by REA WHITE, Special to FOXSports.com

Updated: May 8, 2008, 11:26 AM EST 12 comments

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My what a difference a few months can make. Turns out the pairing of Biffle with crew chief Greg Erwin was the perfect solution to getting this team back on track. Certainly all of Roush Fenway endured its down moments in 2007, but the fiery and competitive Biffle was the one expected to rally and challenge for the championship. When it didn't happen — due at times to mechanical issues or other unforeseeable problems — Biffle was expected to declare his independence.

Rea White (NASCAR Scene)

With his contract ending at the conclusion of the 2008 Sprint Cup season, though, Biffle has firmly distanced himself from such talk this season. He started the season on a high note and currently sits ninth in the standings. It's certainly not a stretch to believe he could once more be in the heat of the title run come November.

With a top finish of second in the series standings, and titles in what is now the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series on his Roush Fenway resume, Biffle has put his name alongside the top drivers in the sport.

He's also muzzled any talk about where he could go in 2009.

Last weekend at Richmond, Biffle said it is his "100-percent intent" to remain at Roush Fenway. And not through just his next contract period — which traditionally is three seasons — but for the rest of his Cup driving career.

"I want to stay at Roush Fenway until I retire and they know that," he said.

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Clearly, the organization wants him to stay as well.

Team owner Jack Roush seems to look at 2007 as sort of a lost year where Biffle's team is concerned. He watched as the team started the season with crew chief Pat Tryson and a consolidated crew from the other Roush Fenway teams brought together as one unit.

As it turned out, Roush says, that wasn't the best group for Biffle. So he started moving people around, trying to figure out the perfect combination. He courted and landed Erwin, who had been crew chief for Robby Gordon.

At first, he says, Biffle didn't necessarily agree with the changes.

But when he started performing better, when he won at Kansas and finished second at Phoenix — in the Car of Tomorrow model that had daunted the team's efforts all year — it was clear that a shift had been made.

But the changes had taken their toll on the season, dropping Biffle to 14th in the final standings and outside the Chase For The Nextel Cup. Still, Roush saw progress.

"That affected the early part last year and we did a lot of testing through the middle of the year," he says. "At the same time we were going through the rebuilding of Greg Biffle's 16 program, we were trying to catch up on the testing, and as we finished up the end of 2007, we believed that we had learned enough about the Car of Tomorrow to be able to be a factor. ... From a point of view from performance on the race track when something didn't go wrong, we had cars throughout the Chase that were the equal of anybody that was there and had the dominant car on a number occasions.

"So we parlayed that into 2008 and made some more personnel changes in the 16 crew and we feel like we had the quality of effort for Greg that he deserved and would be necessary for him to realize his potential and close the deal for him, and I think he recognizes that, too."

Now, Roush says that he sees a strong relationship between Biffle and Erwin.

The driver seems pleased with the turnaround as well. There's no doubt Biffle has been roundly courted by other Cup teams in the past months, but he's decided on Roush Fenway.

Why? Because when he looks at his organization, he sees a lot of dedication and a lot of potential.

So much so that he says he's not even curious about what else might be available.

"I've sat back and thought about what else is out there," he says. "There are a lot of great teams and great opportunities out there. But I don't know how you look at it. Do you look at as are they better than what I have now or how are they different than what I have now?"

He says he's making his decision the same way other high-profile drivers have in recent years. In the long run, it's all about wining races and winning championship. To do that, he needs good equipment and a solid team.

While he obviously recognizes that other groups have that as well, he says he feels comfortable where he is. When he looks at Roush Fenway, he sees a lot of opportunity.

So he's working on the extension, one that could help him end his career where he started it.

And he's not the only one interested in that prospect.

"If he has the greatest interest in being here because of what we've got for him to work with," Roush says, "then I'll make the same effort with him that I did with Carl (Edwards, who signed last week) to round up the absolute best offer I can make based on the sponsor interest."

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Rea White is a writer for NASCAR Scene, which is published weekly, 50 weeks per year. Visit www.scenedaily.com for more information. © 2007 Street & Smith Sports Group.