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Coming From Behind

The #27 Kleenex® team gains a total of 21 positions for a top 15 finish 

DARLINGTON, SC (May 6, 2005) – Squeezing all of the Busch Series race activities into one long day due to rain delays; practice, qualifying, and then of course the first ever Darlington night race all made for one exciting Friday. After a disappointing qualifying time for the #27 Kleenex® team, and only having 147 laps on the “lady in black” to make up for it, the night looked bleak. However, Starting 36^th David Green and the Kleenex® crew made fantastic efforts to gain a total of 21 positions under the lights of Darlington for a 15^th place finish.  

During qualifying, Green was fighting a loose end and was forced to take a 36^th position start for the race. Unfortunately, with practice time cut short due to rain the previous day, the #27 never had the chance to practice a qualifying run. “We really needed to do a couple of qualifying runs during practice,” said Green. “My front end was good all day, but I knew before I even got out there that I’d be loose on those turns. We’ve got a great racecar, but we’ll need to make some adjustments early on and I’m sure we’ll find a way to make up some of those positions.” 

With an early caution on lap 2, David Green had already made up 6 positions to 30^th. By lap 15, he was up to 26^th and mentioned that the car needed wedge and track bar adjustments. Still gaining positions on a track that wears tires faster than any other, Green had gained a total of 14 spots on lap 49 to 22^nd. Suddenly, the caution was out and the #27 came into pit road for its much needed adjustments. Coming down on the track bar, receiving wedge on the right side, 4 new tires, and 22 gallons of fuel made for a lot to do in one quick stop. Even so, the Kleenex® crew performed exceptionally fast coming back onto the track for the green flag in 20^th place. Now, with a tighter car, Green was able to quickly gain 2 more positions to 18^th by lap 66 and the yellow flag came out once again. The #27 team knew not to waste this opportunity for new tires, and they came into pit road to receive 4 more and a refuel.  

Back on the track in 19^th for the drop of the green flag on lap 71, Green had come from the back of the pack in 17 laps and was now running in the top 20. With fresh tires and a fast car on his side, Green was able to gain 2 more positions to 17^th by lap 100. Shortly after, on lap 117 the caution flag was out and crew chief Stewart Cooper decided to bring the car in for some more adjustments. Receiving 4 new tires, a refuel, and coming down on the track bar during another exceptionally fast pit stop by the #27 team, David green was back out in 16^th place on lap 122. Just 2 laps later, the caution was out again and most cars in the field stayed on the track to fight it out for the last 23 laps. Now, Green was in 15^th for the green flag on lap 129. With tires that wear down really fast on the track that’s “tough to tame,” Green knew he would be in trouble if he came down to the last laps on his current set. Fortunately, the yellow flag came up on lap 134, and Green came in for a fresh set. Back out in 18^th for the green flag on lap 140, David quickly passed two cars with a new set of tires on his side, and he finished the night in Darlington after coming from the back of the field in 15^th place. 

“Considering where we ended up in qualifying, it was decent race for us,” said David Green. “We are having a hard time getting our car “tightened up” enough for qualifying after we get it where it needs to be for the race. Obviously, the race is far more important to us versus qualifying, but it sure makes it hard to come from that far back. The guys did a good job in the pits, and Stewart did a good job in helping me get our car to drive well on old tires. Track position is a must this year it seems, and being able to have the car turn as good as it did all night was something we have not had. So now, we can focus on getting our car’s balance back and we’ll see the results in qualifying too. It was a great night for racing, with the lights and all, and it seemed like the walls turned black just like they do during the daytime hours. What a crowd too, it was pretty cool to see all those fans there to support such a prestigious race.