Chat Transcript: Jeff Green

May 10, 2001
10:21 AM EDT (1421 GMT)

Nascar_Host1: Welcome to NASCAR.com's chat with Jeff Green!

Jeff_Green Hey all you NASCAR fans! It is great to be with you here on NASCAR.com. I am enjoying the nice weather here in Charlotte. It is a beautiful day.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: micka80 Hi Jeff, how are you? I am a big fan of yours. What are your plans for 2002? I have heard rumors that you will drive the #30 RCR Chevy in 2002 for Richard Childress. Any truth there? Keep up the good work.

Jeff_Green: Thanks for writing in. Those are just rumors. Our sport is filled with rumors. I am just going to keep doing what I am doing with the NesQuik Taurus. What next year brings, I don't know yet. We are working with PPC right now on next year, but you never know what will happen. What we have on our minds right now is just winning that Championship.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Greenfan What are your thoughts going into New Hampshire?

Jeff_Green: I am looking forward to it. I always do. We finished 2nd there last year and we have had some great cars there. I feel like we will have another good finish. I will go with all expectations of sitting on the pole and winning the race. If you don't go in that way, you are beat already. We are going up there with the mindset to win and that is what we want to do.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Kitten Hey Jeff, do you think your year is turning around? Can you repeat the Championship?

Jeff_Green: I don't think that my year ever got backwards! We had some bad races but we have been good most weeks. We aren't on the blistering pace we were last year but we have just as much a chance to win the Championship as everyone else. I hope we just keep winning and running well so we will gather the most points for the end of the year.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Move_Over Jeff, is it hard to get a good setup with all of the new tires from Goodyear?

Jeff_Green: I don't think it is hard. It just takes a different setup then the past. We have to change the springs and shocks. It is something we do at the track every weekend, so I don't think it is different than any other year.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: hber_18_cool Jeff, what are your thoughts on Winston Cup drivers driving in the Busch Series?

Jeff_Green: I enjoy racing with them. It takes some money and points away from us, but I think on the other hand that we learn a lot from racing with them. It makes us work harder, so the weekends they are not there we are still in a good racecar. It helps me as a driver, too, in being a little more competitive and learning when to go and when not to go, so it does help us out.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: frano Jeff, how do you prepare differently for IROC races?

Jeff_Green: Not really too differently for any race, really. The one thing in IROC is that I don't have a points battle. We do earn points, but it doesn't hurt my Busch performance. It isn't a let down if we blow a motor because the focus is the Busch car and the Championship. They are fun races and I enjoy them. It is an honor to be in them. I got close to winning it earlier this year, but Bobby Labonte bumped me out in the last one. It was a pretty eventful weekend and we enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind having an IROC Championship, but our focus is on the Busch one.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: MSURacer1 What are your thoughts about coming home to the Kentucky Speedway later this year, since it is your home state?

Jeff_Green: I am looking forward to it. We were there testing in December and I am proud to tell people I am from that state. We have come a long way and it is unique background there. I am looking forward to my family and friends being there. It is going to be a great race weekend for us.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Move_Over Jeff, how does it feel to be racing side-by-side with your brothers?

Jeff_Green: It is the best feeling ever. I would rather race my brothers than my friends. I feel for them sometimes because they don't have as good as race team as I do, but it is still pretty nice to be able to race in the Busch series together. We have been racing side-by-side through our whole lives, and this is what we wanted to be doing when we started. The Busch is almost as high as you can get racing so we are pretty proud of that.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: greenfan10 Any new paint schemes in the works for this year on the #30?

Jeff_Green: They are going to announce something in a couple of weeks. They are going to have a neat deal at Richmond with 4 or 5 Chevys. I am not going to let the cat out of the bag, but there will be an announcement here in just a couple of weeks.

Nascar_Host1: What's your favorite Nestle product?

Jeff_Green: I guess NesQuik! They make so much stuff. They have Carnation, Nestle, candy, and everything is so good! NesQuik is a supporter of ours and I enjoy drinking it, so I would say that one.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: hber_18_cool Jeff, what event will you drive next at for Winston Cup?

Jeff_Green: The Dover race that is coming up in just a couple of weeks.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Move_Over Jeff, do you watch any other racing series during your free time?

Jeff_Green: I enjoy watching ASA racing. It is neat. They race at night and we are usually home by the end. Any racing is neat to watch, but when you know the people racing, it makes it a little bit more interesting to watch.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Kitten Jeff, what do you think of all the tempers that flare at short tracks?

Jeff_Green: I don't want to be a part of it, but I have been a part of it before. We aren't looking at doing that at any event, but we are all competitive and human. We can make each other mad, but we get over it. It is exciting and that is the way the fans look at it. Thousands of different fans talk about our sport and that means it is exciting for them, which means it is something we have to do.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Move_Over Jeff, does your family travel with you to the races?

