Green Looks to Pikes Peak, 2002 Season

Jeff Green is anxious to return to Pikes Peak International Raceway. He returns there this weekend as the reigning event champion, a race in which be beat his brother, David, by 0.746 seconds. Green talked about last year’s race, the intricacies of the 1-mile oval, as well as some of the obstacles he’s faced since he made his announcement regarding his plans for 2002.

JEFF GREEN—10—Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus – YOU HEAD BACK TO PIKES PEAK AS THE DEFENDING EVENT CHAMPION, BUT IT WAS ALSO MEMORABLE BECAUSE OF THE BATTLE YOU HAD WITH YOUR BROTHER, DAVID. "That’s pretty exciting for me and for David, too, to be able to race like that. That was the first time since we’ve been racing go-karts up through Late Models to Busch, we never got the opportunity to come to the end like that and race together. It was pretty exciting for me and to be able to come out on top was exciting, too. That race track has been pretty good to us. In 1999, we had a shot at winning and we were half a straightaway in front and the caution came out and we ended up finishing third. If things went a little different that year, we would have won that race, too. I think it’s a good race track for me as a driver and my team; they do a good job out there."

IS IT A RUN-OF-THE-MILL 1-MILE OVAL. "It’s a little bit unique because it has a little bit different pavement on it, so it doesn’t have the grip and the grip goes away every year. It all depends on what tire Goodyear is taking as to whether it has grip or not. It’s pretty unique. It’s kind of like Charlotte and Las Vegas and those places like that, but it’s a mile. The banking is worked where you can run on the bottom or run on the top and that makes for a good race. It’s a driver’s dream when you can pass a guy. When he’s running a different line than you, you can pass him in any lane you want to and that’s good for a driver."

YOU MENTIONED THAT THE PAVEMENT IS DIFFERENT THAN MOST OTHER TRACKS. DO THE HARSH WINTERS CHANGE THAT TRACK MUCH OR HAS IT BEEN CONSISTENT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? "I haven’t seen it change, but I’ve only raced it twice. From 1999 to 2000, it didn’t change from what I saw. It may have lost some grip, and again, they took a different tire, so it might all be in the tire. It’s a fast enough track that you don’t want to slide, but you have to deal with slinging a little bit because of the grip factor, so I guess it’s who slides the best. The tires stay on the car pretty good, so it’s not like the tires are going to be the situation that wins the race. It’s probably going to be gas mileage more than anything."

WE’RE IN THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER. DOES THAT WEAR ON YOU PHYSICALLY AS THE SUMMER MONTHS PROGRESS? "Not really. You need to drink your water, not just on race day, but even when you’re home during the week. You also want to stay in as good of shape as you can with all the traveling we do. The only time you really feel it is when you get out of the car or when you’re sitting still long. In a race, you’re never sitting still for longer than, hopefully, 15 seconds. That really doesn’t come into play. You have air conditioners in the car that cools that air that gets to your helmet, so if it takes 10 to 15 degrees off it. At least you’re breathing a little bit cooler air and that makes your head think you’re a little cooler, too."

IT SEEMS THAT SOME DRIVERS ARE MORE EASILY IRRITATED WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE KINDS OF CONDITIONS, THOUGH. "I think it’s the guys that aren’t prepared physically and the race car. The guys do a great job of putting heat shield on the exhaust and getting the ventilation right in the car, and, again, the air conditioner really helps. Some of these guys don’t have an air conditioner. Some of these guys are just doing it on their own. It costs about $6,000 for one of these systems, so it’s not cheap. I’ve done it before and then last year we got the air conditioner and it’s been a blessing ever since."

YOU MADE YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT LAST WEEK REGARDING YOUR RACING PLANS FOR 2002. HOW WILL THAT IMPACT THE REST OF YOUR SEASON THIS YEAR? "I don’t think it’s going to change anything. My team looks at me a little different now, and I hate that. I still have a job here to do with my Nesquik Taurus, and until that is over, I’m not going to give up one ounce of credit to any of these guys. I’m going to try to keep doing the best I can do, even better hopefully. I feel like I can win more Busch races. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to run any Busch races after this year, so I want to win as many as I can. My attitude is probably better than it ever has been to try to win. I probably take it out on the guys more when we don’t, but it’s just because I want to win so bad."

