Matchmaker

Parsons was catalyst for Biffle-Roush joining forces

There was some happy coincidence this past week at Chicagoland Speedway, one of those nice-guys-finish-first things.

NBC embarked on its second half-season of NASCAR telecasts on the same Saturday that Busch series regular Greg Biffle announced he was going to Winston Cup in 2003, and you might wonder what one fact has to do with the other.

Well, dial up the home folks in Vancouver, Wash.

Biffle's original address, nearly 3,000 miles from stock car racing's heart, may be a great place to grow up, but it doesn't facilitate childhood driving dreams. You don't mass-mail resumes to land a job as a NASCAR driver, and typically, you don't move cross-country on a whim just to seek one.

As a youngster starting out in the mid 1990s, Biffle trekked south to try his luck in the offseason event known as "Winter Heat." The format has launched several drivers, including Ron Hornaday, and it was there that Biffle unknowingly impressed his future headhunter, former Winston Cup champion Benny Parsons.

"They came from all over the western United States to a three-eights (of a mile track) in Tucson, Arizona, trying to become a star on television," said Parsons, who had been assigned to cover the 1997 Winter Heat races for ESPN. Now a member of NBC's broadcast crew, he remembers Biffle literally materializing as if from some desert mirage.

"He's 25 years old, halfway decent-looking, can speak pretty well, and he builds race cars for a living," Parsons said. "I said, 'Wow, that's pretty good.' But what was really amazing, that year, at Winter Heat he absolutely dominated. So I said, 'Here's a package with the whole thing. He knows how to win, he knows how to work on the race car, and he's fairly young. What a package this is!'

"But you know what? If I don't do it for him, he's never going to be known outside Vancouver, Washington."

So Parsons, who hasn't forgotten his own youthful struggles, talked to several truck series owners, among them Jack Roush. No one bit. A year and another Winter Heat later, Parsons passed Roush in the Michigan Speedway garage while on his way to the airport. He stopped to chat, and Roush revealed sports car star Tommy Kendall had turned down his invitation to anchor Roush's third Truck series team.

"I said, 'Well, Jack, don't forget Biffle,'" Parsons said. "'If you need a driver, this kid'll do you a good job.' And I left."

A few days later, on a Tuesday, he got a call from Roush Racing president Geoff Smith, who wanted to know about the guy Parsons had mentioned to Roush.

"So I told Geoff all I knew about him, and they hired him on Wednesday on my recommendation," Parsons said. "You talk about pressure! 'Well, Biffle, you better do something!'"

Biffle has. The now-33-year-old capped his three seasons in the Truck series with the 2000 series title (after falling eight points shy of the 1999 title, and winning rookie-of-the-year honors in '98). Biffle graduated to the Busch series last year, where he again earned rookie honors and set records for most rookie wins (five), most top fives (16) and most top 10s (21).

This season he's battling for the championship. After finishing eighth in Saturday's Tropicana Twister 300 Busch race at Chicagoland -- the 19th of 34 events -- Biffle leads the series standings by 47 points over Jason Keller.

"I think he has validated the fact that he is a talent," Parsons said.

During Saturday's announcement, which preceded the Tropicana 300, both Biffle and Roush hailed Parsons as their matchmaker. Parsons wasn't present; he was preparing for NBC's Busch broadcast, but the news wasn't a total surprise.

Many in the garage knew Biffle was on a five-year plan to join the Cup series. Earlier, he'd announced he would run seven 2002 Cup events. (His debut came in April at California Speedway; he finished 13th). But the 2003 dream didn't become reality until the Grainger industrial supply company, Biffle's original -- and so far, only -- primary sponsor, signed on.

"I think that's huge because they've been his sponsor since day one," Parsons said.

So has Parsons. He's just glad his initial instincts panned out, as are other people. Biffle is thoughtful, unassuming. Doesn't mind admitting that he co-owned a Vancouver restaurant to help finance his early career. He's easy to approach, easy to deal with -- off the track. Like most drivers, he apparently metamorphoses into a tiger on it (remember his post-race tussle with Kevin Harvick at Bristol?).

A little fire's OK, too.

"I just knew," Parsons said of Biffle. "He did all the things that you want to see a race car driver do, but the biggest key to the whole thing, he built race cars for a living. He knew what it took to get a race car around the race track."

Parsons did some metamorphosing of his own during the offseason; he shed 25 pounds after throwing out his back on the second golf swing of his winter hiatus in Daytona. After lying on a couch for two weeks, and visiting a chiropractor, Parsons said he finally succumbed to a complete medical examination.

The MRI results were a revelation.

"The doctor said, 'There's nothing wrong with your back,'" Parsons said. "'You need to lose some weight.'"

So the former Cup champion invested in gym time, sessions with personal trainer Phil Horton, and a daily schedule of smaller, healthier meals. At 6-feet, he's down to 245, and hopes to maintain it through the next 19 weeks of grueling travel. Eventually, he'd like to hit 225, his driving weight.

"When I was racing, I ate a lot of calories, but I worked them off, too," Parsons said.

He's having almost as much fun working, now. Prior to every race, he'll dole out a "Golden Benny" award to a deserving person, or group based on performances from the previous week. (Last week's recipients was Matt Kenseth's Cup-champion pit crew, and yes, that's a svelte golden Benny figure on the trophy).

Look for Harvick, the Chicagoland winner, to receive this week's Golden Benny.

"During the race, when Harvick spun, and he drove it back and forth, and back and forth, I said, 'Now, that's my Golden Benny for next week,'" Parsons said. "I have no choice now."

He feels the entire NBC crew, including booth partners Allen Bestwick and Wally Dallenbach, and pit reporters Bill Weber, Marty Snider, Matt Yocum and Dave Burns, are much more comfortable than they were in their initial season together.

"We kept telling each other going into this thing, 'Let's relax, there's no pressure,'" Parsons said. "NBC's got this contract for the next five years, for God's sake! Let's just go out there and have some fun and be glad that we're here and not working in a factory somewhere. Because this is a great job we have, guys. This is a terrific thing!"

Denise N. Maloof covers NASCAR for CNNSI.com.

 

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