NASCAR: Biffle, Roush Fenway part ways

After 14 Sprint Cup seasons in the No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford, Greg Biffle and the organization have parted ways after a three-year winless drought.

Biffle had played coy on social media over the weekend but thanked his crew "for all of their hard work over the years." He confirmed the news on Monday.

“We’ve had an incredible run and I am so appreciative for the opportunity to be a part of Roush Fenway,” Biffle said in a press release. “For a kid that grew up Washington, I’m extremely proud of everything we have been able to accomplish over the last 19 years – both on and off the track. I’ve enjoyed every minute. I’m excited about the next chapter of my life, and I look forward to exploring other opportunities – particularly in radio and television – both inside and outside of NASCAR.

“I’m thankful to Jack Roush for the opportunity to have driven his race cars for all these years. It’s very rare in this sport to have been able to stay with one team this many years, and to have been as successful as we have been.”

Related Stories

Said owner Jack Roush: “I don’t have the words to say what Greg has meant to this organization. He is a true racer who has always exhibited a will to win and an intense passion for speed. For almost two decades Greg has given us an opportunity to run up front and compete for wins.

“Greg exemplifies what every owner hopes for in a driver and I’m extremely thankful for having him as part of our organization. I know that Greg and I will maintain a strong friendship and I look forward to leaning on him on occasion as we continue to work on improving our performance.”

Biffle had one year remaining on his contract, but the team had yet to line up sponsors for 2017. He finished the 2016 season 23rd in the standings (teammates Ricky Stenhouse and Trevor Bayne were 21st and 22nd, respectively) and came home 17th in the Homestead season finale after an electrical short forced the team to change his battery four times.

The organization has not made a decision whether to field the No. 16 in 2017; the team has a charter for that car, so it must run the car, lease the charter or sell it.

Biffle, who turns 47 in December, has been with Roush since 1998. He won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title in 2000 and the NASCAR XFINITY championship in 2002, but the 19-time Cup winner hasn't had a victory since earning Ford's 1,000th NASCAR victory in 2013 at Michigan International Speedway. He's qualified for the Chase eight times since the format was introduced in 2004.

Overall, Biffle has started 835 NASCAR races – having won 55 times in the three major series – and led almost 12,000 laps.

In June – about a month before he clinched the Daytona pole for his first top starting spot since the 2012 fall race at Charlotte – Biffle said the Roush organization was improving, but not enough to catapult it out of the back half of the field.

"Compared to last year it is a huge improvement," Biffle said. "It's a reason to celebrate and go on vacation. But where we are at compared to our competition is not so much a reason to celebrate yet because we are running between 10th and 15th and we want to be better than that."

Biffle needs only a Sprint Cup Series title to post the first triple-crown in the NASCAR history.