BY TEAM FORD RACING CORRESPONDENT

Talladega, Ala. — Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith said Sunday that rumors that Greg Biffle’s name would come up with Silly Season couldn’t be avoided, given that the team is simultaneously trying to sign a new sponsor to replace Ameriquest and at the same time sign Biffle beyond the end of 2008, when his current deal expires.

The situation is a classic catch-22: Potential sponsors want drivers signed to long-term deals before they’ll commit, and drivers want to know a sponsor is in place to pay the bills before they sign on for another tour of duty.

“When you go out in public to request a sponsor, you have to tell the sponsor how long the term is,” Smith said. “And so it was inevitable, always inevitable, that the moment the word got out in any fashion that we were looking for a three-year deal for a sponsor, that it would trigger the questions back to the driver. The fact that it made it a little bit awkward for Greg … it just puts him back into the marketplace again. There wasn’t anything I could do about that. It was inevitable. You just have to go say what is and move through it as fast as you can.”

Smith said he was optimistic about keeping Biffle in the Roush fold, though he was unsure if the deal would get done this year or next.

“Whether or not the contract is extended is Greg’s decision, and he’ll let us know,” Smith said. “If he wants to sit for another year, or wants to do it now … we can have a sponsorship now without any issue. When Greg gets done reviewing the deal, we’ll see.”