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

CHASSIS INFORMATION- HAAS CNC Racing Chassis No. 24 – This car is new to the Haas CNC stable in 2007, having been built during the offseason.

WIND TUNNEL TIME – The Haas CNC Racing team sent this chassis to the wind tunnel in late January.

Crew Chief Harold Holly: “This chassis has a better overall balance, with lower drag numbers, than the chassis we used in drafting practice during testing here back in January. Every car just has its own personality, and with so many cars here for qualifying, we didn’t get enough track time in practice on Saturday to get it dialed in. By the time the (Daytona) 500 rolls around, we should be in good shape, though.”

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

WITH SO MANY DRIVERS VYING FOR JUST EIGHT AVAILABLE DAYTONA 500 STARTING SPOTS, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GATORADE 150’S WILL BE LIKE ON THURSDAY?

“Oh, it’s going to be big. It’s probably going to be some of the most exciting racing the fans will see all season. When it comes down to a few laps to go, you’re going to see some guys make some pretty gutsy moves. There will probably be a few who’ll make some pretty stupid moves, too, but if it means the difference between being in the Daytona 500 or going home, you’ve got to throw caution to the wind.”

AS ONE OF THE DRIVERS IN THE TOP 35 IN POINTS, YOU’VE GOT A GUARANTEED SPOT IN THE DAYTONA 500. SINCE THE GATORADE 150’S COULD FEATURE SOME WILD RACING, DO YOU LAY BACK AND STAY OUT OF TROUBLE, OR STILL RACE AS HARD AS YOU CAN TO GET THE BEST STARTING SPOT YOU CAN?

“Well, you definitely don’t lay back in the early going. You’ve got to put yourself in position to try and get a good starting spot for the 500. If it comes down to two laps to go and you’re in the top 10 (in your respective Gatorade 150 race), you’re going to keep your foot in it. But, if you’re kind of stuck back in the pack, you’re liable to see some guys who have guaranteed spots kind of drop back and watch the fireworks. If you’re in the top 10, race as hard as you can. If you’re back in the pack, be smart and make sure your car is in one piece for the 500.”

YOU’RE REUNITED WITH THE CREW CHIEF, HAROLD HOLLY, WHO YOU WON YOUR BUSCH SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP WITH IN 2000. DOES THAT GIVE YOU AN EXTRA BOOST OF CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO THE 2007 SEASON? “Absolutely, it’s a confidence builder. You can’t buy chemistry. You can’t buy what Harold and I have. Our first race back together, (Martinsville, October, 2006) we finished eighth. That just shows you how much confidence and chemistry means to the success of a race team.

“That’s not to take anything away from ‘Bootie’ (Barker, Green’s crew chief throughout most of 2006). He just couldn’t read my voice during the race like Harold can. Harold just instinctively knows what to do when I describe how the car’s handling. I don’t know how to explain it, but sometimes you just click with a crew chief like that. If I could figure it out, I’d bottle it and make a fortune in this garage area.”

YOU’VE GOT A TEAMMATE THIS YEAR IN THE NEXTEL CUP SERIES IN JOHNNY SAUTER. HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM? “Oh, it’s huge. Since they’re limiting testing so much these days, it’s so important to be able to have more than one set of notes to look at. You see the big teams, and they have three or four sets of notes they can pull from after every practice session to find what’s working and what’s not. Two heads are better than one. That’s all you need to say. I think it’s going to make a huge difference for Haas Racing this season.”

YOU POSTED THE THIRD-FASTEST TIME IN TESTING, BUT DO YOU THINK THAT IS INDICATIVE OF HOW YOU’LL PERFORM IN THE DAYTONA 500? “Well, testing is testing, and you can only take so much out of that. Still, the car felt great in the draft. I felt like I was good running at the front of the pack, in the middle and in the back of the pack, so we should be good in the race. You know you’re going to move around a lot, so it’s good to know we can run with the pack regardless of where we’re at.”

SEVERAL OF THE SEASON PREVIEW MAGAZINES PREDICT YOU’LL END UP AROUND 30TH IN POINTS. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT? “Well, I can see where they get that from, based on how we performed during part of last season. What I look at, though, is that Harold and I are back together, and now he’s had a few months to get the bodies on the cars the way he wants them. He’s got the guys he wants to work with in place on our team, and we’ve got a second team with Johnny Sauter and the No. 70 guys to help us with our data.

