Thunder Valley
Got the Best of
Green
Bristol, TN (August
26) – The Busch
Series spent the
weekend at the
fastest half mile
track in the world ,
the Bristol Motor
Speedway. Some
drivers talk about
how it is like a
stick of dynamite
with a short fuse.
Everything seems
alright, and then
all of a sudden
everything explodes.
Unfortunately, David
Green was one of the
drivers who got
caught in the blast.
Green struggled to
get his car set up
the way he wanted.
He qualified 36th
but was on the move
to the front. He was
a victim of two
wrecks, which
prevented him from
making a run at the
top-10. After a long
night of racing, he
finished 27th.
Green started the
one day event off on
the wrong foot.
Green and Stewart
Cooper, his crew
chief, battled all
morning trying to
get the car set up
correctly. During
the practice
session, the car was
too loose. Green
said, “It’s really
strange, the car
just won’t tighten
up. We are going to
have to really make
some adjustments
before qualifying
and the race.” Green
was the 36th
car to qualify, and
he qualified 35th.
Green said, “It
seems like it’s
going to be one of
those types of days.
We had to take a
gamble and tighten
up the car; we just
tightened it up too
much.”
The green flag
dropped and Green
was ready to take
his Kleenex®/ Food
City Ford Taurus to
the front of the
pack. Green had
worked his way up to
27th when
the nights first
caution came out.
When the green flag
dropped, Green was
ready to gain some
more ground on the
leaders. Green’s run
wouldn’t last long
due to the wreck
that occurred in
front of him on lap
36. Green was able
to salvage most of
his car except for
front fender damage.
Green came into the
pits on lap 37 and
39 to repair the
damage. The #27 crew
was able to repair
the car enough to
race without losing
a lap. Green
restarted the race
after all the
repairs in the 33rd
position. He was
able to pick up six
spots before another
caution came out on
lap 61. Green came
into the pits to
make a routine four
tire and gas pit
stop on lap 64.
Green exited the
pits 26th
and would have to
stay in that
position for a while
due to the rain.
NASCAR red flagged
the race on lap 72,
which allowed all
the drivers to get
out of their cars
and go to their
haulers.
When the rain
finally stopped and
the track was dry,
the race restarted.
Green battled his
way up to 21st
before another
caution came out on
lap 138. Green
followed the leaders
down pit row and
made a four tire and
gas stop along with
lowering the left
wedge by one round
and exited the pits
24th.
Green didn’t have
much time to gain
any more positions
due to the rain.
NASCAR waved the
yellow flag on lap
153 and the red flag
on lap 164. The race
had its second rain
delay. Green said,
“I think it has
rained at 75% of the
races this year.
It’s starting to get
a little
ridiculous.” The
drivers got back in
their cars and the
race was underway
again. The drivers
only got a few laps
in before another
caution came out.
Once again the race
got underway on lap
191, where Green was
in 16th
and ready to get
into the top-10.
Green battled until
lap 202 when he got
caught up in another
small accident. He
was pushed into the
side of another car.
The car didn’t
suffer any serious
damage; however the
car’s alignment was
thrown off. Green
said to Cooper, “I
should be okay until
the next pit stop.
We need track
position. I don’t
think there is any
serious damage to
the car.” When the
green flag came out
on lap 210, Green
was in 25th.
Green battled
through the rest of
the day but in the
end, just couldn’t
get the momentum to
get up front. He
finished the race 27th.
With this finish
Green moved to the 6th
spot in the Busch
Series standings.
Green said, “It’s
days like today that
remind me about why
drivers hate this
track. You can
prepare as much as
you want, but in the
end, it’s a driver’s
track and no amount
of preparation can
prepare you for what
happens out there.
Hopefully, we can
get back on track
next week at
California.”
