Jeff Green: “The Car Was Pretty Good, But We Had A Couple of Issues That Were Tough to Overcome”
The saying, “when it rains, it pours” proved true, both literally and figuratively, for Jeff Green and the No. 66 Best Buy team at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.
Several rain showers, coupled with difficulties during the race, made for a challenging day for Green and the Haas CNC Racing crew during what was scheduled to be a 500-mile NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped raceway.
The race didn’t reach its advertised distance, as persistent rains forced NASCAR to call an end to the race after 106 of 200 laps were complete, with Green being awarded a 32nd-place finishing position.
“The car was pretty good, but we had a couple of issues that were tough to overcome, ” Green said. “The rain wasn’t much help. We had a minor electrical problem, and it seemed like we had a tough time every time we came to pit road. I’ve got a great pit crew, but they just couldn’t seem to find any luck today. I’m not satisfied with the finish, but what can you say? I think, had it gone the distance, we’d have definitely finished a lot better, but you can always say ‘what if? ”
The skies opened up for the first time just 90 minutes before the scheduled 2 p. m. start time, drenching the track, the fans in the stands, and the crews in the garage area. Every time it appeared the rain was tapering off, track workers would fire up the jet-powered dryers to evaporate the remaining moisture from the asphalt, only to have the rain return.
Finally, the showers receded enough to allow the race to get underway just after 5 p. m., with Green rolling off from the 39th-starting position. After just one circuit around the facility, Green had gained four spots to 35th. Over the next 18 laps, Green remained in the top-35, reporting to crew chief Harold Holly that the No. 66 Chevrolet had a tight handling condition through the center and coming off of the turns.
When Green came to pit road for the first time, it was during a long green flag run around lap 26. Holly called for adjustments to the car’s tire pressure and chassis, as well as four new tires and fuel.
As he was coming to pit road for service, Green had to drive around Kasey Kahne’s car, which was in the pit stall behind Green’s. Kasey Kahne had stopped near the front of his pit box, and when he left his pit, his car made slight contact with Brian Haaland, the rear tire changer on the No. 66 team, who was coming around from the right side of Green’s car to change the left rear tire. The contact with Kasey Kahne’s car caused Haaland to slip and fall, costing the team precious seconds during the stop.
Green returned to the track in 35th position, and found himself in danger of going a lap down to the race leaders.
A timely caution flag around lap 48 kept Green on the lead lap, giving Holly a chance to make more changes to the Best Buy Chevrolet. By the time the next caution flag flew on lap 56 for an accident involving the No. 16 of Greg Biffle and the No. 22 of Dave Blaney, Green had moved up to 27th position, and his lap times were comparable to the race leaders.
When the caution was displayed again around lap 63, Holly called for a two-tire pit stop, with his crew changing just the right side tires of Green’s machine, in addition to making tire pressure and chassis adjustments. Green returned to the race in 24th position for the lap 66 restart, and his lap times continued to improve, allowing him to move as high as 21st position.
About that time, Green reported his car was having electrical issues of some kind. Green said his RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) gauge was fluctuating wildly and his shift light (a light that is used by drivers so they know when they are in the optimal RPM range to shift gears) came on at the incorrect time.
Since NEXTEL Cup cars are equipped with two batteries in case one goes dead or has problems, Holly instructed Green to switch from one battery to the other (accomplished by flicking a switch on the dashboard). After the switch was made, the problem seemed to dissipate, but Green dropped from 21st to 30th position during the time it took to identify the problem.
The team’s next pit stop came on lap 94, where the crew made more adjustments to Green’s car. The crew ran into trouble getting the jack under the left side of the car to complete the stop, costing Green several positions.
Green returned to the track in 36th position, and worked his way up to 32nd before rain began to fall in Turn 1, causing NASCAR to display the caution flag. The field circled the track for three laps before NASCAR instructed the drivers to come down pit road and the race fell under a red flag stoppage.
With the finish, Green drops three spots to 31st in NEXTEL Cup Series drivers’ points after 14 of 36 events.
Next on the schedule is a trip to the “Irish Hills” of Michigan, and the two-mile Michigan International Speedway, located about an hour southwest of Ann Arbor.
This track is known for producing plenty of side-by-side racing and some very exciting finishes.
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