NASCAR: Is Greg Biffle’s return a sign of things to come?

By Asher Fair | Mar 29, 2019

FORT WORTH, TX - MARCH 28: Greg Biffle, who ran practice laps for Kyle Busch, driver of the #51 Cessna Toyota, climbs into his truck during practice for the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Vankor 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on March 28, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Is Greg Biffle returning to the NASCAR Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports a sign of things to come for the former full-time driver?

Greg Biffle has not competed in a NASCAR race since he competed in the 2016 Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. While it has been thought by many fans since this race that he is done completing in the sport, he never officially retired, and evidence of this lies within what he did earlier this week and what he is set to do in a few months.

The 49-year-old Vancouver, Washington native participated in the first of two practice sessions for tonight’s Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, the Vankor 350. He drove the #51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota in this session.

Kyle Busch Motorsports team owner Kyle Busch is set to drive the #51 Toyota in the 147-race itself at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) high-banked Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Biffle is not slated to compete in this race at all.

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The Vankor 350 is set to be the fourth of five starts for Busch behind the wheel of the #51 Toyota this season. He won each of his first three starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, respectively, and he is set to return for his fifth and final start of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 17.

But while Biffle only competed in a single practice session for this race, a race in which he is not even slated to compete, could this be a sign of bigger things to come for him?

This question was quickly answered when it was later confirmed that Biffle is set to compete in the Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, the Rattlesnake 400, on Friday, June 7. He is set to drive the #51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota in this race, as Busch will have already completed in his maximum allowable total of five starts throughout the season.

An even bigger question is this: is Biffle’s start in this race a sign of even bigger things to come for him?

Keep in mind the fact that it has been almost two and a half years since Biffle competed in NASCAR on any level. Even more notable in this particular instance is the fact that his appearance in this Truck Series practice session is his first appearance in any kind of Truck Series competition since he competed in the 2004 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It was fairly obvious from the start, even before it was confirmed that Biffle was set to compete in the June Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, that he certainly would not return to NASCAR just to participate in one Truck Series practice session.

But would he really return to NASCAR just to compete in one Truck Series race?

Only time will tell. But let’s not forget what happened after Matt Kenseth supposedly walked away from NASCAR at the end of the 2017 season after Joe Gibbs Racing replaced him with Erik Jones behind the wheel of the #20 Toyota.

Kenseth, who was 46 years old at the time, ended up returning to the Cup Series in the 2018 season as one of the two part-time drivers of the #6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford beginning with the season’s 12th race at Kansas Speedway. He competed in 15 of the season’s final 25 races and recorded a top finish of sixth place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

While a Cup Series return may be hard to envision for Biffle at this point, don’t rule out the possibility of him competing in more Truck Series races or perhaps even some Xfinity Series races over the next few seasons.

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Will we see more of Greg Biffle in NASCAR in the near future, or is his appearance in this practice session at Texas Motor Speedway coupled with his slated start in the June race at the track just a one-off appearance?