Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods - Jeff Green Notes

Jeff Green Notes, Quotes: Banquet 400
‘Racing With A Purpose’

This weekend Jeff Green and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team head to the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, located in Kansas City, Kan., for Sunday’s Banquet 400. Another busy weekend for Green and the team on the track, off the track Green has an important event planned as well.

Green will once again be participating in the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories program to be held Thursday afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club in Kansas City, Mo., and also at the track Friday morning (TO ATTEND FOR MEDIA AND/OR PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE CONTACT (704) 660-0796). Green will be reading to children in an effort to promote literacy. Cheerios will also donate 43 books for every lap that Green completes on Sunday to First Book of Kansas City. Cheerios will double the donation if he finishes in the top 10.

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 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver Jeff Green heading into Kansas:

“It’s always pretty cool to go out to Kansas. It’s a new, fast track, a great facility and a great community. That’s why we want to give something back, and we’re going to be doing that with the help of Cheerios this weekend. We’re going to be participating in the Cheerios Spoonful of Stories program once again and that has got everyone pretty excited. It’s a different program than you see in the sport of NASCAR, but probably one that’s just as important as any.

“We did it once earlier this season in Sonoma (Calif.), and it was a success there. I read the ‘Racer’s Alphabet’ to some school children in the local community and it was pretty cool to see their faces. I think they enjoyed having a driver come out and take some time to spend with them. Growing up, Darrell Waltrip came to my school. I can remember how cool that was for me, and now I hope I can bring that excitement to these children.

“It’s a good cause too. With anything you do in life reading is important. We’re constantly reading information to make our cars better, and for children to start and be interested in reading at an early age, that’s important. It will help them succeed in life and that’s what this program is all about. It’s pretty exciting to be a part of something like this, something that gets that first book into the hands of a child.

“Right now, the excitement level in Nextel Cup is pretty high. This ‘Chase for the Championship’ has everyone talking. That’s good. It helps our sport and will hopefully make it grow. I also think, however, that doing something like ‘Spoonfuls of Stories’ is just as exciting. Our sponsors are still involved heavily with our team and we’re taking advantage of that in one of NASCAR’s newest markets. In the grand scheme of things, it’s good to see that we can still do that.

“We’re still just as focused on the track as well. Doing well at Kansas is going to be important for everyone. It’s the first mile-and-a-half track that we go to before we hit a string of them to close out the year. Running well there can really lead to some momentum the rest of the way. We have Lowe’s, Atlanta and Homestead before we close it all out, and all of those tracks are pretty similar to Kansas. This might be a turning point for many teams this season.

“Momentum is still a big thing. It’s the end of the season, but there isn’t much down time between now and next season. We want to learn as much as we can from now until next season. There is still a purpose for us to racing hard. This weekend we just have that much more of an incentive.”