NASCAR BGN: Jeff Green looks forward to return at Pikes Peak
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
July 25, 2001
Jeff Green is anxious to return to Pikes Peak International Raceway. He returns there this weekend as the reigning event champion, a race in which be beat his brother, David, by 0.746 seconds. Green talked about last year’s race, the intricacies of the 1-mile oval, as well as some of the obstacles he’s faced since he made his announcement regarding his plans for 2002.
JEFF GREEN—10—Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus – YOU HEAD BACK TO PIKES PEAK AS THE DEFENDING EVENT CHAMPION, BUT IT WAS ALSO MEMORABLE BECAUSE OF THE BATTLE YOU HAD WITH YOUR BROTHER, DAVID. "That’s pretty exciting for me and for David, too, to be able to race like that. That was the first time since we’ve been racing go-karts up through Late Models to Busch, we never got the opportunity to come to the end like that and race together. It was pretty exciting for me and to be able to come out on top was exciting, too. That race track has been pretty good to us. In 1999, we had a shot at winning and we were half a straightaway in front and the caution came out and we ended up finishing third. If things went a little different that year, we would have won that race, too. I think it’s a good race track for me as a driver and my team; they do a good job out there."
IS IT A RUN-OF-THE-MILL 1-MILE OVAL. "It’s a little bit unique because it has a little bit different pavement on it, so it doesn’t have the grip and the grip goes away every year. It all depends on what tire Goodyear is taking as to whether it has grip or not. It’s pretty unique. It’s kind of like Charlotte and Las Vegas and those places like that, but it’s a mile. The banking is worked where you can run on the bottom or run on the top and that makes for a good race. It’s a driver’s dream when you can pass a guy. When he’s running a different line than you, you can pass him in any lane you want to and that’s good for a driver."
YOU MENTIONED THAT THE PAVEMENT IS DIFFERENT THAN MOST OTHER TRACKS. DO THE HARSH WINTERS CHANGE THAT TRACK MUCH OR HAS IT BEEN CONSISTENT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? "I haven’t seen it change, but I’ve only raced it twice. From 1999 to 2000, it didn’t change from what I saw. It may have lost some grip, and again, they took a different tire, so it might all be in the tire. It’s a fast enough track that you don’t want to slide, but you have to deal with slinging a little bit because of the grip factor, so I guess it’s who slides the best. The tires stay on the car pretty good, so it’s not like the tires are going to be the situation that wins the race. It’s probably going to be gas mileage more than anything."
WE’RE IN THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER. DOES THAT WEAR ON YOU PHYSICALLY AS THE SUMMER MONTHS PROGRESS? "Not really. You need to drink your water, not just on race day, but even when you’re home during the week. You also want to stay in as good of shape as you can with all the traveling we do. The only time you really feel it is when you get out of the car or when you’re sitting still long. In a race, you’re never sitting still for longer than, hopefully, 15 seconds. That really doesn’t come into play. You have air conditioners in the car that cools that air that gets to your helmet, so if it takes 10 to 15 degrees off it. At least you’re breathing a little bit cooler air and that makes your head think you’re a little cooler, too."
IT SEEMS THAT SOME DRIVERS ARE MORE EASILY IRRITATED WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE KINDS OF CONDITIONS, THOUGH. "I think it’s the guys that aren’t prepared physically and the race car. The guys do a great job of putting heat shield on the exhaust and getting the ventilation right in the car, and, again, the air conditioner really helps. Some of these guys don’t have an air conditioner. Some of these guys are just doing it on their own. It costs about $6,000 for one of these systems, so it’s not cheap. I’ve done it before and then last year we got the air conditioner and it’s been a blessing ever since."
YOU MADE YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT LAST WEEK REGARDING YOUR RACING PLANS FOR 2002. HOW WILL THAT IMPACT THE REST OF YOUR SEASON THIS YEAR? "I don’t think it’s going to change anything. My team looks at me a little different now, and I hate that. I still have a job here to do with my Nesquik Taurus, and until that is over, I’m not going to give up one ounce of credit to any of these guys. I’m going to try to keep doing the best I can do, even better hopefully. I feel like I can win more Busch races. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to run any Busch races after this year, so I want to win as many as I can. My attitude is probably better than it ever has been to try to win. I probably take it out on the guys more when we don’t, but it’s just because I want to win so bad."
HAS THE NO. 2 BUSCH TEAM BEEN A LITTLE MORE FRIENDLY TO YOU IN RECENT WEEKS? "I think they are a little bit, but they still have a job to do with their team. Harold and the guys really don’t want to hear what they’re doing anyway; they want to do it on their own. I credit them for that. I think that’s great that they want to win races like that. We’ve won races doing it that way, so I don’t see why we should change."
Text provided by Greg Shea
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