Accident Ruins Strong Weekend for David Green, No. 27 Depend® Brewco Team in Martinsville

Martinsville, Virginia (July 24, 2006) – David Green and the No. 27 Depend® Ford Fusion team ran as high as second place on Saturday, but got caught up in one of the record-number of cautions in the race for a 31st place finish at Martinsville Speedway.

Having sat on the pole and finishing second in the last two races at the track, Green was excited for the NASCAR Busch Series’ return to Martinsville. His excitement was heightened early on in the race weekend, as the No. 27 Depend® Ford was at the top of the charts in the practice sessions for the Goody’s 250.

“The car was fast right off the truck, and we were seventh and fifth in the two practice sessions Friday,” Green said. “I knew we had a shot at a top-five start and finish.”

Adjustments were made after the practice sessions, which Green said made the car a bit loose for qualifying. The No. 27 Brewco Ford readied for the race, starting in the 20th position.

“The race started great,” Green said, “but the motor started missing. We pitted to fix the alternator wire, then pitted again to fill the fuel tank.” Green was running in the 15th position by lap 54.

A caution flag flew on lap 80 and most of the race leaders pitted. After the pit stops cycled through, the No. 27 Depend® Ford was in fourth place. Green drove into second place and was chasing down the race leader when another caution came out on lap 115. The Brewco crew pitted for four tires and fuel in the hopes that this might be their last pit stop of the race. However, Green’s competitors had other ideas.

“We were in the 22nd position and were heading back up there when the 77 spun the 9 and we got collected in the wreck,” Green said.

The No. 27 Depend® Ford sustained heavy front-end body damage. Green pitted multiple times so the Brewco crew could cool down the car and work on the damage.

“Surprisingly, the car drove OK, but the motor got hot and we had no front downforce,” Green said. “To add to our problems, we finished the last 15 laps of race on only six cylinders.

“I knew we had a good car on the testing days and I was confident we could fight for a top-five finish but our luck was not there,” Green concluded. “It was a very disappointing finish after such a promising start to the weekend.

“I’m really proud of (Co-Crew Chief) Stewart (Cooper) and the guys for building this new short track car,” Green said. “We'll get it put back together and go get ‘em with it at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. We’re also looking forward to having a solid winning run at St. Louis this weekend.”

Next for the No. 27 Brewco team will be the Busch Silver Celebration 250 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois on Saturday July 29. Television coverage of the race begins at 8:00 pm EST on TNT.

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