“We know we’ve got the horsepower from Hendrick to get the job done, and I know we’ve gained a lot on our downforce program for the mile and a half tracks, which is where we really struggled last year. I really feel like our equipment is as good as anyone’s. The cars don’t seem to break, so as long as we don’t wreck them and avoid mistakes, there’s no reason we can’t be a top-15 car week in and week out.”

GIVEN THAT JUST A FEW TEAM OWNERS DOMINATE IN TERMS OF WINS, DO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT A SHOT TO WIN A RACE IN 2007? “I honestly do. It will take us having a perfect day, but it’s definitely an achievable goal. If you look back at Charlotte (Lowe’s Motor Speedway) in May, we seriously had one of the best cars there, but we had problems in the pits. We definitely have the equipment to do it. It’s going to take us doing everything to the best of our abilities, but if we can do that, I see no reason why we can’t win one.

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF HAROLD HOLLY:

YOU STAYED BUSY IN THE SHOP DURING THE OFFSEASON. WHAT DID YOU MOSTLY FOCUS ON IN TERMS OF WORKING ON THE CARS? “The biggest thing we worked on was our down force program. The winter was spent working on our mile-and-a-half program. Our COT (Car of Tomorrow) stuff, we spent a lot of time with Hendrick (Motorsports) on. I think that’s going to pay us some big dividends when we get to Bristol (Motor Speedway). I feel like we’ve got some really good packages for that car. I feel really good about that.

“Our Superspeedway car was a little bit of a last minute build. We came down and ran some cars in the first test, and then ‘Bootie’ (Barker, crew chief of the No. 70 Chevrolet at Haas CNC Racing) brought them back down for his test.

“Based on what we learned, we tried to build a better car. Each car’s got its’ own personality. What we ended up with down here is a really good car. It’s just that speedway cars have their own attitudes and the fenders and the rear end and everything is just a working process to figure out where everything needs to be to get it to run the time it needs to run to qualify really well. With 61 cars here, we just ran out of time trying to do that (in Saturday’s practice sessions).”

DO YOU FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHERE HAAS RACING IS ON YOUR CAR OF TOMORROW?  “I think so, and we have to thank Hendrick (Motorsports) for that. Most of the development has come from them, and our association with them is obviously huge for us in that area. Those guys have been working on it for months and months, and we’re fortunate to be privileged to receive that information. I feel really good about what they have right now and the things we have going for us.

“The biggest problem we’re having with the ‘COT’ car is just getting them through NASCAR’s technical process. Once we get it up to one standard, the standards seem to be changing, but once it all settles down, everyone will get used to the system and it will all go a lot smoother. For now, the COT stuff is going to be a big benefit, and the mile-and-a-half stuff, I think we’ve really gained on it based on how we did in the (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway) test.

“The competition is going to change quite a bit this year with all the new teams. To try and maintain to be a top-20 or top-15 car every week is going to be a huge, huge challenge. I honestly feel like we’re a top-20 car right now, and can be a top-20 car consistently, and we’re going to shoot to be in the first five races, hopefully working towards being a top-15 car consistently.”

SUCCESSFUL TEST: The No. 66 Best Buy Racing team had an extremely successful test session during Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway in early January. Green posted the fastest time of the first three-day session, and the third-fastest time overall (behind Paul Menard and Kyle Busch). Green’s lap of 48.200 seconds, at an average speed of 186.722 miles per hour, came during the afternoon test session on Wednesday, January 10th.

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:

In 11 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 the 2005 Daytona 500, while driving for Petty Enterprises.

In the 2006 Daytona 500, Green’s No. 66 Best Buy Chevrolet was involved in an incident with the No. 88 car of Dale Jarrett. Green’s entry was heavily damaged in the crash, but his HAAS CNC Racing team made repairs, and Green returned to the track to finish the event. Green was credited with a 42nd-place finish, 47 laps down.

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 margin in series history (over 600 points).

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:

HAAS CNC Racing has eight 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.

JEFF GREEN NEXTEL CUP RESULTS AT DAYTONA INT’L. SPEEDWAY

HAAS CNC RACING’S NEXTEL CUP RESULTS AT DAYTONA INT’L. SPEEDWAY