Jeff Green
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| Born: September 6,1962 Owensboro, Kentucky | |||
| Best Pts Finish: | 17th (2002) | ||
| First Race: | 1994 Miller Genuine Draft 400 | ||
| Best Pts Finish: | 1st (2001) | ||
| First Race: | 1990 Autolite 200 | ||
| First Win: | 1997 Los Vegas 300 | ||
| Last Win: | 2002 Carquest Auto Parts 300 | ||
| 1990 Nashville Speedway USA track champion | |||
Jeff Green (born September 6, 1962) is an American stock car driver in NASCAR currently not sgned with a team. Jeff Green is the brother of fellow NASCAR drivers Mark Green and David Green.
Green's highest success came in the Busch Series, which he was the champion of in 2000 and runner-up in 1999 and 2001. Despite this, he has struggled in the Sprint Cup Series throughout his career. Haas CNC Racing is Green's 4th different team in the top series in as many years, and he has yet to win a race.
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[edit] Career Prior to NASCAR
Green dominated the field to win the 1990 track championship at the legendary Nashville Speedway USA. Shortly after the end of the season, Green came to an agreement with John Boatmen to compete in the Autolite Platinum 200, a NASCAR Busch Series event taking place at Richmond International Raceway.Template:Ref Although pre-race plans were to simply qualify for the event, Green would finish 22nd in the race.
[edit] NASCAR career
[edit] Early years
After sporadic appearances throughout the previous five seasons, Green became a full-time driver in the Busch Series in 1995, and after consecutive top-five finishes in the points standings, he made 20 Winston Cup series starts in 1997 for the #29 Cartoon Network Chevrolet Monte Carlo, owned by Diamond Ridge Motorsports. Although he stayed with the same team for the first six races of the following year, he was let go mid-season (the team would shut down) and ended up driving the #46 First Union Chevrolet, owned by Felix Sabates, for most of the 1998 season. He would finish 40th overall in points.
[edit] Success in the Busch Series
Green turned his focus back to the Busch Series afterwards, which would pay off as he would finish in the top-two in points for the next three years. He finished in second place, 280 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr., in 1999, his first full-time Busch series season since 1996. In 2000, he won the Busch Series championship by 616 points over ppc Racing teammate Jason Keller, the largest final points margin in series history. He also set a series record for most top-fives in a season with 25. Along with his older brother David, who had won the Busch championship six years earlier, they became the first siblings to both win the same major auto racing championship. After another second-place finish in the standings in 2001, this time to Kevin Harvick, he signed a three-year contract with Richard Childress Racing to drive the #30 America Online Chevrolet to return to the Winston Cup series.
[edit] Full-time NEXTEL Cup driver
While Green had his finest Winston Cup year in 2002 with a 17th-place standings finish, he struggled in 2003 and was released by RCR 11 races into the season. He was picked up by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to drive the #1 Pennzoil Chevrolet, but in 12 races he failed to finish in the top ten during a race, and was replaced by John Andretti. He joined his third team of the year when he began driving the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge for Petty Enterprises, and settled down there. Despite a 2004 season where he had only one top ten finish and finished 30th in points, Green continued to be the full-time driver in 2005.
However, he would continue to struggle, failing to finish in the top 10 the entire year, and feuding with Michael Waltrip for much of the season. His final position in the points standings was 29th. As a result, Petty Enterprises announced on November 11, 2005, that he would be replaced by Bobby Labonte following the season's end.Template:Ref In light of this, Green signed with Haas CNC Racing to drive the #0 Chevy, taking advantage of Mike Bliss not returning to the team. Soon after he signed, the car number was changed to #66 to reflect new sponsor Best Buy as they celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. It was rumored that the #66's crew chief, Robert Barker, would be replacedTemplate:Ref, but he remained with the team.
The 2006 season started off on a rocky note for Green, who suffered a flat tire on the first lap of the Daytona 500, crashed mid-way through the race and finished 42nd.
[edit] The Green Foundation
In 2002, Jeff Green founded The Green Foundation with his brother Mark. It is a non-profit charity that assists those with severe injuries, including auto racing drivers and children with life-threatening illnesses.
| Year | No. | Sponsor | Make | Team/Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-2007 | 66 | Best Buy | Chevrolet | Haas CNC Racing |
| 2004-2005 | 43 | Cheerios | Dodge | Petty Enterprises |
| 2001-2003 | 30 | America Online | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 1998 | 46 | First Union/Money Store | Chevrolet | Felix Sabates |
| 1997 | 29 | Cartoon Network | Chevrolet | Gary Bechtel |
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] NEXTEL Cup
| Year | Car* | Starts | Wins | Top Fives | Top Tens | Poles | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | #95 Shoney's Ford | 3 (of 31) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51st |
| 1996 | #14 Racing for Kids Chevy | 4 (of 31) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49th |
| 1997 | #29 Cartoon Network Chevy | 20 (of 32) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 39th |
| 1998 | #46 First Union Chevy | 22 (of 33) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40th |
| 1999 | #01 Tracfone Chevy | 1 (of 34) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60th |
| 2001 | #30 America Online Chevy | 8 (of 36) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 48th |
| 2002 | #30 America Online Chevy | 36 (of 36) | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 17th |
| 2003 | #30 America Online Chevy | 31 (of 36) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34th |
| 2004 | #43 Cheerios Dodge | 36 (of 36) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30th |
| 2005 | #43 Cheerios Dodge | 36 (of 36) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29th |
| 2006-07 | #66 Best Buy Chevy |
*at start of season
[edit] References
- Template:Note Motorsport.com (2000). Jeff Green ten years in Busch Series. URL accessed on March 2, 2006.
- Template:Note Spoor, Mark (2005). Labonte lands in Petty's No. 43 Dodge. NASCAR.com. URL accessed on January 15, 2006.
- Template:Note FOX Sports (2005). NASCAR This Morning Q&A: Bootie's back in '06. URL accessed on January 15, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- NEXTEL Cup Driver Page at NASCAR.com
- Career statistics at Racing-Reference.info
- The Green Foundation
| Green Family |
|---|
| David Green | Jeff Green | Mark Green |
