JEFF GREEN
NO. 66 CERTAINTEED HAAS CNC RACING CHEVROLET
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

SPECIAL SPONSOR: CertainTeed to be Primary Sponsor of Jeff Green and the Haas CNC No. 66 Chevrolet for the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway

CertainTeed Corporation, one of North America’s leading building products manufacturers, will be the primary sponsor of the Haas CNC Racing No. 66 Chevrolet and driver Jeff Green for the August 26 Sharpie 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 2006 race marks the second consecutive year CertainTeed has been the primary sponsor for the Haas CNC Racing entry at the Sharpie 500. Last year the CertainTeed-sponsored Haas CNC car, driven by Mike Bliss, finished seventh, the team’s best finish of the season.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN

HOW DOES BRISTOL RANK ON YOUR LIST OF FAVORITE TRACKS? “It’s definitely in the top-five, and is probably more like the top-three. I love the short tracks and the tracks that have a lot of history, so Bristol fits the bill twice in that respect. One of my last NASCAR wins came at Bristol back in 2002, and I consider it a huge accomplishment to have visited Victory Lane here. It’s one of those tracks you definitely want to be able to mark off your list. I put it right up there with winning at Darlington (Raceway), Richmond (International Raceway), and the old Nashville Speedway.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF “BOOTIE” BARKER:

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION OF BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY? “The spectacle of the night race at Bristol is great. I call the place ‘Thunderdome,’ like in the Mad Max movie. It reminds me of that, with the people all around you and the seats going up so far on all sides. I love the banking and the speeds. The only thing I dislike about Bristol is that it’s almost too random in terms of getting involved in accidents. You can be leading or running dead last and you can get in a wreck either way.”

HOW WAS THE TEST OF THE “CAR OF TOMORROW” AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY EARLIER THIS WEEK? “It went OK. Without going into specifics, there were some problems with the car design that were revealed to us as we tested. I’m not sure whether or not NASCAR has the answers to those problems at this time. The car drove alright, but I do think there will be an issue when a driver is in traffic. With the aero package they have right now, I don’t think you will see a lot of passing. Hopefully, that’s something they’ll take a look at.”

SOME REPORTERS SAY THERE’S A SHALLOW TALENT POOL OF DRIVERS RIGHT NOW. DO YOU AGREE? “No, I don’t. The talent’s out there, but the problem is that they’re not getting a chance to develop in the Busch Series like they used to. If a sponsor has a choice of coming in and working with a young driver or working with a Cup driver who can help them win right out of the box, they want to get with the proven driver, not an 18-year-old.”

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: In 12 Cup series starts at Bristol, Jeff Green has one pole, which he scored in the August, 2001, race while driving for Richard Childress Racing. Green’s best finish is a 15th-place result, which came earlier this year in the No. 66 Best Buy Chevrolet.

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: In seven Nextel Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Haas CNC Racing’s best starting spot was scored by driver Ward Burton in August, 2004, when he qualified 16th. The team’s best finish came last August with driver Mike Bliss, who finished seventh.