Siemens 300 - Jeff Green Notes

Jeff Green Notes, Quotes: Siemens 300
‘Gordon has the ingredients, but we’re not far behind’

Returning to the track of his highest NASCAR Cup career finish, this weekend Jeff Green and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team head to the flat, one-mile New Hampshire International Speedway for Sunday’s Siemens 300. Green posted one of his five top-five finishes at this track when he was runner-up at this race in 2002. Like many drivers, he is hoping to stop the success of Jeff Gordon and collect his first win of his Cup career 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 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver Jeff Green heading into New Hampshire:

“It’s always good to get back to a track where you’ve have run well in the past. I’ve had some pretty good races at New Hampshire and was as close to winning a Nextel Cup race as I have ever been there. I look back at that day and remember that we were just pretty strong all afternoon. There was a caution right at the end, maybe with five laps or so to go, and I was sitting in fourth. I was able to get around the guy in front of me, but was never able to really get up there to challenge for the win.

“Anytime you have a good car, it feels pretty good. We were pretty strong all day and I was able to get a good finish out of it. It’s like that at most any track we race. If you have a good handle on the car and the track, it makes the day a whole lot easier. I think we are seeing that a lot with Jeff Gordon’s team right now. He’s really been on a blaze lately and everyone seems to be chasing him. I think most of that has to do with his team and his cars.

“It’s a matter of Gordon having a great team and them giving him great cars too. They are just fast at almost any type of track that we have been at the last month. New Hampshire is about as different as Daytona is to Sears Point, but when you have an experienced team with an experienced driver success is going to come at almost any place.

“They have really been on a roll lately. Our Cheerios team has had some really rotten luck this season. Compare our luck to a team like Gordon’s right now and it’s almost a night and day difference. A lot of that comes down to making your own luck, getting good breaks on the track, and a lot of experience together. Those are ingredients that our team is putting together right now.

“There is probably no doubt that Gordon is having a lot of fun, but it’s probably easy to them. They have all of those ingredients in place and the last month they have really shined. It’s a lot of what Matt (Kenseth) had last year when he won the championship. It doesn’t surprise me to see Gordon racing so strong right now. That’s the team that, for the moment, has everything together. Can they hold it together from now until September and then the last 10 races of the season? That’s tough to say, but they are making it look pretty easy right now.

“In this sport, however, you can’t predict anything. A wreck here or broken part there and then maybe another driver can get on a roll. You can’t count anyone out at any time. It’s too competitive. These Cheerios guys have worked really hard and were getting closer to putting all of our ingredients together. We do that and it’s like that race in 2002 in New Hampshire - everything just falls into place and it’s pretty easy to drive.

“I’m looking forward to those days to come. I think everyone is watching that 24 car right now, but anything can happen. This #43 Cheerios Dodge has looked pretty strong at times this season too. We put everything together and we can make a good run the end of this season.”