Green Breaks into the
Top 10
Las Vegas, NV (March
12) –
Coming into the
illustrious “City of
lights” this weekend,
the #27
Kleenex®/Scott®
products team had all
but gambling on their
minds. With much
anticipation after a
great race in
California, this team
was all business for
the Sam’s Town 300,
and ready to make
their winnings in
victory lane.
Starting off 13th
in the field, driver
David Green drove an
amazing race in a car
that neared
perfection. One slow
pit stop and a
speeding violation on
pit road however,
seemed to be the only
factors holding this
team back. After
great recoveries, and
a skillfully performed
race, the #27 Kleenex
Ford marked down it’s
first top-10 victory
for the 05’ season,
finishing 10th.
While many cars had
the luxury of
qualifying on a cooler
track, the #27
Kleenex® Ford was
early on in the
qualifying order and
forced to go while the
sun was just setting.
Nonetheless, on a hot
slick track, driver
David Green still ran
a great lap with a
qualifying time of
32.087 seconds,
putting him on the
starting line at 13th.
“The back end was a
little loose on that
backstretch,” said
David. “But
considering all of the
factors, I’m pretty
happy with that time.”
Right off the start it
was easy to tell that
the Kleenex®/Scott®
products crew had
prepared a finely
tuned racing machine.
David Green was quick
immediately after the
green flag, and was
battling it out to
gain positions. With
an early caution out
on lap 5, Green wasted
no time passing as the
flag went green on lap
8, and had gained two
spots to 11th
by lap 19.
In 13th
place on lap 40, the
caution flag was out
again, and crew chief
Stewart Cooper took
the opportunity to
tighten up the car a
little with a track
bar adjustment and
four new tires.
Making those
adjustments took a
little longer than the
crew’s usual quick
pits, and the #27 fell
to 19th
place when the flag
went green on lap 45.
However, with a quick
car on his side, Green
had no trouble gaining
back his position to
11th by lap
63.
Now on lap 80, the
traffic was
treacherous as every
car tried to make
gains, and David was
once again bouncing
back and forth between
positions. Lap 84, the
caution was out and
Cooper decided to
bring Green in. “Our
driver is out there
giving it his all,
let’s try to help him
out,” said Cooper just
before the #27 came in
for a pit. Giving it
their best, the guys
had a tremendously
fast pit, and David
was back out.
Unfortunately, caught
up in the speed of
things, David took off
a little too quick in
pit road and was
called for a speeding
violation. As a
result, he was forced
to the back off the
pit line when the flag
went green on lap 96,
and David was set back
to 21st
place. Now, racing
harder than ever,
David Green was flying
past cars to regain
his position. By lap
12 he had earned two
spots to 19th,
and just two laps
later he skillfully
avoided a large pileup
involving the cars in
front of him. David
was all the way back
up to 13th
on lap 115, and the
intense racing
continued.
“You guys gave me an
awesome race car.
It’s doing everything
I need it too, but I
just can’t
breakthrough,” said
Green as he fought
through traffic on lap
127 in 14th
place. Maintaining
consistency and speed,
David held that
position for 40 laps
with no cautions. On
lap 167, Cooper
decided to bring the
car in to receive four
new tires to improve
traction and speed.
The #27 Kleenex® Ford
Taurus was back out
quick losing only four
spots to 16th.
Lap 173 the caution
flag waved, and other
cars now made their
stops. With the #27
still out on the
track, it had now
gained 5 more
positions to 7th
with only 23 laps left
to go. Racing for the
win, the #27 Kleenex
Ford just couldn’t
stay with slightly
fresher tires and lost
a few positions. By
lap 82, Green was in
10th and
the car was running
tight. Sticking it
out till the end,
Driver David Green
made sure not to let
the tight car effect
his front running
position. Thanks to a
championship like
performance, the #27
Kleenex® Ford finished
the day and recorded
its first top-10
finish for the year
with 10th
place.
“I’m just really proud
of my team on their
preparation and game
plan this past week,”
said Green. “Stewart
and the guys are
really coming to the
track prepared and
using the new impound
format in a useful
way. We had a good
practice session and a
great effort in
qualifying. We were
hindered a little with
our early draw number,
but nonetheless, our
Kleenex® Ford stepped
up to the plate.”
“Our race car was
great from start to
finish. I had a blast
all day long, and
heck, I even go my
first speeding
ticket. As we came
from the back of the
pack two different
times and broke
through the top 10, I
think we showed that
we are making very
good progress towards
our first 05’ win.”
Stephen C. Kirby
SMC 500
155 W. New York Ave,
Suite 300
Southern Pines, NC
28387
(910) 692-4600
Fax: (910) 692-4638
