JEFF GREEN
NO. 66 BEST BUY HAAS CNC RACING CHEVROLET
DAYTONA 500 PREVIEW

Jeff Green will make his first start in the No. 66 Best Buy HAAS CNC Racing Chevrolet in the Feb. 19 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:
How does it feel to be in a new season with a new team and a new sponsor?
“It’s exciting for me to sit in the Best Buy Chevy. I feel like I’ve got the best opportunity in the Cup series that I’ve ever had, with ‘Bootie’ (Robert Barker, Green’s crew chief) and all the guys he’s got surrounding him at the shop and at the track. We’ve got Hendrick Motors, chassis and resources to pull from. I think all the ingredients are there. We’ve just got to do the right things on and off the racetrack to make them work for us. I feel like we’ve got the opportunity to run well each and every week.”

You seem to have a new attitude about restrictor-place racing. Why is that?
“This is the first time I’ve come down here and been excited to come to Daytona with the test that we had. I feel like we’ve got a car that can win. We’ve got to put ourselves in position to win, but I know I’ve got a race car that can compete.

“I hated restrictor plate racing, until this year. I think this year is going to be a different situation. I’ve never had a car that can actually pass people. I’ve had to do everything I could do just to keep up. As a driver, you hate that. You want to be able to dominate and have that advantage. If we can make the car the same when we race as we were when we tested, I think we’ll have a very competitive race car and one that people will want to draft with. I think the situation is, you’ve got to have a fast enough race car to where guys will have to go with you because they want to be around a fast race car at the end of the day, and hopefully we can be one of those guys.”

How do you feel about having Best Buy as a new sponsor?
“Oh, I’m excited about it. I’m a big movie guy, so I’ve spent a lot of time in Best Buy. I’ve got a home theater I’m pretty proud of. I’ve got the walls double-insulated and double-dry walled, so I can crank up the surround sound without bothering the neighbors. I’ve probably got around 250 DVD’s, seriously. Now that I’m working with Best Buy, you can bet that number’s going to go up quite a bit.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF ROBERT “BOOTIE” BARKER:
What did you and your team see in Jeff Green that made you want to work with him?
“Jeff worked with Harold (Holly, Haas CNC Racing’s Busch Series crew chief) in the Busch Series when they won the championship back in 2000. Harold came on board with us about two-thirds of the way through last year, and Harold spoke highly of Jeff. Harold said that when he worked with him, when he gave him what he needed and the equipment he needed, he could get the job done. Obviously he could, with how well he ran in the Busch Series.

“From our assessment, we feel that with the right equipment, Jeff will be successful. So far, he’s been great to work with, and we’re looking forward to seeing how things go in the season.”

How much can you affect how your car performs at Daytona by making chassis changes?
“In qualifying trim, not much. In race trim, especially at Daytona, it has to handle. If the handling goes away where it has to lift, then it doesn’t make any difference how good it runs if you’re not in the throttle. So, you can certainly help it handling wise, and it’s certainly important, in the race.”

What’s the toughest thing about learning to communicate with a new driver?
“Sometimes drivers will assume that handling problems are caused by the car, but it could be because of the line they’re running. Because their entry (into the corner) is messed up, they’ll talk about the problems they’re having through the middle (of the corner) and off. It always comes back to the basic rule of thumb; whatever happens first is what the problem is.

“If drivers compensate for that problem without really knowing in their mind that that’s what’s happening, you can get in trouble. Jeff doesn’t seem to be that way. He knows when something’s going on early in the corner, and if we attack it in that way, first things first, we’ll be fine. Other than that, it’s not rocket science. You can do it.”

Do you treat the Daytona 500 differently than other races, just because it is such a big event? “We go about all of the races hard. If we think there’s something that we can do better any time, anywhere, we do it. In that respect, the Daytona 500 would be wonderful to win, but so would Martinsville, and so would Richmond. It’s not that we don’t put emphasis on it. We do. We work hard, but no more, really, than we do any other race.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- HAAS CNC Racing Chassis No. 007 - Mike Bliss drove this chassis to a 20th-place finish in the July, 2005, NEXTEL Cup event at Daytona.

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
In nine Nextel Cup Series starts at Daytona, Green’s best starting position came when he won the pole position for the 2003 Daytona 500 while driving for Richard Childress Racing. Green’s best finish in a Cup race at Daytona was a 16th-place result in last year’s Daytona 500, while driving for Petty Enterprises.

Green has competed in 11 Busch Series events at Daytona, with his best start being a pole position in 2003, driving for NEMCO Motorsports. Green’s best finish in a Daytona Busch race was a runner-up finish in 1999, while driving for team owner Greg Pollex.

Green’s most memorable Daytona race may well be the Feb., 2000, Daytona Busch event. On lap 14, Green was involved in an accident that sent his No. 10 machine flipping down the frontstretch. Green was uninjured in the crash, but finished 42nd. Green overcame the disappointing result and went on to win the Busch Series championship that year by the largest points margin in series history (over 600 points).

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
HAAS CNC Racing has six Nextel Cup Series starts at Daytona. The team’s best finish came in the 2003 Daytona 500, when driver Jack Sprague posted a 14th-place result. Driver Ward Burton scored the team’s best starting spot at Daytona when he qualified eighth for the July, 2004, Cup event.

In four Busch Series starts at Daytona, the team’s best starting spot and finishing position came with driver Jason Leffler in the Feb., 2004, Daytona Busch event. Leffler qualified sixth and finished eighth in that race.