NASCAR BGN: Jeff Green gets front row start at Dover; Qualifying rained out

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

June 2, 2001

For the second consecutive week, rain showers forced the cancellation of Busch Series qualifying, and the 43-car field for Saturday's MBNA Platinum 200 was set by the NASCAR rulebook. Jeff Green, who took over the points lead last week winning the CarQuest 300, will start on the pole and rookie Greg Biffle will start in the third position.

JEFF GREEN-10-Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus - TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF STARTING ON THE FRONT ROW AT DOVER. "Dover, to me, doesn't have the best pit road that we go to, so that's our first priority, to get the number one pick. That should play out for us during the race. We should, hopefully, lead a lap really early and that will give us five more points. Our car is really, really good in practice and we thought we had a shot at the pole anyway. That's what we work hard for every week, to get points and to be on the top of the list every week. Unfortunately, the last couple of weeks it's been due to weather that's halted our qualifying, but I'm proud of my guys. They work hard for it every week and this is a reward for them."

WHAT'S THE IMPORTANCE OF STARTING UP FRONT HERE, WHERE THERE IS USUALLY SOME EARLY ON-TRACK ACTION? "It's definitely something on my mind. Last spring, I about wrecked in qualifying and had to take a provisional and had to fight traffic all that day and ended up finishing third. In the fall race, I wrecked with two minutes to go in Happy Hour and had to start in the back. It's very rewarding for me to see the pace car here for a change. That just makes our job easier. I think we have a good enough car that we still think we have a shot at winning this race. This just makes our day a little easier."

TALK ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE RUN. YOU HAD THE THIRD QUICKEST TIME OF THE SESSION. "It was really good. It's probably the best car that I've had here in qualifying mode. Not the fastest, but the best as far as being comfortable in the car and being able to get around the corners. This place is all about momentum and the motor rule will probably throw some of these guys a curve. I was lucky that I got to test here a couple of weeks ago in a Cup car. The cars are so much alike now that it makes it easier for us to go back and forth. I really think we had a shot at the pole and we were going out pretty early, but with what the weather is doing today, you really don't know what it's going to give you on that particular lap. I'm pretty proud of where we're starting."

HOW WILL NOT HAVING HAPPY HOUR AFFECT YOUR TEAM? "I really don't have any worries. Harold (Holly) assured me that he would be on. My crew chief does a great job of getting prepared each and every race. Just about every time we start Happy Hour, no matter what the race track, we're pretty close. It might work in my favor if we don't get Happy Hour. A lot of other guys might need Happy Hour. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to have practice and I think Harold would, too, but if it doesn't, everybody has the same playing field and we feel like we're as good as anybody."

Text provided by Greg Shea

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