Green 15th in Lone Star State Battle Saturday
FORT WORTH, TX (Nov.
5, 2005) - Dallas is
the home for many
professional sports
teams, such as the
Cowboys (NFL), the
Mavericks (NBA) and
the Stars (NHL). On
November 5th,
the local teams had
to take a back seat
to NASCAR Busch
Series. David Green
came into Dallas for
the second time this
season hoping to win
the locals hearts
and win the coveted
O’Reilly Challenge
Trophy.
David Green came
into the weekend
looking to put
together back to
back top-five
finishes. Green
started off on the
right foot, racing
in the top-10 for
most of the practice
session. Green
said, “We have a
really good car. If
we can qualify well,
I think we will have
a great chance of
winning this race.”
As it turned out,
the team got an
early qualifying
run. They had to
qualify in the heat,
which made the track
slower and looser.
After Green
qualified, the sun
went down and the
track sped up,
putting Green in 21st.
When the green flag
dropped, Green was
ready to make his
move to the front.
Green was able to
pick up five spots
in the first 6
laps. He fought to
gain another
position, but the
race’s first
caution, lap 17,
stopped his charge.
Green brought his
#27 Kleenex/
Brookshire’s Ford
Taurus into the
pits. The team made
a typical four tire
and fuel stop along
with a small wedge
adjustment. Green
exited the pits 15th.
Green flag action
returned on lap 20
and Green was back
in the hunt. Over
the next 20 laps,
Green had to fight
his way through two
wrecks, but worked
his way up to 12th
place. Green passed
Martin Truex on lap
78 to take 9th
place. Green stayed
on the track for
seven more laps,
when he relinquished
his position to make
a green flag pit
stop. He received
four sticker tires,
fuel and a wedge
adjustment.
After the entire
field came into the
pits and the field
cycled around, Green
was in 7th.
Green fought to get
in the top-five, but
on lap 105, another
caution came out.
Green came into the
pits and took four
scuff tires and
fuel. He exited the
pits 14th,
since some cars
decided not to pit.
Green fought to get
back in the top-10
but the scuff tires
were not handling
the way they had
predicted. Green
said, “We’ve been
loose all day but
now we’re really
tight.” He couldn’t
make the move to the
front because of the
car’s handling. By
lap 138, Green had
slipped to 18th.
He held off the rest
of the field until
lap 165, when the
last caution of the
day came out. The
#27 Ford Taurus
entered the pits for
the last time and
got four sticker
tires, fuel and a
small wedge
adjustment.
The green flag
dropped on lap 173
and Green was ready
to make up the
positions he had
just lost. He
battled till the end
of the race, but
lapped traffic
prevented him from
being able to get
back in the top-10.
Green finished the
race in 15th
place.
Green said, “That’s
the way races go
some times. You
have a great car
that is handling
almost perfect.
Then you come into
the pits and put on
scuff tires and all
of a sudden your car
changes
drastically. Once
we put on the scuff
tires, our car just
wasn’t the same.
Instead of
continuing our run
to the front, we
started to move to
the back. By the
time we could get
back into the pits
to fix the problem,
it was too late.
The damage had been
done. All we can do
is learn from this
and move on. I’m
especially pleased
with my team’s
progress this year.
I’m extremely
excited about going
to Phoenix and
seeing what they can
do there. We can’t
win the
championship, but we
can finish strong
and build for next
year."
