JEFF GREEN
NO. 66 “ACCORDING TO JIM” / BEST BUY
HAAS CNC RACING CHEVROLET
CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

SPECIAL SPONSOR: The No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet will sport a special paint design promoting the syndication launch of “According to Jim,” in Sunday’s Sony HD 500 Nextel Cup Series race.

The goal of this unique one-race sponsorship is to help publicize that this breakout family comedy, starring multi-talented film, television and stage actor Jim Belushi, will launch into national syndication five days a week on Monday, September 18.

Jim Belushi will attend Sunday’s race as both a performer and a spectator. He and his band, “Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts” will play for fans at the California Speedway Midway prior to the race. Belushi then plans to attend the driver’s meeting and talk to media members before the race gets underway. In addition, Jim will also serve as the Honorary Race Official.

Consumer electronics retailer, Best Buy, which has been the primary sponsor of the Haas entry at a number of events this season, will also have a presence on the No. 66 car on Sunday. The Best Buy logo and the tag line “HD Done Right” will be displayed on the car’s lower quarter panels, promoting Best Buy’s expertise in the area of high definition TVs.

Fans attending Sunday’s race can pick up a free copy of a promotional “According to Jim” DVD at various points around the speedway, including the Best Buy “Fun Zone” interactive display on the Midway.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT HAVING JIM BELUSHI AS A GUEST THIS WEEKEND? “Yeah, I think it will be a lot of fun. I enjoy the show (“According to Jim”). His character is the kind of guy I can relate to. He’s a family man, and he’s a big kid at heart, and that describes me pretty well. I think it’s a good fit. I’m looking forward to meeting him this weekend. He seems like a regular guy.”

YOU HAVE A BIRTHDAY COMING UP NEXT WEEK (WED., SEPT. 6). HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SPEND THE DAY? “I have a birthday coming up? No, I knew that. I’m going to be off in the woods at my farm in Kentucky on my birthday. Hunting season starts this weekend in Kentucky, so after I leave California, I’m going to stop off in Kentucky for three or four days to hunt with some guys I grew up with, then I’ll head straight from there to Richmond.”

YOUR WIFE ISN’T GOING ALONG ON THE TRIP, SO HOW WILL YOU TWO CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY? “Yeah, Michelle’s going to head back to North Carolina and let us guys do some hunting. I’m not sure how I managed to talk her into that. No, she’s great about that sort of stuff. We usually celebrate my birthday on Richmond weekend anyway, so I’m sure that’s how we’ll do it this year.”

YOU’RE TURNING 44 YEARS OLD, AND ARE ONE OF PROBABLY 10 DRIVERS IN THE CUP SERIES OVER 40. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF DRIVERS IN THEIR LATE 20’S OR EARLY 30’S WHO MAY NEVER GET A SHOT AT THE BIG LEAGUES, BECAUSE TEAM OWNERS ARE LOOKING FOR 18 AND 19-YEAR-OLDS?

“Well, age is only a number. I do believe that. When I started, it was all about having experience. The team owners only wanted to talk to you if you had already driven at places like Atlanta and Darlington. Nowadays, you don’t need experience. The team owners will get you the experience you need.

“I don’t know if the trend towards hiring younger guys is a good or a bad thing. In my case, I guess it’s a bad thing, because it means the team owners will start weeding us older guys out. The thing is, when I don’t feel like I can do this anymore, I’m not going to need a team owner to tell me that. When I don’t think I can get the job done, I’ll be the first to pull the plug and say ‘that’s it.’”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF ROBERT “BOOTIE” BARKER:

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND? “I’m thinking it’s a shame that we lost the Southern 500 at Darlington (Raceway) in favor of a race that we can’t seem to sell out. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the business aspect in terms of the larger TV market, but if we can’t sell the race out on a holiday weekend, it makes me wonder about the level of interest among Californians.”

DO YOU THINK THAT CALIFORNIANS JUST HAVE TOO MANY OTHER ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND, AND THAT HURTS TICKET SALES? “Well, not when you consider how many people there are in the state. Yeah, there’s a lot to do, but we’re talking about maybe one half of one percent of the population is all it would take to sell the place out, so I don’t think that’s a legitimate excuse.”

SO, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR COMPROMISE TO THE SITUATION? “I don’t mind coming to California Speedway twice, but I’d like to see them give Darlington back the Southern 500 and have us come out here at another point in the schedule. It’s that simple.”

IN THE LAST RACE AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY, THE TEAM FINISHED 24th. WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME TO IMPROVE ON THAT? “We’re bringing our best chassis (chassis No. 17), which is the one we ran well with at Charlotte (Lowe’s Motor Speedway) back in May, and we did pretty well with it at Michigan a few weeks ago. We’re tweaking our setup from where we were in Michigan and I think we’ll be fine this weekend.”

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY:
Jeff Green has competed in nine Nextel Cup Series events at California Speedway. His best starting position and his best finish came in his first Cup start at California, in June of 1997. Green drove a Gary Bechtel-owned entry to a seventh-place starting spot, and finished seventh in that event.

In four Busch Series starts at California Speedway, Green has a pole position (in April, 2000, the year he won the Busch championship) and three top-five finishes.

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY:
HAAS CNC Racing has six Nextel Cup Series starts at California. The team’s best starting spot was a 10th-place qualifying effort by driver Mike Bliss in this race one year ago. The team’s best finish was a 10th-place result by driver Ward Burton in May, 2004.