. At Nashville Speedway USA, Purvis made his first start in the #28 and showed off with a 4th place finish. Back at Myrtle Beach, Purvis started 2nd and finished 8th. Meanwhile, Finch was finalizing his deal to get Purvis back. At Homestead-Miami, Purvis debuted the #4 Lance Snacks Chevy, but finished 38th in the race. Despite only running ten races, the three top-10s allowed Purvis to finish 44th in points.

Lance Snacks was on board with Purvis and Finch for a full 1998, and the season started off well. Purvis started 4th, and finished 2nd at Daytona. He had 5 other top-5s, including the Milwaukee, where he started on the pole and finished 3rd. An incident at South Boston cost Purvis any chance of finishing in the top 10 in points. Mark Green and Purvis had been racing hard, making contact several times. After Green spun Purvis out, Purvis rammed Green's car on pit road. That forced him out of the race and out of 4 races due to suspension. Matt Hutter and Nathan Buttke took his place. Following his return, Purvis finished in the top 10 four straight times, allowing him to finish 15th in points despite missing 5 races.

In 1999, Purvis moved to Diamond Ridge Motorsports. He had two less top-5s than in 1998, but two more top-10s, as well as being able to run every race. A 3rd place at Talladega was his best finish of 1999, but the consistency allowed for Purvis to finish 6th in points, bettering his 1996 standing. Even with the solid 1999, Purvis's job was in jeopardy.

However, Joe Gibbs Racing merged with Diamond Ridge, and picked up the #4 team for 2000. They switched the car to Pontiacs and gained sponsor Porter-Cable after Lance left. Purvis finished 2nd three times at Milwaukee Mile, Gateway and IRP. He also finished 3rd at Talladega. However, Purvis's new team could not qualify at Charlotte and Darlington. Unfortunately, Purvis was injured at Myrtle Beach and could not race at Watkins Glen. Curtis Markham replaced him for that race. Despite not making 3 races, Purvis finished a respectable 11th in points, with 4 top-5s and 11 top-10s

In 2001, Gibbs decided to team Purvis up with Mike McLaughlin and Purvis would drive the #18 MBNA Pontiac. In 17 races with the team, Purvis managed a 2nd at Fontana and 4 other top-10s. After Milwaukee race, Purvis was running 7th in points. However, Mike McLaughlin's team had to fold and with two drivers and one spot open, Purvis was released from JGR. Purvis did not run in the next two races, but Richard Childress had his #21 Rockwell Automation Chevy open for most of the summer. After finishing 15th at Gateway, Purvis headed to Pikes Peak International Raceway. After starting 7th, Purvis dominated, leading half of the laps, and easily cruised to his 3rd career Busch Series win. It was his first win in nearly 5 years. Despite the win, Purvis only made one start with the team after that at IRP, and was sent searching for a win again. Purvis was able to gain the #59 Kingsford (charcoal) Chevy ride at ST Motorsports. He made three starts with the team, finishing 5th at Memphis and also had finishes of 14th and 17th.

End and Rebirth of Career[link]

Brewco Motorsports hired Purvis to drive the #37 Timber Wolf Chevy in 2002. In twelve starts for the team, Purvis struggled. He only finished in the top-20 in five of those twelve starts. However, one of those came at Texas. Jack Sprague had dominated all day, but with rain in the area, Purvis stayed out while everyone else came in. It paid off 4 laps later, the skies opened and Purvis collected his 4th career win when the race could not restart.

Six races later, at Nazareth Speedway, Purvis was running solidly in the top-15, when he blew his engine and spun in his own oil on in the backstraightaway. Six seconds later, Greg Biffle slid in Purvis's oil and plowed into the car, causing Purvis severe head trauma.

Career awards[link]

He was inducted in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in the inaugural 2001 class.^[1]

References[link]

1. ^ Photograph of his 2001 induction in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame

External links[link]

• Racing Reference
• NASCAR.com

Gregory Jack Biffle
Born	(1969-12-23) December 23, 1969 (age 42) Vancouver, Washington, United States
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Achievements	2000 Craftsman Truck Series Champion 2002 Busch Series Champion
Awards	1998 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year 2001 Busch Series Rookie of the Year 2002 Busch Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
342 race(s) run over 11 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 16 (Roush Fenway Racing)
2011 position	16th
Best finish	2nd – 2005
First race	2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 (Fontana)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2003 Pepsi 400 (Daytona)
Last win	2012 Samsung Mobile 500 Texas Motor Speedway
Wins Top tens Poles 17 131 11
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
244 race(s) run over 11 year(s)
Best finish	1st – 2002
First race	1996 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2010 Tech-Net Auto Service 300 (Charlotte)
First win	2001 Pepsi 300 Presented by Mapco/Williams (Nashville)
Last win	2009 Bashas' Supermarkets 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 20 149 14
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
81 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Best finish	1st – 2000
First race	1998 Chevy Trucks Challenge (Orlando)
Last race	2004 Ford 200 (Homestead)
First win	1999 Memphis 200 (Memphis)
Last win	2001 Chevy Silverado 150 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 16 54 12
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

