Despite what he did Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway, Greg Biffle's Sprint Cup season hasn't gone to the dogs.
The driver of the No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing was at TMS as part of the track's "Dog Day Afternoon."
Biffle, a dog lover who along with his wife started the Greg Biffle Foundation for animals in 2005, got a first-hand look at the Fort Worth Police Department's K-9 unit. That included suiting up in a padded armor suit and getting attacked by a pair of German Shepherds.
"I was just hoping he was going to bite me where the suit was," said Biffle, who managed to keep his feet despite getting bit. "That's all I was worried about. He wasn't going for the hands or the feet. I did it twice and they asked if I wanted to do it again."
Biffle, who has three dogs of his own, has a deep appreciation for the animals. Not only are they pets, they are also perfect companions after a tough weekend at the track.
"I can't wait to get home after the weekend," he said. "They so excited to see you. They don't have a sense of time. Pet ownership is a lot of fun."
Biffle also wouldn't mind a dog or two with him on the track during a race.
"I would like to have about four or five dogs when race time comes around," he said. "They could bite about four or five of the fastest cars."
The 2013 season hasn't gotten off to the kind of start Biffle would like, but he can't complain about the end results. Despite having just one top-10 finish in the first four races, Biffle heads to Fontana this weekend fifth in points.
That's not bad considering he doesn't feel like his team has found its stride yet, especially with everyone in the series adjusting to the new Gen-6 car.
"It's been really tough but we continue to work at it," Biffle said. "We missed it big time at Las Vegas (a 17th-place finish. I really take a lot of that on my shoulders. Then we go back to Bristol, which has been a tough place for us. We ended up 11th. I'm not happy about the finishing position but I'm happy with what we learned about short tracks."
This weekend's race at Auto Club Speedway should be a good indicator of where Biffle's team is. Roush Fenway cars have typically had success in California. They've also run well at TMS. Biffle is the defending champion of the April race and has nine consecutive top-10 finishes at TMS.
He wouldn't mind being the top dog again in the April 13 NRA 500.
"I love this place," he said. "I can't wait to get here. This place is so much fun. I wish we had more race tracks like this. It's a challenging track. The way you have to search around for grip. I just like the challenges of this place."
