Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Jeff Green Notes

Jeff Green Notes, Quotes: Samsung/RadioShack 500
‘Like Comparing Corn Bread to Prime Rib’

This weekend Jeff Green and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team head to the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Samsung/RadioShack 500. Green will be making his fourth start at the speedway and has a best finish of seventh. Texas will be hosting two Nextel Cup races this season with the second race in November.

Green 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 driver Jeff Green heading into Texas:

“It may not be the fastest track on the circuit, but Texas is pretty close. Atlanta is still the fastest, but we still get around Texas in a hurry. The corner speeds have always been fast at Texas. I think you notice that the most. Like Atlanta, you can really hold it down going into the turn. You’ve got to be a little brave to do it, but it will stick. That’s why Texas is fast.

“Atlanta is the king of speed right now, but Texas is its queen. It’s right up there. It’s a little nerve-wrecking too I guess. You just have to respect the speeds that you are going. We’re not at Martinsville anymore. If you hit the wall this weekend you’ll be feeling it for a long time. The track has a ton of grip and it’s really fast. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up straight every lap. It’s a big change of pace from the past two weeks.

“Geographically it’s a huge change of pace – the difference between corn bread and prime rib. Coming from Martinsville, eating corn bread and dumplings, to Dallas and eating prime rib and steaks, yeah, it’s a different culture. It’s just a different part of the country for us to be in. So long we’ve just concentrated on the Southeast, but now it seems we’re going out West more and more. It’s different than what we might be used to, but it’s exciting and a lot of fun too. I’ve really enjoyed all the times I’ve been there, and look forward to going back out.

“There are a ton of racing fans out there. If you have ever seen the race traffic you know. They pack that place, and that gets us pretty excited too. We want to race in front of an electric crowd. That’s pretty fun when we put on a good show and the fans get excited. The fans should be, and I think they are, excited about the fact they are getting another race this year too. It’s something that the track has wanted for a long time, and I think the fans are the biggest winners.

“For teams, going back to Texas a second time is more of a challenge. It’s a long ways from home for us. It’s something that we have been getting used to more and more lately. We really don’t have those Darlington and Rockingham races close to home anymore. We’re doing more and more traveling. That means less and less time in our own beds. It’s becoming more of a stretch for the crew guys too. You could drive to Rockingham and be back on Sunday night at a reasonable hour. It’s a long flight back and forth to Texas.

“It’s just a change and we’ll adjust. We know the schedule going in and it’s the same for everyone. We get used to it and move on. Texas is a great track with great fans. That makes it a little bit easier too.

“We’re excited about this first date. We want to get back on these intermediate tracks and prove some things. We had our problems at Vegas and Atlanta, but we think we’ve got a better handle on Texas. We’ll know this weekend when we unload this Cheerios Dodge.”