Gregory Jack "Greg" Biffle (born December 23, 1969 in Vancouver, Washington^[1]) is a NASCAR driver who drives the #16 3M Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-90s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former announcer Benny Parsons. He subsequently became champion in NASCAR's other two national touring divisions, the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series.

Racing career[link]

Biffle grew up in Camas, Washington and began his racing career driving on short tracks around the Pacific Northwest. He first gained national attention as a driver when he raced in the nationally televised Winter Heat Series in the winter of 1995–1996. Biffle dominated the series championship that winter, leading former ESPN announcer and NASCAR champion, Benny Parsons, to recommend the driver to Jack Roush.^[2]

Biffle entered the first two races of the 1996 Winston West Series, finishing 30th at Tucson and 4th at Altamont. His debut in one of NASCAR's national divisions came later that year when he ran the final two Busch Series races of the season. Driving a Chevrolet for Dick Bown, he finished 23rd at Rockingham but lost an engine the following race at Homestead and finished 36th.

In 1997, Biffle competed in the now-defunct NASCAR Northwest Series and won the Most Popular Driver Award.^[3]

Truck Series[link]

Roush Racing promoted Biffle to a full-time driver in the Craftsman Truck Series in 1998. Despite not winning a race that season, Biffle's four pole positions are the most by a Truck Series rookie to date and they helped him earn an 8th place finish in the final standings and the Rookie of the Year Award. He followed it up with a stellar 1999 season in which he recorded nine wins, a single-season Truck Series record that still stands as of 2009^[update]. He finished second in the final standings, just eight points behind champion Jack Sprague.

In 2000, Biffle won the Truck Series title with another five-win season, beating his Roush teammate Kurt Busch by 230 points. It was Biffle's first championship in one of NASCAR's three major series. It was announced that Biffle would move up to the Busch Series for 2001; however, he ran four more Truck races for Roush that season and won at Phoenix. Biffle's last Truck Series start was in 2004 for another long-time Ford team, Circle Bar Racing, at Homestead.

Busch/Nationwide Series[link]

Biffle joined the Busch Series full-time in 2001 and won the Rookie of the Year Award with five wins a fourth-place finish in the final standings. The following season, he won another four races and earned 20 top-five finishes out of 34 races en route to his first Busch Series title and the second NASCAR national championship of his career.

He ran only part-time in 2003 as Roush moved him up to a full-time ride in the Winston Cup Series for that season, but he returned to contend for the Busch Series championship again in 2004. He placed third in the standings behind Martin Truex, Jr. and Kyle Busch. From 2005 to 2009, Biffle raced part-time for Roush Fenway Racing in the Busch (now Nationwide Series) every year. He won twice in 2009, at Las Vegas and Phoenix, after going winless the previous two seasons. Biffle returned to the Nationwide Series in 2010, driving the #27 Ford for Baker Curb Racing.^[4]

Cup Series[link]

2008 Cup racecar

Biffle attempted his Cup Series debut by trying to qualify a Roush Ford for the 2002 Daytona 500 but failed to make the race. He would make his first Cup start for Roush nine races later at California. His 13th place finish in that race was his best finish in seven 2002 races as he also drove four races in a Chevrolet for Andy Petree Racing and two in a Dodge for Petty Enterprises.

Biffle began competing full-time in NASCAR's top division in 2003, with sponsorship from W. W. Grainger, who had previously sponsored him in his Busch and Truck Series rides. He earned his first win in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona that season and finished second to Jamie McMurray (who would later join him as a teammate at Roush) for Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Biffle placed 20th in the final points standings.

Biffle made an immediate impact in his sophomore season in 2004, earning the pole in the Daytona 500. Despite missing NASCAR's first-ever Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, Biffle won twice that season, at Michigan and Homestead en route to a 17th place finish in the final points standings.

