Green grabs Bud Pole in season finale
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
November 9, 2001
4:25 PM EST (2125 GMT)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Defending NASCAR Busch Series champion Jeff Green scored some consolation points Friday by winning the Bud Pole Award for Saturday’s GNC Live Well 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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Jeff Green
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Green nudged rocket rookie Ryan Newman off the pole by .060 seconds when he went out 41st of 54 drivers who attempted to qualify. Green won his first pole of the season and the 18th of his career with lap of the 1.5-mile flat speedway in 35.776 seconds, an average speed of 150.939 mph in the No. 10 ppc Racing Ford.
“We ran quicker than that in practice but the winds have picked up and the sun is out from behind the clouds,” said Green, who led the morning practice session by .081 seconds over Newman.
Green had to split his time between the Winston Cup and Busch Series as he is standing in for Robby Gordon in the No. 31 Childress Racing Chevrolet in the Cup Series.
“I was a little concerned about going back and forth from both cars,” Green said. “I really concentrated on what this car did before I got out of it and then tried to remember that when I got back in it. We did all the right things.”
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Ryan Newman
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Newman, who will make only his 15th Busch Series start this season in Saturday’s season finale, will line up second in the No. 02 Penske Racing Ford after his lap in 35.836/150.686.
“It’s the team, not me,” said Newman, who has six Busch Series poles this season and will move to Winston Cup full-time in 2002. “Anybody can drive this race car for two laps in qualifying -- it’s just a good combination of crew chief, driver and all the guys on the crew.”
NBS Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader Greg Biffle will start third in his No. 60 Roush Racing Ford with a lap in 150.602 mph.
Newly-crowned champion Kevin Harvick, who clinched the title last weekend, will start fourth in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (150.556) and Green’s teammate Jason Keller rounds out the top five starters in the No. 57 ppc Taurus at 150.544.
Ward Burton will start sixth. Bobby Hamilton Jr., who won his first career pole a year ago at this event, will line up seventh, followed by Matt Kenseth, David Green and Elton Sawyer.
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Jeff Green's Bud Pole is his 18th of his career.
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Jeff Green said he benefited from an engine from Robert Yates Racing and that he looked forward to an opportunity to win Saturday with an engine supplier that ppc will use exclusively next season.
“That thing really made some steam in qualifying,” he said. “I’m looking forward to racing that thing to see what it can do -- I think we have a great chance at winning."
Michael Waltrip, who wrecked his primary car in a Turn 4 practice crash, rebounded to qualify 13th.
Visiting open-wheel drivers Casey Mears, who announced he will compete for Busch Series Rookie of the Year next season, and CART regular Christian Fittipaldi both qualified for their Busch debuts.
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Casey Mears qualified 21st.
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Mears was 21st in the No. 66 Welliver-Jesel Motorsports Chevrolet and Fittipaldi was 33rd in his No. 30 Innovative Motorsports Chevrolet.
Along with Waltrip, Danny Bagwell crashed in a separate accident in Turn 4 in the morning’s pre-qualifying practice. Bagwell’s White Motorsports Chevrolet was withdrawn and the team was unable to qualify.
Chad Little, Kevin Grubb, Buckshot Jones, Shane Hall, Andy Kirby, Philip Morris and Christian Elder used provisional starting positions.
With 55 cars on hand -- the largest field of attempted starters this year -- Bagwell, Bryan Tyler, Tom Carey Jr., Jeff Fultz, Michael Dokken, Mike Harmon, Martin Truex Jr., Morgan Shepherd, Dion Ciccarelli, Ron Young, Dan Pardus and Tim Fedewa loaded up and went home.
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