HAS THE NO. 2 BUSCH TEAM BEEN A LITTLE MORE FRIENDLY TO YOU IN RECENT WEEKS? "I think they are a little bit, but they still have a job to do with their team. Harold and the guys really don’t want to hear what they’re doing anyway; they want to do it on their own. I credit them for that. I think that’s great that they want to win races like that. We’ve won races doing it that way, so I don’t see why we should change."

ppc Racing announced today that current Craftsman Truck Series driver Scott Riggs will take the wheel of the No. 10 Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus in 2002 replacing driver Jeff Green, who earlier announced a move to Richard Childress Racing. The team also announced a two-year extension between ppc Racing and Nestle USA. Scott Riggs and crew chief Harold Holly discussed the partnership at a press conference at the team’s Mooresville, N.C., shop.

HAROLD HOLLY, Crew Chief—10—Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus – THERE ARE STILL 13 RACES LEFT THIS SEASON. DOES IT MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT WHEN YOU ANNOUNCE YOUR CHANGES THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON? "No, actually, I think it helps quite a bit because one thing that can disrupt a team are the unknowns. Rumors get started and the guys in the shop don’t know what is going on. I think to go ahead and get everything squared away is going to help Jeff Green’s focus to win the championship this year, it’s going to help Scott’s focus on winning his championship this year, it will help Jason Keller and it will help the whole ppc organization. Now everybody knows what they’re going to do next year and they can concentrate on what they need to do this year."

HAVING A ROOKIE DRIVER WILL BE SOMETHING NEW FOR YOU. ARE YOU ALLOWING FOR AN ADJUSTMENT PERIOD? "There maybe some, but I don’t suspect a real big one to be honest with you. With a talent like Scott Riggs, I think it’s going to be something real easy to overcome. His will to win is second to none, the same as the 10 team and the 57 team. I think we’ll all click like peanut butter and jelly."

YOU GET MORE TEST DATES WITH A ROOKIE. HOW WILL THAT HELP YOU NEXT SEASON? "This year we have 14 tests and next year, as an organization, we’ll have 17 tests on top of the other tests we work with Ford. I think next year will give us a better opportunity to learn things that we haven’t been able to learn in the past because of limited time and testing. With the three additional tests and the support from Ford as well, I think the company is growing and getting a more solid foundation every day."

SCOTT STILL HAS SOME RACES LEFT IN THE TRUCK SERIES. DO YOU EXPECT HIM TO COME TO THE BUSCH SHOP AS WELL TO LEARN ABOUT THE CARS? "Scott Riggs’ main focus right now is to win the truck championship and we don’t want to do anything to disrupt that, but our doors are wide open. Anytime he wants to come in here and look around, that’s fine, but we don’t want to step in the way of what he’s trying to do because he’s got the opportunity to do something that a lot of people never have the opportunity to do – win a championship. We don’t want to interfere with that right now."

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR NEXT YEAR? "You can’t set goals for yourself that you can’t achieve. I bet you Scott last year would never have told you that he would win three truck races this year, so to be honest with you, as far as the way Scott works and the way we work, I think it’s going to work right off the bat. And when things are happening like that, the winning comes."

WHO WAS INVOLVED WITH THE DECISION TO BRING SCOTT OVER TO PPC RACING? "Obviously, Nestle has to get really involved in who is going to represent their company. But the second criteria was the performance side of it and they left it up to me. And, of course, I consult with Greg Pollex and Keith Barnwell, and when I met Scott I said, ‘This is the guy.’ I said, ‘I’ll wait to you meet him and talk with him, but this is it.’ And, they did and everybody agreed on it. Like I said, as soon as I met him, I had the same feeling when I met Jeff Green, and I feel like the success is going to be there right off the bat."

DOES LOSING JEFF TAKE AWAY ANY OF YOUR FOCUS FROM THIS YEAR? "Jeff’s our friend. He’s done us a fantastic job and these guys go by the motto ‘Quitters never win and winners never quit.’ We’re going to give Jeff Green 150 percent all the way through Homestead, and then after that, anything he needs from us. Jeff has done us a fantastic job. He’s a great friend with all the guys at the shop and he’s a great personal friend for me, so it’s not going to be hard at all. Jeff’s moving up to drive for one of the best Winston Cup teams and I wish him all the luck in the world."

SCOTT RIGGS—10—Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus – YOU’RE GETTING IN RACE-WINNING EQUIPMENT NEXT SEASON. WHAT KIND OF EXPECTATIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR 2002? "I expect to pick up right where these guys are at right now. The caliber team that they are is at a championship level and they win races. I think we can be fast right out of the box. I think there was a lot of skepticism this year with someone like me who had very little experience in the truck series, and I feel like I’m trying to prove myself this year in the truck series that if I have the right people and the right equipment that I’m able to step up to the plate and fill the gap. I feel the same way with this Busch team next year. I feel like I’ll be able to step right in and run well and be a championship contender and contending for wins right out of the box."

