UAW-GM Quality 500 - Jeff Green Notes

Jeff Green Notes, Quotes: UAW-GM Quality 500
‘Cheerios Dodge to Race ‘Under the Lights’’

This weekend Jeff Green will step behind the wheel of the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge for Saturday night’s UAW-GM 500 at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway, located in the city of Concord, N.C. This will be the first time in the event’s history that it will be run “under the lights” on a Saturday night. It will be the last Saturday night race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season.

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 Lowe’s:

“I’m really in favor of this new schedule this weekend. I think it’s better for everyone involved working in the sport, and I think the fans might rather see a night race too. It’s a good move by NASCAR and the track to hold this race on Saturday night. It just gives everyone an extra day of rest on Sunday - and a day of rest around here is pretty rare.

“We are working all the time. A seven-day work week is not too uncommon. A day off is more uncommon than another work day. The guys that are working on these cars just never seem to stop. The year is demanding, and it’s not an easy task for any team. Any time you have an opportunity to get a day off is pretty important to these guys.

“I’d like to see a lot more Saturday night races. I like this weekend’s schedule. We all grew up racing on Saturday nights at local dirt tracks, and it’s only until you climb up the racing ladder, and get into Nextel Cup that you race weekly on Sunday’s. It adds another day to the weekend. You hear things about next year and possibly eliminating Saturday’s practice sessions. I don’t know the right answers, but a shorter weekend schedule can only be a good thing.

“This is probably the last weekend for teams to get some rest. We all live in the area and that means we don’t have to take time to travel. It’s a big deal for the people that work in the sport to be able to go home after each day of work. They are so used to going back to a hotel on the road. To be able to go home and see their families, that’s a big deal for a lot of these guys.

“I think that’s why everyone gets excited about racing at Charlotte. It’s everybody’s backyard playground. Everyone is looking to be the best team on the block. Families and friends all come to the track, and yeah, it’s a lot about bragging rights to win at Lowe’s. Everyone wants to win. It’s a big deal.

“I want to, and this team wants to, win just as badly as anyone else. I’ve had some pretty good fortune at this track in the Busch Series and I think we can have a good run with this Cheerios car this weekend. We’ve made a lot of strides in a lot of different areas this year. We are trying to get everything to come together, but we’ve got all the pieces. Some of the pieces have changed, but we know we can make them fit all together.

“For everything to fit together we need everyone pushing in the same direction. I think that’s what we have at Petty Enterprises. Everyone wants to win and race well. The pressure this weekend and racing at home, it’s just the same as next weekend. We just want to run well and compete for wins at every track. We’re heading in that direction.’