Jeff Green No. 66 Best Buy Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet Pocono Preview

MOST RECENT RACE AT POCONO: Jeff Green started 32nd in the July 26, 2006, NEXTEL Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. Green dealt with different handling issues throughout the event, with his No. 66 Chevrolet exhibiting a tight handling condition at some points on the track, and a loose condition at others. The team made chassis adjustments on almost every pit stop, and Green finished the event in 35th position, one lap down to race winner Denny Hamlin.

CHASSIS – HAAS CNC RACING CHASSIS NO. 028: This chassis is a new addition to the Haas CNC Racing inventory. Green and the No. 66 team tested with this chassis at Nashville Superspeedway two weeks ago, and Green also made laps in this car during the Lowe’s Motor Speedway test in early May.

TESTING: The No. 66 Best Buy Racing team is scheduled to test on Wednesday, June 6, at Virginia International Raceway, the road course located about 20 minutes west of South Boston, Va. The test is in preparation for the upcoming road course race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA., later this month.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

HOW DO YOU SUM UP POCONO RACEWAY? “It’s a unique track with three corners and some long straightaways. It’s pretty simple. If you can get your car to handle properly in one of the turns and not the other two, you’ll finish 35th. Get your car to handle in two of the turns and not the third and you’ll finish 11th. What happens if you can get your car to handle well in all three turns? You win the race.”

THE TEAM STRUGGLED SOMEWHAT AT POCONO LAST JUNE. DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE THE NOTES AND INFO YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL THIS TIME AROUND? “We feel like we do. We went and tested this chassis at Nashville (Superspeedway) a couple of weeks ago and learned quite a bit. We also took it to Lowe’s (Motor Speedway) and tested with it. We got a lot of good notes, but Pocono is just such a unique track, you have to hope the information transfers.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PASSING OF BILL FRANCE, JR.? “We lost a real icon of the sport. You look at everything he accomplished, and you can’t deny that this sport wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for the man’s vision and hard work. He’ll really be missed.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF HAROLD HOLLY:

AS A CREW CHIEF, WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE TO FOCUS ON FOR POCONO RACEWAY? “The big thing is the balance of the car. The track’s so long, you usually don’t have to worry too much about going a lap down. It’s a track where you have to compromise your setup to make it good in one area or another. Heading in to Turn 1, it’s a high speed turn and the cars carry a lot of load. Then the tunnel turn heading into the short chute is an area where you can make up a lot of time.”

YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORTS HAVE NOT BEEN WHAT YOU’VE WANTED THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. IS THAT A CAUSE FOR CONCERN? “Would we like to have some better starting spots? Absolutely, but we’re much more focused on our race packages than we are on our qualifying packages right now. You’ve got to be strong on the longer race runs before you worry too much about your qualifying.

“I think that once we get our system down for the second half of the year and go back to some of these tracks a second time, we’ll have a good set of notes as to what we need to do in race trim, and we can focus on making our qualifying package better.

For the time being, though, we’re going to continue to focus on race trim and do what it takes on that end of things.”

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT POCONO RACEWAY: In 17 starts at Pocono Raceway, Jeff Green’s best starting position was an eighth-place spot, which he secured during qualifying for the July, 1997, event., while driving for team owner Gary Bechtel. Green’s best Pocono finish was a 15th-place result. He actually finished in that position two years in a row, in the July, 2004, and July, 2005, Pocono events, driving a Petty Enterprises entry.

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT POCONO RACEWAY: In eight Pocono starts, the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing team’s best qualifying effort was a fifth-place run by driver John Andretti in the July, 2003, race. The team’s best finish was a ninth-place run by driver Mike Bliss in the July, 2005, Pocono event.

THIS WEEK’S FEATURE CREWMAN: CAR CHIEF JEFF LEMONS – Best Buy Racing’s website is highlighting the crew members of the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing team. Each week, a different crew member is featured with an expanded bio that lets fans learn (among other things) how that crewman got into racing, the role he serves on the Haas CNC team, along with his favorite movies and music.

This week, find out how Lemons, a Miamisburg, OH, native, went from playing offensive guard for Fort Hays University in Kansas to being the car chief for the No. 66 Best Buy team by logging on to either www.racing.bestbuy.com or http://racing.bestbuy.com.