Missing the Big One
Moves David to 12th
Daytona Beach, FL (June 1, 2005)-
Daytona is known for
its high banks and
speed. To win a race
at the Daytona
International
Speedway, you have to
be able to draft.
Crew Chief, Stewart
Cooper, decided to set
the car up more for
the draft than for
open air driving. The
Kleenex® team did not
qualify well and put
them 42nd
on the starting grid.
Green maneuvered his
way through the race
traffic all night.
With good driving and
good luck, he was able
to miss the big wreck
at the end of the race
allowing him finish 12th.
It seems like the rain
is an integral part of
every race this year.
The rain postponed
practice until the
morning of the race.
The teams were then a
little behind on their
race setup. The
Kleenex®/ Winn-Dixie
team was able to make
some adjustments
during practice that
helped them on there
handling. Green said,
“This race used to be
all about speed, now
handling plays a huge
part. The car that’s
going to win is going
to be one of the best
handling cars.” Green
finished practice 30thand
was one of the top
Ford cars in the
field.
Ford came out with
their new engines this
year but that did not
seem to help when it
comes to Daytona. The
only Ford car to
qualifier higher than
25th was
Carl Edwards. The
Ford cars appeared to
be at a disadvantage
from the start. Green
ended up qualifying 42nd.
Green said, “We had to
make some last minute
adjustments on the car
to make it though tech
which hurt us a lot in
qualifying. I’m
positive we can put
together a good
finish.”
When the race started,
Green said, “Hey guys,
good work this week.
Don’t worry, we are
going to be fine
today.” Green battled
his way through race
traffic, moving up to
34th. The
first caution flag
came out on lap 14.
Cooper decided to
bring the car in and
make some
adjustments. The crew
put on four tires,
filled it with gas and
lowered the track bar
½ a round. Green
exited the pits 33rd.
The race restarted on
lap 17 and the battle
to move up front was
on. Green continually
gained ground on the
leaders. Every few
laps, he picked up
another position. By
lap 53, Green was in
the top-20. The field
began making green
flag pit stops. The
Kleenex® team pitted
on lap 14, allowing
them to stay out on
the track until
another caution came
out on lap 56. Green
got on the radio and
said, “Stew, the car
isn’t holding to the
track at the beginning
or the end of the
turns.” When he came
into the pits, it was
a gas and four tire
stop with an air
pressure adjustment.
Green exited the pits,
19th.
The green flag came
out on lap 60 and by
lap 64, Green was up
to the 15th
position. Green said,
“Stew, the car still
isn’t gripping to the
track. If there is
another caution, let’s
make some more
adjustments.” As luck
would have it, another
caution came out on
lap 79. Green had
already fallen back to
22nd. He
came into the pits and
made a gas and four
tire stop with another
air pressure
adjustment. The crew
got him back on the
track 23rd.
The race resumed on
lap 83. Restrictor
plate races are known
for having a big wreck
and on lap 98 the big
one happened in turn
four, right in front
of Green. Green’s
ability and luck
enabled him to make it
though. Cooper got on
the radio and said,
“David, way to go
buddy. I’m looking at
the replay right now
and I can’t see how
you made it through
that wreck. That was
one of the most
amazing things I have
ever seen.” The race
was red flagged until
the clean-up crews
cleared the track.
The race was going to
have a
green/white/checkered
finish and Green was
in 12th,
where he finished.
Green said, “There are
times during the
season when 12th
is like winning the
race. We started 42nd
and I could feel that
my team was a little
disappointed. The
Ford cars don’t have
the aero package quite
figured out yet. This
is evident when you
look at the qualifying
results. My team
never quit, they
fought all day long
trying to get me up
front. I would have
liked a top-10, but I
really can’t complain
about 12th.”
Media Contact
Bill Virtue
SMC 500
O: 910-692-4600
C: 910-690-9009
bvirtue@smc500.com
