Ford 400 - Jeff Green Notes

Jeff Green Notes, Quotes: Miami 400
Completing first full season for Petty Enterprises

This weekend Jeff Green and the #43 Chex Party Mix Dodge team head to the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway for Sunday’s 400-mile season finale. Green is completing his first full year behind the wheel of the legendary #43 Petty Enterprises Dodge and will do so with the help of Chex Party Mix, which will adorn the hood and side of the #43 this weekend.

Green, 41, is the only driver to have raced for the sport’s biggest names. Throughout his career, he has driven for Cup’s most legendary names, such as Junior Johnson, Felix Sabates, Richard Childress, Dale Earnhardt, and now Richard Petty. Green is in his first full season driving the legendary Petty Enterprises #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge. The 2000 NASCAR Busch Grand National champion, he holds the record for the largest points margin after winning the championship by 616 points. He is also a two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup pole winner, winning poles at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and the pole for the 2003 Daytona 500.

The thoughts of #43 Chex Party Mix driver Jeff Green heading into Homestead:

“We really don’t have anything to lose this weekend. We’ve had an up-and-down season, but we’re really trying hard to end it on a positive note. I think we can do just that. We’ve picked up a little in our motor program the past few weeks, and our cars have been getting better all season. Homestead is a track where you really depend on a good car and good motor.

“We still have some ground to cover before next season, but this season was our first full year together. There were some changes and growing pains along the way, but I think we’re headed in the right direction. We need to take advantage of everything that we learned this season and then benefit from it for next year. We made a lot of strides throughout the year, and now, hopefully, we can carry some momentum into Daytona and the rest of 2005.

“The goal this weekend is to stay competitive. We’ve been strong all year, but this weekend we want to put everything together. This team has worked really hard all season, and there has never been a time when I felt that we weren’t in a position for a strong run. The pieces just never exactly fit perfectly, but we’ve always been close. Our goal this weekend is to finally have everything come together throughout the entire weekend.

“You can’t expect to win every race, but we know we are capable of finishing in the top 10 every weekend. We have the resources and talent. We expect it and everyone deserves it too. This season gave us a good idea of what we can do, but now we have to prove it every weekend. We want to build on consistency.

“It’s pretty exciting to think about next season and the future. We’re all on the same page- that’s to win races. We need better finishes next season so we can prepare for a championship run. Right now, yeah, we’re going for the win Sunday, but hopefully next year at this time we will have a lot on the line.

“Homestead isn’t going to be easy to win. The championship is going right down to this last race with three or four guys with a really good chance at winning it. Those teams are really going to be working hard to win. We need to work harder and beat them. I think this team can do that. The help we’re getting from Chex Party Mix this weekend is great. A good run would be the best way to say ‘thanks’ for all the support we got this season. The future is looking good and hopefully we can show that this weekend.”