JEFF GREEN
NO. 66 HAAS CNC RACING CHEVROLET
DOVER PREVIEW

LAST RACE AT DOVER: Jeff Green qualified 28th for the September, 2006, race at Dover, and finished 20th, three laps down to the race leaders. The result marked the 10th top-20 finish of the 2006 season for Green and his No. 66 Best Buy Haas CNC Racing team.

Chassis: Haas CNC Racing Chassis No. 406 – This car of tomorrow chassis was first driven by Jeff Green during testing at Richmond International Raceway. The team brought the chassis back for the race at Richmond in early May, where Green qualified 12th and finished 24th. Green and his Haas CNC team fell victim to brake issues that caused the front tires of the No. 66 to lock up several times during the event.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

DOVER IS KNOWN AS A TRICKY TRACK FOR DRIVERS. IS IT A TRACK YOU ENJOY? “I think the drivers all like it. I liked it better when they had asphalt down instead of the concrete, but it’s still a fun track. The positive about it is the track is consistent. It doesn’t change a lot because of weather. It does have a tendency to get a lot of rubber on it from the tires, but otherwise, it’s pretty good.

“The track really opens up in terms of the number of grooves you can run, and you can work either the high or low line, depending on how your car is reacting. The concrete is a little rough, but the track is so fast it’s definitely a ‘handling’ track, and the guy who gets his car to handle right is going to embarrass the guys who don’t.

“I prefer to run the low line, just because it’s the shortest line around the track, but if the car won’t cooperate down there, I don’t mind the high line.”

SHORT TRACKS SEEM TO BE YOUR STRONG SUIT THIS YEAR. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THEM THAT YOU ENJOY SO MUCH? “I think it just goes back to your roots. Most of us grew up racing on short tracks, so there’s a comfort level at those places. I think it’s the same reason that I like the car of tomorrow – it just seems to put it back in the driver’s hands more at short tracks. You’re not as dependent on the aerodynamics of your car, and it’s about driving the best line and being smart for 400 miles. To me, that’s what racing is all about. You may not necessarily have the best car, but it’s what you can do with what you have that separates the great drivers from the rest of the pack.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF HAROLD HOLLY:

THE TEST NASCAR HAD SCHEDULED AT DOVER WAS CANCELLED. WILL THIS NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE TEAM THIS WEEKEND? “No, I don’t think it will negatively affect us. We did a lot of work on the seven-post (shaker) rig (at the Haas CNC shops), so I’m not too concerned that we didn’t get to test. I don’t think it’s going to be a lot different from what we had at Bristol (Motor Speedway). We’ve been able to run similar front end packages between Bristol and Dover for quite awhile now, so I don’t really see where there will be a lot of difference.

“I’m really looking forward to it, because I think the car of tomorrow is going to drive a lot better than the other cars do there. We did pretty well at Bristol, so I’m hoping for good things at Dover as well.”

HELPING OUT: Jeff Green will participate in the NASCAR Foundation Track Walk at Dover International Speedway on Saturday, June 2, following the NASCAR Busch Series race. Green will join fellow NEXTEL Cup drivers, including Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya and a number of other NASCAR celebrities to raise money for various charities, including the Green Foundation.

The Green Foundation, founded by Jeff Green and his older brother, Mark, assists children with chronic illnesses, at-risk youth, and a number of other charitable organizations around the Green’s hometown of Owensbory, KY. For more information on the Green Foundation, visit www.thegreenfoundation.org.

A WEEKEND OF FIRSTS: This past weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway marked two firsts (at least for this season). Sunday’s Coke 600 marked the first time this season the No. 66 was not running at the end of the event.

To the best of his recollection, Green’s wreck during qualifying on Thursday marked the first time he has crashed during a qualifying attempt in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup career, and possibly in his entire NASCAR career.

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT DOVER SPEEDWAY: In 13 NEXTEL Cup Series starts at Dover International Speedway, Jeff Green’s best qualifying effort and best finish came in the same event. Green qualified 12th and finished 13th in the Sept. 22, 2002, Dover Cup event, while driving for Richard Childress Racing.

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT DOVER SPEEDWAY: In eight NEXTEL Cup Series starts at Dover International Speedway, Haas CNC Racing’s best starting spot came with Jeff Green, who qualified 12th for the June, 2006, event. Mike Bliss scored the team’s best Dover Cup Series result when he finished 18th in this race in 2005.