Green out to prove he belongs in Winston Cup
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 28, 2002
12:31 PM EST (1731 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Jeff Green might be in a new ride this year, but he isn't new to the Winston Cup ranks.
 | |
Jeff Green
|
|
|
Green, the driver of the No. 30 AOL Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, will once again be driving in the top level of NASCAR racing in 2002. However, this isn't his first trip around the tracks in the 3,500 lb., 750-horsepower cars.
"Some new fans to the sport think this is my rookie year in Cup," Green said with a laugh. "I can't say that I blame them for thinking that way, either. I did some Cup racing, not too successfully I might add -- a few years ago.
"To come back into this deal with a team like Richard Childress Racing is really something. I like to win races and that's what they're all about. I like that part of the arrangement already."
Green's previous experience in Winston Cup was during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. In 1997, he wheeled No. 29 Chevrolet for Diamond Ridge Motorsports to one top-five finish in 20 races. The next year, he left that team after the fifth race of the season to drive for Felix Sabates in 18 races.
His 58 races on the Winston Cup circuit have brought forth just one top-five, three top-10s and one Bud Pole Award. The top-starting spot came at Bristol last year during one of his eight races in the No. 30 Chevrolet for Childress.
 | |
Green competed in eight Winston Cup events in 2001.
|
|
|
"Those prior deals weren't all that bad, it was just bad timing on everyone's part," Green said. "I did what I had to do to keep my career going and I thought, at the time, I was making some good choices. But, not everything works out the way it should."
Green, a native of Owensboro, Ky., returned full-time to the Busch Series ranks in 1999. Winning is something Green did in the Busch ranks quite well. In the 212 races he competed in through 12 years, he captured 14 victories, 75 top fives and 110 top-10 finishes. Last year, he finished second in points to Harvick.
Green came in to the RCR fold when the death of Dale Earnhardt forced Kevin Harvick to begin his Winston Cup career earlier than planned. With Harvick taking over the Goodwrench-sponsored car, RCR needed to find someone to drive the No. 30 Chevrolet originally planned for Harvick.
Childress called upon Green, the 2000 Busch Series champion, to become his new driver. He will be teamed with Harvick, the 2001 Busch Series champion and Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, and Robby Gordon, who will drive the No. 31 Chevrolet.
 | |
Green won 10 times in the Busch Series in 2000 and 2001.
|
|
|
Both Harvick and Gordon have already registered victories with RCR last year. Harvick won at Atlanta and Chicagoland, while Gordon closed out the season with a win at New Hampshire last year.
With Green's move to RCR, he and Harvick will go from opponents to teammates. They have run into each other, literally at times on the track, while competing in the Busch Series ranks the last two seasons and are familiar with each other's driving styles.
Both drivers like to win and they both want to win. Green knows that Childress doesn't want anyone to change their ways now just because they share the same shop address.
"Richard has said he doesn't want any of us to change anything about our styles of driving," Green said. "Kevin is my teammate and I realize that. I know we had a history in the Busch Series, too.
"I respect him for the person he is and his driving abilities. But, I'm out to win races just as much as him."
| 