2005 was Biffle's breakout season. He won six races, the most of any driver that year, and qualified for the Chase for the first time in his career. He won at California Speedway. Texas, Darlington,Dover and Michigan along with the season finale at Homestead to finish second in the standings, 35 points behind champion Tony Stewart (Biffle tied with teammate Carl Edwards in points but won the tie-breaker based on race wins).

Biffle regressed in 2006, missing the Chase for the Cup despite winning twice, at Darlington Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway (both of which were tracks at which he had also won in the previous season). He finished 13th in the standings, third-best of the drivers not to qualify for the Chase. He also missed the Chase the following year, in a season marred by the #16 team's new primary sponsor Ameriquest Mortgage suffering financial difficulty and having to sell off a number of its race sponsorships. Biffle won just once in 2007, at Kansas Speedway, and finished 14th in the standings, second-best of the non-Chase drivers as the Chase expanded to a 12-driver format that year.

In June 2008, Biffle signed a 3-year contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing.^[5] Despite going winless during the 26-race regular season, Biffle made for the Chase for the Sprint Cup that year and won the first two Chase races, at New Hampshire and Dover. In doing so, he became the first driver to win the first two Chase races in a season.

Biffle qualified for the Chase for the second year in a row in 2009 but, for the first time since 2002 (when he ran a limited schedule), failed to record a win. During a January 2009 test, Biffle managed to reach 218 miles per hour (351 km/h) in a test for Roush Fenway Racing as part of evading NASCAR's testing ban. This became the fastest time ever achieved on this track by any competitor (amateur or professional).

In 2010 Biffle qualified for the third year in a row for the Chase despite spotty performance in the regular season. He scored 2 wins at Pocono and Kansas. For 2011, Biffle's season improved, thanks in part to the implementation of Ford's new FR9 engine. However, crew chief Greg Erwin was replaced after Kentucky by Matt Puccia. The addition of Puccia helped Biffle's perfomance late in the season, despite the team missing the Chase and finishing 16th in points. Biffle missed the chase in 2011 for the first time since 2007.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, Biffle and Puccia remained at RFR, and gained the points lead after Las Vegas after three consecutive third place finishes. Eerily, the third place at Vegas came in Biffle's 333rd Cup start. Biffle's first win of the 2012 season came at Texas Motor Speedway in the Samsung Mobile 500 after passing Jimmie Johnson with 30 laps left in the race.^[6]

Personal life[link]

Greg Biffle signs autographs along pit lane at Pocono Raceway

Greg is married to Nicole (née Lunders) since October 17, 2007.^[7] The couple were married in South Carolina and now live in Mooresville, North Carolina. Biffle and his wife welcomed their daughter, Emma Elizabeth on July 6, 2011. She weighted 7 lbs and 6 oz.

Greg is a fan of fishing and enjoys deep sea fishing in Mexico, where he keeps a factory sponsored Luhrs fishing boat. Greg formerly owned a pub venture in his hometown of Vancouver called "Biffle's Pub and Grill" located at 11500 NE 76th St. He is a private pilot and owns a Cessna 210.^[8] Greg owns an 07 Ford GT and an 07 Shelby Mustang.

Appearances in media[link]

Greg guest starred in a 2005 episode of CBS's situational comedy Yes, Dear, entitled, "On Your Marks, Get Set, Mow". Biffle portrayed himself as a NASCAR racer moonlighting in a small-time lawnmower racing series.

Greg appeared on a special features scene of the 2006 NASCAR-themed comedy film, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but was not credited with appearing in the film itself.

On December 22, 2007 Greg appeared on the Food Network show Paula's Party with cook Paula Deen to cook steak,^[9] and take Paula for a ride in his 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.^[10]

Greg was a regular panelist on the Speed program, This Week in NASCAR which stopped airing at the end of the 2009 season.

Greg appeared on an episode of Speed Network TV's show "Pass Time" filmed in 2009, he ran is Mustang GT500 in 10.11 seconds.

Greg Biffle Foundation[link]

Greg also has a foundation in his name that he and Nicole manage. Their primary goal is to create awareness and serve as an advocate to improve the well-being of animals by engaging the power and passion of the motorsports industry. The foundation donates to local Humane Societies, no-kill animal shelters, spay and neuter clinics, and the Animal Adoption League.

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics[link]

Data as of February 18, 2012^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Greg Biffle at Racing Reference
• Greg Biffle at Roush Fenway Racing
• Greg Biffle at NASCAR.com
• Greg Biffle at The Coca-Cola Racing Family
• The Greg Biffle Foundation