Crash Ruins Possible Top 10
Atlanta, GA (March 19) – The 2005
Busch Series season is now
officially in full swing with the
completion of it’s fifth race this
weekend in Atlanta. Prepared to
set the tone for the rest of the
year, David Green and the #27
Kleenex® Racing Crew came fired up
and ready to win. Starting the
Aaron’s 312 in the 20th
position with a late qualifying
run, the #27 Kleenex® Ford Taurus
was fast all day long.
Unfortunately, with about 20 laps
left to go, and looking to finish
in the top 10, David Green was
taken out of the race in a
collision with #17 Matt Kenseth.
The un-repairable Kleenex® Ford
Taurus left Atlanta with a 33rd
position finish.
Running 44th in the
qualifying order, driver David
Green pulled of a quick lap time
and started the race in the 20th
spot. “We were originally excited
about qualifying later,” said
David, “but as the day went on the
sun began to come out and the
track just got hotter and
slicker. By the time we went, the
car ran loose and we were sliding
around those turns a little.”
Racing a brand new car this week,
it was clear into the first laps
that it was going to be a quick
one. Just 15 laps into the race
Green had gained 4 spots to 16th.
However, simultaneously he was
beginning to experience
transmission troubles as the gear
shift wouldn’t stay in place.
Still, nothing seemed like it was
going to slow down David for this
race; he was determined. Driving
around the mile and half track at
incredible speeds while
concurrently holding his shifter
in place, Green was still making
gains. After avoiding a big
collision on lap 22, the caution
was out and Green had progressed
to 11th place. Taking
a pit during the caution, the
Kleenex® racing team made efforts
to fix the transmission troubles
and gave the #27 Ford four new
tires. Concerned that the shifter
still wouldn’t stay in place, crew
chief Stewart Cooper gave David
two bungee cords to secure the
shifter in gear and free up his
hands to drive the car. Following
this extensive pit stop, Green was
back in the race losing only 12
spots to 23rd.
With
four new tires and free hands to
steer the car, David Green was
passing cars every few laps. By
lap 57, he had driven his way back
up to the 12th
position. Keeping with the pack
and maintaining good position, by
lap 108 the #27 Ford Taurus was in
15th with slick tires.
Fortunately, on lap 110 the
caution was out, and Cooper gave
the car 4 scuffed tires on a pit
stop in an effort to preserve
fresh ones. Thanks to a quick
stop by the Kleenex® racing crew
the car was back out in 14th
on lap 118.
After making no gains on the
scuffed tires, the caution was out
again on lap 139 and Cooper made
the call to give the #27 it’s last
set of fresh tires along with
track bar and wedge adjustments.
Back out in 18th on lap
146, it was clear that the new
tires and adjustments made all the
difference. David was now making
his run for the top 10 and was in
10th place by lap 167.
A few laps later, the caution was
out and Green came in for gas.
With no more fresh tires on his
side, he knew that the team’s
finish would depend solely on his
driving ability.
Ready to fight for a top ten
finish, Green was in 9th
placed on the restart and had a
good jump. However, on his way to
pass #17 Math Kenseth on the
outside, Kenseth also moved
outside not realizing David was
there, forcing the #27 Kleenex®
Ford into the wall. Kenseth later
apologized admitting that the
accident was his fault. The #27
was left un-repairable and out of
the race. With only 20 laps left
to go, David Green and the
Kleenex® Racing team finished 33rd.
“It
was a really tough break,” said
David. “The team deserved better
than that with all the great
efforts they made for a good
finish. Even more importantly,
that was a new car, and Stewart
and the guys really prepared it
good for me. I wish it didn’t end
like that, but it did. These
kinds of things happen, and now
all we can do is focus on next
week.”