YOU WERE BEING COURTED BY A NUMBER OF TEAMS LAST YEAR AND MADE THE DECISION TO DRIVE THE NO. 2 TRUCK. DID YOU EXPERIENCE THAT SAME THING THIS YEAR? "It sort of all fits the same thing that I’ve always said and the same thing that I’ve always maintained in my mind. I never want to move to any team or any series if it’s not going to be competitive. If we’re not able to be competitive and win races, then I don’t want to be there. The same thing that pulled me towards Ultra Motorsports is the same thing that drew me here. The team is staying together, the crew chief is staying on board, the entire team is intact, sponsors and everything. They just inserted me into the team and we’ve been able to do what we’ve done this year so far. I feel like the same deal is over here. I had some other opportunities to drive with some other teams next year, but all of these other teams had a lot of changes going on, were breaking up or sponsors we moving around; things that didn’t seem as stable as what ppc has to offer."

WAS IT AN OPTION TO STAY AT ULTRA MOTORSPORTS AND DRIVE ITS WINSTON CUP ENTRY? "Me and Mr. Smith, we talked a couple of times about doing a couple of Winston Cup races. Right now, I don’t feel like I’m ready for it. I feel like I need to learn on a little smaller scale, which I think the Busch Series is a perfect stepping stone for that. If we can get in the Busch car and get myself settled in there and feel comfortable, then maybe I’ll be ready in a year or so to look at doing some Cup races. I just felt like that my program for my career was just a little bit out of line for what Jimmy wanted to put. I didn’t want to go back to the trucks, I felt like I wanted to progress and do something, but I didn’t want to progress so far into the Cup Series. This just fits exactly what I need and what I wanted – a competitive Busch car."

WHAT ABOUT JUMPING FROM A TRUCK TO A CAR? "I talked to Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick. Both of those guys are good friends of mine and both of them said that they thought I’d be able to make the jump and make the transition pretty easy. After talking to them it was a big sigh of relief to hear them say that that’s a good move and that it won’t be something very difficult for me to do. They said that I’ll enjoy the Busch cars and that I’ll be able to jump right in and run good right out of the box. I have my faith in those guys; they’re two of the best in the series right now, so I look forward to it."

WILL IT BE DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN YOUR FOCUS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS SEASON, AND ARE YOU EXPECTED TO BE AT THE BUSCH SHOP LEARNING ABOUT THESE CARS? "I haven’t had a chance to spend a lot of time at the shop here at ppc because they know the importance of me trying to win that truck championship. I’m keeping my focus on winning that truck championship and doing the best I can while still proving to myself of being worthy of that this year. I still feel like I have 10 more races to finish out to prove myself in that series. The biggest thing is just keeping the team morale high and those guys need to have faith in me that I’m still focused and pushing hard. I put more pressure on myself than anyone possibly could, so I think that guys at Ultra Motorsports see that and I think it’s a quality that these guys at ppc see, and that’s the reason that I’m coming over here."

IS THE GOAL NEXT YEAR TO GET IN VICTORY LANE OR TO LEARN ABOUT THE CARS AND BUILD CONSISTENCY? "We haven’t sat down and talked about goals yet. In my mind, what I’m going to bring to the table as a goal is to get in there and win races next year and finish in the top three in points. If that takes to us to looking for a championship because we’re in the championship hunt, then that’s what we expect."

DO YOU SEE BIFFLE AND HARVICK HAVING SUCCESS IN THE BUSCH SERIES AND EXPECT THOSE SAME KIND OF RESULTS? "I’m not ever going to be that big-headed and say that if they can do it then I can do it, but after talking to those guys and seeing what kind of success they’ve had, I feel like if I can learn as quick as they’ve learned then maybe I can be as good as they are. That’s just a goal that I hope I can attain, to be as good as those guys are and to make the transition as good as they have."

ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO RUN A BUSCH CAR THIS SEASON? "We might run a Busch race here or there. We’ll probably run the last race in Homestead, and like I said, we haven’t really talked about what kind of races we want to do this year because every time I talk to these guys they tell me, ‘Hey, go out and win the truck championship this year. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be ready to go with both barrels loaded for next year.’"