Biffle/Kahne - Ford interview 2010-05-10

This Week in Ford Racing
May 10, 2010

The NASCAR Hall of Fame will officially open to the public this week in downtown Charlotte, NC. Ford drivers Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne were recently asked about the grand opening and some of their thoughts about the inductees.

GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 3M Ford Fusion

DO YOU EVER TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHERE THE SPORT IS GOING. "It's exciting where the sport is going because the racing is really, really good. We've got some great race tracks and the fans and the TV package and all the media stuff around this thing is pretty incredible. I am very excited about the Hall of Fame. I can't wait for Thursday night. They sent me the itinerary that talks about the lives of those guys and their careers, and I'm really excited to see that because I don't know what they did and what they like to do. I've only seen so many of the races and replays. I probably don't know as much history about our sport as some of the guys that grew up in the south or up and down the east coast. Me being from the northwest, I didn't get to see as much of it."

WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE GUY? "My favorite guy when I was paying attention, and as far back as I can remember, when I was a little kid I had STP stickers (Richard Petty) and that was the most fun thing. Then my next real memory is watching Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Ernie Irvan. Those were the three guys that I watched every week to see where they were running. I know that's not one guy and typically most fans are like, 'He's my guy,' but I was kind of all over the board."

WHO WOULD YOU LIKED TO HAVE RACED IN THEIR PRIME?  "All of them - Pearson,
Petty, all of them.  There isn't any I wouldn't have wanted to race with.

DID YOU HAVE ANY INTERACTION WITH DALE EARNHARDT? "I remember we had a talk at the banquet when (Ron) Hornaday won and I finished second. He invited me up to the party and we talked some. We talked a little fishing and other things, and I asked him for some advice here and there. I had him sign a few cars for buddies of mine, but that's about as much as I got to do. I would have loved to have been able to go fishing or hunting with him sometime because I enjoy the outdoors as well, but I never got that chance and neither did a lot of people."

KASEY KAHNE - No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion

YOU'VE BEEN IN VICTORY LANE WITH RICHARD PETTY. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS SEEING HIM BE PART OF THIS INAUGURAL INDUCTION CLASS? "It's pretty awesome. I really like Richard Petty and respect what he's done for this sport and auto racing. He definitely deserves to be part of that right off the start. To me, I've always thought of him as one of our top personalities, top racers and top guys behind this sport from when it started. He's a big part of the history of this sport and I think that's where he deserves to be."

IS THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME SOMETHING YOU'RE STRIVING FOR ONE DAY? "I think everybody will want to be in there because it's going to be such an awesome place to go and look at everything to do with NASCAR from the past to the present. I think it would definitely be a good spot to be, and I'm excited I get to be a part of the grand opening plans throughout this month. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

-source: ford racing