Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 - Jeff Green Notes

Jeff Green Notes, Quotes: Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500
‘The Pressures of a Championship’

Only four NASCAR Winston Cup races remain in 2003 as Jeff Green and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker team head to the1.54-mile Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Bass Masters MBNA 500. With his sights set on running well those final four races, Green can also empathize with what’s going on in the title chase.

Matt Kenseth holds a healthy lead in the NASCAR Winston Cup championship, but is being chased by Kevin Harvick. Kenseth is also trying to fend off any bad luck that might occur as the season winds down. Green, the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series champion, is one of few active Winston Cup drivers to know what it’s like to have both won a championship and chase for one.

The 2000 NASCAR Busch Grand National champion, Green is known for a winning driving style and a true ability to “bring the car home.” In his first full season of NASCAR Winston Cup racing last season, he failed to finish just two races, and both of those due to engine problems. He won the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500 this year, and has won over $2 million.

The thoughts of #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver Jeff Green heading into Atlanta:

“I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to have won a championship. It doesn’t happen every year, but when you are in position to win one, it puts a whole new dimension into your racing. It’s an entirely different approach to how you think about the next race. The last few weeks, and the ones coming up, give you a good idea of that approach. This weekend there are going to be 43 cars racing at Atlanta, but only two or three are racing for the championship. Matt (Kenseth) and Kevin (Harvick) are heading into this weekend looking for a championship. The rest of us, like this Cheerios team, are just looking to win the race. I’m not saying that Matt and Kevin aren’t going to try to win, but they will be a lot more cautious than some of the other guys. They have a lot more to lose than some of the other guys out there.

“I won a championship, but it was a little bit different. I won the championship by a very comfortable margin. I didn’t have to worry as much down the stretch. I don’t think Matt has to really worry either. He has to be careful, but he has some room to make some mistakes. I have the honor to call Matt a good friend of mine. We have talked about the championship. It’s on his mind, but he knows what he needs to do. I think a few weeks ago, when the team had some bad luck and some wrecks, he was a little worried. That’s understandable, but Matt knows what he needs to do to get the job done.

“Anytime you’re in a championship chase, it’s about the war and not the battle. You have to be smarter about the way you race. If you have a top-five car, then you need to race it like it’s a top-five car. If you can’t win the race that day, than just get the best you can out of it and move on. That’s what a good ‘points day’ is. They make you win the war. I think Matt understands that. They have been really good this year of being around at the end of the day. They are always up front. They may not win all the time, but they are around at the end of the day, and usually near the front.

“Matt really wants to win this championship. It would be his first, and it’s a really big deal to win. This is the Winston Cup championship and you are battling 42 other guys each week. In the Truck series, or in the Busch series, there aren’t as many guys truly competing against you for the championship. In Winston Cup, everyone can win the championship and it’s a prestigious honor to win. Matt knows that and he is doing what he needs to do to win this championship. I consider Matt a good friend and I think it would be really cool to call him a Winston Cup champion at the end of the season. I hope he can do it and I wish him the best.

“Myself, I am trying my best to win races. We aren’t in a position to chase a championship, but we are in position to try our best to win as many races as we can. We’ve been getting on the right track in a short amount of time with this Cheerios team, and we’re all excited to get to Atlanta.”

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