Green says feel 'came back pretty quick'
By Kenny Bruce - Assistant Managing Editor
Saturday, March 15, 2008
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BRISTOL, Tenn. – Jeff Green admits he had “those jitters,” when he rolled off pit road for the first time Friday in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford.
“To tell you the truth, I was kind of nervous today when I rolled out on the track,” Green said Friday during a rain delay at Bristol Motor Speedway. “It’s been since October since I raced anything, even sat in a race car.
“I knew it would come back, but you have those jitters, you might say, but it came back pretty quick.”
Green, out of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride since last fall, replaced Bill Elliott for this weekend’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 45-year-old Kentucky native has 265 career starts in Cup, with five top-five finishes and 16 top-10s. He also has two career poles.
“Bill and I talk every week about which races he’s going to do,” Wood Brothers Racing co-owner Eddie Wood said. “We just decided to flip-flop Martinsville and Bristol. We didn’t have anybody lined up to do Martinsville, so we decided on the swap. Doesn’t look like it’s working out too good with this rain.
“The plan right now is for Bill to race Martinsville, but that could change.”
Because the Wood Brothers are outside the top 35 in owner points, a cancellation of qualifying would mean the team would not be in the field for Sunday’s race. Elliott failed to qualify at Daytona and Atlanta while Johnny Sauter missed making the show at Las Vegas. Ironically, if qualifying isn’t completed, the team would have gotten a starting spot based on Elliott’s status as a former champion.
Green, considered a strong qualifier, said getting the chance to drive for the Wood Brothers was a dream come true.
“Being in the Wood Brothers car has been awesome so far,” he said. “They called me Friday night after they didn’t qualify for Atlanta. I talked to them some more Sunday ... went over to the race shop Monday. I’ve just been working with [crew chief] Gene [Nead] and the guys ... getting the seats right, the car where I feel comfortable with them as far as my surroundings. It’s like I never missed a beat.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Bill Elliott
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