Aaron’s 499 - Jeff Green Notes

Jeff Green
America Online Racing
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Aaron's 499, April 6, 2003
Venue: Talladega Superspeedway

NASCAR Winston Cup Points Position: 27th

Notes:

Jeff Green, driver of the #30 America Online Chevrolet, will start in his 102nd Winston Cup race this weekend as the Winston Cup teams compete in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 6. Live broadcast is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST on FOX.

While many appeared surprised when Jeff Green won the pole for the first restrictor-plate race of the season, one only had to look at crew chief Mike Beam's record to know that it was very likely Green would be on the front row. Throughout his career, Beam has put a driver on the front spot in eight restrictor-plate races.

Rebounding after a slow start, Green posted his first top 10 of the season after finishing seventh in last weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway. The finish moved him up six spots in the Winston Cup point standings to 27th, with 646 points. After seven races in the 2002 season, Green had accumulated 612 points, and was 28th. With more top finishes, Green and the AOL can easily obtain their season-ending spot of 17th and surpass that with consistent efforts.

The AOL Chevrolet that finished fifth at Talladega last fall and sat on the pole at Daytona will not see action this weekend after the accident at Daytona has sidelined the car. Instead, the same chassis that Green raced in last spring's Talladega race will make another appearance. Chassis #84 also competed in the Budweiser Shootout in 2002.

2002 Race Recap:

Biding his time at the back of the pack, Jeff Green saw the melee occur in front of him and then somehow found his way through the smoke and flying debris to bring the #30 America Online Chevrolet home to a 16th-place finish last spring. Due to the draft, Green moved from his 30th starting position into the top 10 by the eighth circuit when he followed the middle line to the front. With the car handling better in the upper groove, Green kept the AOL Chevy on the high line around the 2.66-mile track. Although the engine ran strong at 240 degrees, Green started to feel the effects of the heat as his seat inside the car was causing discomfort and fell to the back of the field to preserve his strength. Green was 31st when cars began to collide in front of him with 24 laps remaining. Taking 10 laps to complete the clean-up, the green flag dropped with 13 laps remaining in the 188-lap event. As drivers jockeyed for position in the waning laps, Green jumped up in the field only to get shuffled back when the caution came out again when the #6 car driven by Mark Martin stalled on the backstretch. NASCAR then decided to halt the race to check the track for oil and debris with just six laps left in the race. With four laps remaining when racing resumed, Green mustered the strength for a 16th-place finish.

Quotes:

"The draft is the same at Talladega as it is at Daytona, but you've got a lot more room to work with and handling doesn't come into play as much at Talladega," Green said during a recent interview. "You've just got to plan so many moves ahead of time. It's not like a normal race track where you can pass a guy and then go on to the next one. You have to plan a couple of laps ahead of time so you can get yourself in position to go ahead and pass that guy ahead of you and make sure the guys behind you help you. That's just tough for a driver to do."

"One of the biggest challenges at restrictor-plate races is finding someone to draft with you," commented Green. "I surely didn't get much help in Daytona. I guess the key is to just stay in line but when you want to make a move, pray the guy follows. Various drivers are just looking out for themselves and will use you when they need you but then leave you dry when it comes to returning the favor. I guess that's all apart of racing though."

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