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

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

THE TEAM STRUGGLED SOMEWHAT AT POCONO IN JUNE. DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE THE NOTES AND INFO YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL THIS TIME AROUND? “We think we do. We went to Rockingham (North Carolina Motor Speedway) on Monday and tested and tried some new things. I think we’ll be a lot better this time around. For one thing, we’ve got better brakes on the car this time around, and that was one of our biggest problems last time.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF “BOOTIE” BARKER:

DO YOU HAVE YOUR POCONO CAR SETUP READY TO GO FOR THIS WEEKEND? “Not just yet. We’ve been testing a lot lately. We tested Milwaukee a few weeks ago and Indianapolis on Wednesday of last week. We’ve raced at Chicago and New Hampshire and then tested Rockingham this week, so we’re trying a lot of things and doing everything we can to get a better handle on our setups.

“We’re not really testing to get better at any individual track. We’re trying some concepts and trying to get those worked out to make us better at every track we visit. So, I’ll go back to the shop and digest the Rockingham test data and use that to figure out what setup to put under the car before we load it on the truck for Pocono.”

GREEN RETURNING TO HOMETOWN FOR BEST BUY GRAND OPENING: Jeff Green returns to his hometown of Owensboro, KY., on Wednesday, July 19. Green will sign autographs and meet fans as a part of the grand opening celebration for a new Best Buy retail location in Owensboro.

Green on returning to Owensboro: “It’s always fun to get a chance to go home and see our family and friends. As hectic as the NASCAR schedule is, we don’t get to visit nearly enough. It’s good to see Best Buy opening a store in Owensboro. I think it sends a message to other companies that Owensboro is a good place to do business. We seem to have more fast food places per capita than a lot larger towns, so it’s nice to see more cool retail stores coming in.”

GREEN TO PARTICIPATE IN CHARITY WALK AT POCONO RACEWAY: Driver Jeff Green will participate in NASCAR legend Ernie Irvan’s first track walk event to raise awareness for traumatic brain injury – the Leadership and Awareness to Promote Safety (LAPS) Walk.

After Cup qualifying on Friday afternoon at Pocono Raceway, Green, Brian Vickers, Kyle Petty, Jeremy Mayfield, Martin Truex, Jr., Ken Schrader and Jeff Burton will join Irvan and hundreds of supporters in circling the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped facility.

For a minimum pledge of $100 per person or $250 per family, fans get to walk the track with the drivers and get autographs.

Created as a partnership between the Brain Injury Association of America and Irvan’s non-profit organization, Race2Safety, the LAPS Walk aims to raise money for and awareness of brain injury and to bring brain injury to the forefront of consciousness in the minds of Americans. Irvan suffered two traumatic brain injuries at Michigan International Speedway during his racing career, the second of which prompted his early retirement.

On site registration will take place at Pocono on Friday, July 21 from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm, with the walk scheduled to start at approximately 6pm.There is also a $10 admission fee to the grandstands the evening of the walk that allows participants to see the Nextel Cup qualifying session before the LAPS Walk event begins.

For more information, visit www.lapswalk.org.

Green on participating in the LAPS Walk – “Ernie’s been a friend for a long time, so I’m happy I can help him out in any small way. This is a great cause, and one that definitely deserves more awareness and more funding. As a driver, you see talented drivers like Ernie who’ve had career-ending brain injuries and it makes you realize it could happen to any of us at any time. I don’t take that for granted.

Ernie’s doing a good thing here, and I’m happy to do whatever I can to support him and his charity. Hopefully, the fans will see us trying to raise money for this cause, and they’ll join in and offer what they can to help fund this charity.”

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT POCONO RACEWAY: In 16 starts at Pocono Raceway, Jeff Green’s best starting position was an eighth-place spot, which he secured during qualifying for the July, 1997, Pocono event. Green was driving for team owner Gary Bechtel at the time. Green’s best Pocono finish was a 15th-place result. He actually finished in that position two years in a row, in the July, 2004, and July, 2005, Pocono events, driving a Petty Enterprises entry.

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT POCONO RACEWAY: In seven Pocono starts, the Haas CNC Racing team’s best qualifying effort was a fifth-place run by driver John Andretti in the July, 2003, race. The team’s best finish was scored by driver Mike Bliss, who finished ninth in the July, 2005, Pocono event. THIS WEEK’S FEATURE CREWMAN: Justin Lyell- Mechanic and Pit Crew Support Best Buy Racing’s website is highlighting the crew members of the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing team. Each week, a different crew member is featured with an expanded bio that lets fans learn (among other things) how that crewman got into racing, the role he serves on the Haas CNC team, along with his favorite movies and music. Read the latest bios by logging on to either www.racing.bestbuy.com or http://racing.bestbuy.com.

BEST BUY LOCATIONS: Using the “Store Locator” feature at www.BestBuy.com shows there are two stores relatively close to the Pocono Raceway. Store No. 341 is located in Scranton, PA., and store No. 342 can be found in Wilkes-Barre, PA.