ESPN Sprint Cup

ESPN.com preseason rank: No. 5

2009 Outlook

Anything short of a title will disappoint Greg Biffle, and rightfully so. He was the runner-up in 2005 and finished third in 2008. There's no doubt he can win titles. He has won them in the Nationwide and Truck series. There's no doubt he can win races. He has 11 victories over the past four years, including six in 2005.

"We had a couple of wins to start the [2008] Chase, and then finishing third in points was a little bit of a disappointment for us," Biffle said. "You'll see us use that as motivation to run up front all season and be in contention for the championship."

Were it not for getting caught up in a wreck caused by Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards at Talladega in October, Biffle would have seriously challenged Jimmie Johnson for the title in '08.

There's no reason to think he won't do just that in 2009. He is strong at most venues, particularly the intermediate tracks. He returns his entire core group intact, and confidence is at an all-time high.

"Our goals this year are to win a championship, win a championship and win a championship," Biffle said.

Enough said.

2008 Review

Biffle made it into the Chase without a win, then captured the first two events and looked like the driver to beat. After a third at Kansas he was only 30 points out of the lead … then came the big mistake by his teammate at Talladega.

Edwards bump-drafted Biffle through the corner, trying to push them to the front with 14 laps remaining. Instead, he caused a major pileup that left Biffle in 24th place in the race and 77 points back in the title run.

"We showed last year we're as good as anybody out there," crew chief Greg Erwin said. "We just need to stay consistent and turn a bad day into a 15th-place finish instead of 30th."

He has a shot at the title if: He can remain as consistent as he was this past season and just avoid some of the misfortune that has kept his Cup career from really taking off.

He won't win the title because: Teammate Carl Edwards will win more races than he will.

-- David Newton