Fishing Mishap Costs Greg Biffle Race

A little off-week fishing turned into a big headache -- or rib-ache, if you will -- for Roush Fenway Racing's driver Greg Biffle.

Biffle, slated to drive in both the Sprint Cup Series' Food City 500 on Sunday and the Nationwide Series' Scotts Turf Builder 300 on Saturday for RFR, will now sit out the Saturday event to rest a sore set of ribs after the No. 16 Ford driver fell awkwardly -- he termed it a "freak accident" -- while trying to get off a boat Tuesday night.

Judging from his remarks Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway's half-mile, Biffle wasn't too proud of the way he injured himself.

"I wish I had a better story, I really do. Me and a couple buddies went out fishing on Tuesday night and we were just messing around in our cove right there and we came back to the dock," said Biffle. "I jumped over to the dock and the boat was kind of drifting out a little bit. One guy had the front corner and I said, 'I'm gonna jump back over and grab a rope and then jump back again.'

"It was about 11:30, so there was a little bit of dew in the air and the platform must have been wet, and when I jumped over it just shot my foot out from underneath me. It turned me around backwards and put me right on my side and on my back on the edge of the boat."

In other words, Biffle is a human like the rest of us and just slipped. Ow.

Fortunately, Biffle isn't going to be running 500 laps in the driver seat of a stock Ford Fusion, and instead will have a seat that has been custom-formed to the contour of his frame.

"I went down yesterday as a precaution and got in my Martinsville car because the Bristol car had already left, and I feel better in that seat than I do sitting in anything," said Biffle. "I drove over there in my truck and I actually feel better sitting in that seat (race car seat) because it's hard foam and it's molded. It doesn't create any pressure points."

As for the Saturday Bristol race, teammate Matt Kenseth will jump in the No. 16 in place of Biffle, and the pair will switch a race date later in the season, possibly the Nationwide event at Daytona. Biffle has no concerns that he'll be able to complete Sunday's race.