NASCAR BGN: Green; a NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying Whiz
25 May 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
(Concord, NC)- David Green, driver of the No. 34 AFG Glass Chevrolet, has much to be proud of in his eight-year NASCAR Busch Series history. He is the 1994 series champion, the 1996 series championship runner-up and ranks fourth on the Busch Series all-time pole position list with 19. (See chart below.) Green also holds another staggering statistic: he has avoided second-round qualifying in 81.4%(153 races) of his 188 career Busch series starts. And of those 153 first-round qualifiers, his average starting position is15th.
Green has been a star qualifier right out of the box. David scored his first pole position in his rookie NASCAR Busch Series season at Daytona on February 16, 1991 and has continued his strong starting trend throughout his career. One of Davids brightest NASCAR Busch Series moments occurred at last years CarQuest 300 when Green broke his series hero, Tommy Houstons career pole record at Lowes Motor Speedway.
Tommy was the guy to beat when I first started Busch racing, said Green. He was the Mark Martin of the Busch series back then and you just really wanted to obtain what he had. I didnt realize how significant breaking his record was when I did it last year at Charlotte, but now I realize how very important it is. Being in the record books with such a great group of guys like Tommy Houston and Tommy Ellis is very special. I think that I have taken a chunk of what I wanted to accomplish in my Busch Series career.
But David doesnt plan to stay in the fourth position for long. He has just five more poles to earn before he ties Sam Ard for third and 10 more to go before he surpasses Busch qualifying king, Tommy Ellis.
I think the AFG Glass Team 34 and I have a chance to edge some of these guys further down the list in the record books here at Charlotte, Green said with a smile on his face. We have come close this year with an outside pole at Rockingham, so I really think I am with a team that is capable of parlaying those eventual poles into wins- which is really my ultimate goal. Besides getting that Unocal bonus money (win from pole position) would be really nice, too.
Clearly, Green isnt ready to hang up his hat. Though he has hit career milestone after milestone, he is ready to conquer more with his AFG Glass team in the NASCAR Busch Series. Who knows, his next marker may be a place in the record books as the fifth modern day, two-time series champion.
Driver Number of Pole Positions Tommy Ellis 28 Mark Martin 25 Sam Ard 24 *David Green 19 Tommy Houston 18
Year Start/Finish Laps Completed Status
1999 1/14 200/200 Running
1999 (Fall) 17/18 200/200 Running
1998 (Fall) 21/34 197/200 Running
1996 3/19 198/200 Running
1996 (Fall) 25/40 63/200 Accident
1995 22/38 43/200 Accident
1995 (Fall) 34/19 197/200 Running
1994 29/24 166/200 Running
1994 (Fall) 7/19 195/200 Running
1993 32/16 200/200 Running
1993 (Fall) 30/17 198/200 Running
1991 3/37 90/200 Engine
Averages 18.6/24.6 1947/2400 81.1% -
*AFG Glass Team 34 will take Texas primary car, G3 to Charlotte this week. Though G3 practiced, it did not run during the race due to a practice crash. Therefore, even though it is slated as the Texas primary, it has never raced before.
Text provided by Cheryl Steele
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