JEFF GREEN
NO. 66 BEST BUY HAAS CNC RACING CHEVROLET
DARLINGTON RACEWAY PREVIEW

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Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:
As a driver that’s won a NASCAR race at Darlington (in the March, 2001, Busch Series race), how cool is it as a driver to have gone to Victory Lane at “The Lady In Black?” “It’s an amazing feeling to win there. It’s one of those tracks that you saw on TV when you were growing up. Daytona, Bristol and Darlington – those are the “Heritage” tracks where you really want to win. I mean, you want to win at every track, but winning at a place like Darlington is just special. It’s icing on the cake.”

With the harder tire compounds Goodyear is using now, do you think you’ll still see the tires wearing like you usually do at Darlington? “I haven’t heard what kind of tire Goodyear is bringing, but I guarantee the lap times will slow down a bunch on longer runs. You could bring tires as hard as bricks and they’re still going to wear at Darlington. You’re basically riding around on pavement with rocks and sea shells sticking out of it. All the harder tires do is to make the car slide around more.”

Do you remember getting your first “Darlington Stripe?” “You know, it’s been quite awhile, so I don’t remember that much about it. What I do remember is that I don’t think I got one the first time I came here. All that meant was that I got braver the next time around and definitely got one then. I’ve gotten quite a few of them in all my years of coming here.

“Staying off the wall is always on your mind. If it isn’t, that’s when you’re going to mess up and it’s guaranteed you’ll brush the wall then.”

It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday. Do you have any special plans for your Mom? “No, not really. She flew out to the Texas (Motor Speedway) race with us a few weeks ago and spent time with some friends and with Michelle and me, so that was kind of when we celebrated Mother’s Day. I’ll definitely give her a call on Sunday, though.

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF “BOOTIE” BARKER:
As someone who enjoys the history of NASCAR, what do you think of Darlington Raceway? “Darlington, site of the Southern 500. In my mind, you have the Daytona 500, the Coke 600, the Brickyard 400, and then you have the Southern 500. It’s in the top-five of the most prestigious races in NASCAR, but we don’t have a Southern 500 anymore. Help me understand that, because I just don’t get it.”

Is Darlington Raceway a track that deserves two dates? “Racing-wise? Absolutely. As far as the facility, they don’t need to change the track itself one bit. They do need to upgrade the facilities by adding more seats and putting in nicer amenities, but then we need the fans to show up and support that, too.”

What is your first memory of coming to Darlington? “I was amazed at the fall off in the tires, and how quickly your lap times slowed as the tires wore out. I was also surprised at some of the things we had to do, setup wise, to get around the place. As a shock builder, it surprised me what all I had to do on my end to help the car’s handling.”

Will you have a harder tire compound at Darlington than you have in the past? “Yeah, they have to keep hardening the tires because of the speeds were running. They got away from shortening the blade and softening the tires about a year and a half ago. Now we’re on harder tires – bricks, basically – with no spoiler.”

Is there any track you can test at to simulate Darlington? “Rockingham (North Carolina Motor Speedway) is probably the closest. The two have similar banking, and your tires wear out quickly at both places. The problem, of course, is that we don’t have any tires we can test with.”

Do you think any of the other tire manufacturers will try to emulate Goodyear’s tire compounds, and teams could use those tires to test with? “(The other manufacturer’s) already have. I’d say you could go test at Rockingham today and it would be about 70% similar to what it will actually be like at Darlington.”

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY:
In 10 Nextel Cup Series starts at Darlington, Jeff Green’s best starting spot came in March, 2002, when he qualified ninth in a Richard Childress Racing entry. Green’s best finish came later that year, when he finished 12th in the Labor Day weekend race on Sept. 1, 2002, also in a Childress entry.

In 16 Busch Series starts at Darlington, Green has one pole position, which came while driving for team owners, Dale and Teresa Earnhardt, in March, 1996. Green also scored a win in the March, 2001, event, while driving for Greg Pollex. In all, Green has nine top-10s and five top-five finishes in his Busch Series career at “The Lady in Black.”

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: In five Nextel Cup starts at Darlington, the Haas CNC Racing team’s best qualifying effort came in March, 2004, when driver Ward Burton qualified 13th. The team’s best finish came in November, 2004, with driver Mike Bliss finishing 10th in that event.