Food City 500 - Jeff Green Notes

GREEN TAKES DIFFERENT ROUTE FOR MILESTONE 100 START

BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 19, 2003) - On Sept. 10, 1994, Jeff Green took his first green flag in Winston Cup competition and, although it's been nearly nine years later, he'll see it drop for the 100th time this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for start of the Food City 500.

Had Green driven in a Winston Cup car for the past eight seasons, he'd be past the 300-race milestone. Instead, he chose a different route, one that some might not have chosen. Waiting for the "perfect" opportunity, the one ride that would give him a chance to win not only a race but a championship, Green remained on the sidelines, for the most part, until 2001 when he joined Richard Childress Racing and went on to compete in his first full season of Winston Cup racing in 2002.

"I couldn't justify leaving a very successful Busch career for a mediocre Winston Cup team so I waited until the right opportunity afforded itself to me," said Green, who has nearly half of his Winston Cup starts under the RCR banner. "It seems like it's taken a long time to reach this milestone but now I'm with a team that can produce results on a consistent basis."

The different route he chose put him into the Busch Series and in a full-time ride for Dale Earnhardt. That relationship lasted two years and then Green decided to dabble back into Winston Cup racing. Driving in 20 events for Gary Bechtel in 1997, Green saw modest success and posted his then best Winston Cup finish at the season finale in Atlanta, a fourth-place mark that stood as his career best until last year at New Hampshire.

Returning to Busch Series competition when no full-time Winston Cup rides were available, Green shined as one of the series stars and re-wrote the record books in 2000 when he won the championship. In the following year, his life would forever change when he got the opportunity to drive for RCR on a limited schedule for his new team and sponsor, America Online.

"There were a bunch of different circumstances that led to that ride in the AOL Chevy," said Green. "I'm just glad it all worked out the way it did. I couldn't have asked for much more and we're starting to turn this season around. I love racing at Bristol so reaching this milestone at one of my favorite tracks will make it all the more special."

Green's love of Bristol stems from his background of short-track racing back in Kentucky and his success on the =-mile oval. His 24 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway are the most of any track with the exception of Richmond, another short track that shares the same number of starts. Although a victory eluded him until the Busch Series race last spring, Green has posted some fairly impressive results with 10 top-10 finishes and completing nearly 6,000 laps around the high-banked track. He also earned his first Winston Cup Bud Pole Award qualifying for the August race at Bristol in 2001.

"Bristol is a great track and exciting to race at," said Green, whose best Winston Cup finish at Bristol was 17th in August 1998. "The competition is so close and there's a lot of contact. Anything can happen in an instant if you're not careful. We've got a brand new car with us this weekend and I'd like to keep it all in one piece. I hope to bring my Busch Series success at this track over to the Winston Cup garage and get the AOL team a great finish this weekend. How great would that be to earn my first win in my 100th start, especially at Bristol where I earned my first pole position."

A win at Bristol also would give the AOL team a boost after a slow start to the 2003 season. Steadily improving upon their finishes, Green sits 35th in the Winston Cup championship points standings, climbing four spots after finishing 19th last weekend. Although it's just five races into the season, Green and the AOL team know, as the season progresses, spots are harder to earn and want to gain even more positions in the standings after the Food City 500 on Sunday.

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