JEFF GREEN
NO. 66 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET IMPALA SS
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

MOST RECENT RACE AT MARTINSVILLE: In the April, 2007, NEXTEL Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Jeff Green qualified 32nd and finished 36th in the No. 66 Best Buy Chevrolet.

Green worked his way into the top-15 before failing brakes caused him to drop back through the field. Green lost several laps when he pitted to allow his team to refill the brake fluid reservoir, and eventually finished the event some 13 laps down.

CHASSIS- HAAS CNC RACING CHASSIS NO. 450 – In this car’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series debut, Jeff Green drove chassis No. 450 to a 23rd-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in late August. Green also drove this chassis to a 27th-place result at New Hampshire International Speedway last month.

TESTING: Jeff Green and the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing team are taking part in a two-day test session, Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 16-17, at Kentucky Speedway.

NEW PIT CREW MEMBER: A new pit crew member joined the No. 66 team last weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the form of Chris Webb, the team’s new jackman. Webb, who is employed during the week at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), most recently worked on the over the wall crew for the No. 11 JGR NEXTEL Cup Series entry.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

There are five races remaining in the season. How do you and the team approach the end of the year? “We haven’t changed our focus, which is to try and put the No. 66 in the top-15 every week. We do that every week, but I’d say there’s even more incentive for me to do everything I can to make that happen over the next few weeks, with all the speculation that’s going on about next year.”

Is the speculation distracting at all? “Well, I mean no one likes uncertainty, but all I can really do is stay focused and just do everything I can to put us in position to get good finishes. No matter what happens, I’ll know that I gave it 100 percent and at the end of the day, that’s all you can really control. Like I’ve been saying, I’d love to stay with Haas until the end of my career.”

You’re known as a guy who’s comfortable on short tracks. With that in mind, does Martinsville rank near the top of your “favorite tracks” list? “I like Martinsville, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorite race tracks. With the COT at Martinsville, I like that you’re able to sling your car around a lot more. As a driver, it puts it back in your hands and how you drive can definitely make or break what kind of finish you produce that day. I like that.”

OVER ALMOST BEFORE IT BEGAN – Jeff Green’s recent moose hunt in Houlton, Maine, was over almost as soon as it began. Green left Talladega, Ala., after the NEXTEL Cup Series race there, stopped off in Charlotte, and eventually landed in Maine just after Midnight, Monday, Oct. 8.

Six hours later, Green was in the woods. His group was standing next to their vehicles, preparing to unpack their gear and head deeper into the brush. Before heading in, Green’s guide broke out a moose call and by 6:15 a.m., Green had taken down a bull moose at a distance of about 30 yards.

The animal weighed 895 pounds dressed, with a 16-point, 53-inch antler spread. Green and his guide estimated the animal’s live weight to be around 1175 pounds.

Green: “After waiting for nine months, my hunt was over in 15 minutes. It was such a beautiful moose, I took the opportunity when I had it.

“We had gone to breakfast around 5 a.m., and our host, John, was talking with a guy who said he had been seeing a bull moose near John’s house for the past couple of weeks. John had been scouting around 50 miles away. So, we went back to John’s house and went probably a half-mile back behind where there were some open fields that were surrounded by woods.

“John had an electric call and it went through about two series of the most unbelievable sounds I have ever heard. I was going to try and use my bow and arrow, but there wasn’t enough time to get it out of the truck. I look up, and this moose is about 30 yards away. It was an amazing experience.”

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY: In 14 Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Jeff Green’s best starting spot was a sixth-place qualifying effort in the Sept., 1998, event, when Green drove for Felix Sabates. His best finish came in Oct., 2004, when he finished seventh while driving the No. 43 car for Petty Enterprises.

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY: In 10 Cup Series starts at Martinsville, the Haas CNC Racing team’s best qualifying effort was a fourth-place run by driver Ward Burton in Oct., 2004. The team’s best finish was the eighth-place finish Jeff Green posted in the October, 2006, event.