Jeff_Green: My wife. We don't have any kids. She goes everywhere I go. The only race she has missed was Watkins Glen last year because her grandmother passed away. I am very lucky. The guys that work on the cars are away a lot, but a lot of drivers have their wives with them every week. I am blessed to have her travel with me and it would be hard on a family if people couldn't travel each week.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: frano OK Jeff, tell the truth. Are you an AOL member?

Jeff_Green: Yes, I am! They gave me a year subscription, so that helped! We were an AOL member anyway. They have a great product annd I enjoy their online service. I am sure there are a lot of people that are happy that we are running an AOL car, so hopefully we will run well and get them a lot of exposure to help sell more product.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: diecastnut01 Jeff, why the switch to Ford after winning the Championship in a Chevy?

Jeff_Green: Ford just allowed us to do more things with our race team, like wind tunnel time, resources, etc. We think it is a better racecar. To be on top was tough, but to stay there will be much tougher. We think the end results will be much better for us and that is why we did it.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: racecast-rules What are your favorite web sites?

Jeff_Green: I don't use the computer too much, but I like hobby sites, and of course NASCAR.com. I don't get into Jayski much, but I do dabble in that to see what crazy rumors are there each week.

I am more of a wrench and screwdriver guy and I don't sit behind a desk. I like to play some hunting games on the computer, so that keeps me computer literate I would say. I don't get behind a desk too much. That would be too much like work! Haha

Nascar_Host1: Question from: i Jeff, how much did Dale Earnhardt inspire you as a driver?

Jeff_Green: I think he did a lot, especially when I drove for him. I can say he was my friend and I learned a lot from him about life. He inspired me in racing and in life, too. That means a lot to me. I grew up and people said I drove like Dale, but I don't know if that was good or bad!

Haha It worked out for me. To work for him for 2 years, I will never forget that. He gave me a career. He got me the jobs I have gotten the last 4 or 5 years, and he got me a pretty darn good one with this Busch team. I owe a lot to him for what he gave me these past few years.

Nascar_Host1: What's something in your motorhome that would surprise most people?

Jeff_Green: That is pretty tough! Let me think here... Probably not having beer in the cooler! Haha It is all water and NesQuik, and maybe a few Dr. Peppers in there. Haha

Nascar_Host1: Question from: #30fan What are your thoughts regarding the red flag at the end of Saturday's race? Do you think NASCAR should make a rule like the truck series has?

Jeff_Green: I don't know. That rule for the truck series is awesome and works good for them. As a fan, I think you want to see as many green flag laps as you can. You don't want to watch the pace car.

Whether that helps you or hurts you as a competitor is important, but we are there for the fans. We need to make sure that they are happy.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: nascarfan Do you do anything in particular to help you relax and focus before a race?

Jeff_Green: Not really. I don't really worry about racing. I know I have a great racecar and whatever is going to happen will happen. In my early days I would get nervous and I would do things, but not now. I try to work out 2-3 days a week now. It is just another race and I am just happy to be driving a racecar.

Nascar_Host1: What are thoughts on Shawna Robinson?

Jeff_Green: I got myself in trouble for talking about her last week. I think she has been around awhile, but she has been out of cars for a while. She can get it done for a lap, no doubt, but I don't think anybody can get a job done in a race without the right equipment.

To say she is better or worse than anyone else, I can't really say. The only thing different is that she is female. She just needs the right situation. I wouldn't be where I am without the right equipment and race team, and that is the way you have to look at it. By no means am I saying that her race team is bad, I am just saying that the collaboration needs time to work out.

Everything takes a little time to get it right, and not every driver works with the team the same. That is why you see driver changes during the season, because something different can change things. People that surround each and every driver have to work together to make it happen, and that is hard.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: #10 How do you feel about the new types of safety devices coming out and do you use one?

Jeff_Green: Actually I think anything we can do to make our cars safer is something we need to try out. I haven't made a lap with the HANS device. I put it in the car but I can't use it. I am not built the same as a lot of these guys and it is uncomfortable.

I used the new Simpson device and I have used Bobby Hutchins' device that he developed. The end result should be the same, so I just make sure that it doesn't keep me from doing my job in the racecar. I just put it in the good Lords hands from that point on.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: nesquik Do you follow a physical workout routine to keep in shape?

Jeff_Green: I try to, as far as just doing cardio stuff and lifting a few weights. I don't want to be Mr. Universe, but I also don't want to fall out of the seat. I want to give 110% and drink as much water as I can during the week.

I want to do the best job for the race team and not let my health get in the way of that. With what we try to do every week, I think my routine is serving me well.

Nascar_Host1: That's all the time Jeff has for us tonight. Thanks Jeff! What are your final thoughts?

Jeff_Green: Thank you for signing on tonight. I know we don't get to all the questions, but the time doesn't allow for that. I just hope everyone is having a good year, and please keep pulling for us on both the circuits.