Jeff Green was in a great situation as the driver of the No. 10 NesQuik Ford Taurus in the NASCAR Busch Series. He won races and a championship, and was home with his family on Sundays. Now he is leaving all of that to try his luck a second time in the Winston Cup Series. With the type of equipment he'll be racing, he should be an instant threat to win.
SCR: What made you decide to leave ppc Racing and a championship winning Busch Series team to drive in Winston Cup for Richard Childress Racing?Green: I think every professional athlete wants to win his or her Super Bowl or NBA championship. The Winston Cup Series is the next step in our sport. I wouldn't have left what I had in the Busch Series with the people of ppc Racing and the NesQuik Ford to drive just anything. RCR is, I think, one of the top teams. There are only two or three other teams I would even think about driving for. Plus, we have a great sponsor with AOL. It is committed to being with us for a long time. All the ingredients are there to win championships and win races. To be able to race at this level, this is the next best thing I could ever get. That is why I decided to move up to the Winston Cup Series.
SCR: Many drivers are content in the Busch Series because they can go home on Sundays and spend time with their family. Did you feel the same while you ran in the Busch Series?Green: I felt that way exactly. I pretty much had the world. I had a great race team and a great sponsor. Why would I want to go work twice as long and not have Sundays off? I think if I didn't do this, personally, when my career is over I would have thought, "What if?"
SCR: Were you looking to go back to the Winston Cup Series?Green: No. If I was going to go back, it had to be the right thing. If Dale Earnhardt were still here this opportunity wouldn't have been there. When he was killed in Daytona, that moved (Kevin) Harvick into the No. 29 car. Kevin was supposed to be driving the No. 30 AOL car. I wasn't looking for this. It basically came looking for me. What we have done the last couple of years in the Busch Series had my name at the top of the list of drivers who could get the job done. That is why RCR picked me and gave me the opportunity.
SCR: Speaking of Earnhardt, you drove for Teresa Earnhardt for two years, and now you are driving for Earnhardt's former employer. Childress has a reputation for picking exceptional drivers. How do you feel about him picking you?Green: I think driving for the Earnhardts in '95 and '96 gave me the opportunity to become friends and get acquainted with Childress. Again, what we did in '99, '00 and '01 in the NesQuik Ford is what got me the job. I don't think it reflected back to those years driving for Dale and Teresa. It is what we did the last couple of years.
SCR: You will be driving the No. 21 car in the Busch Series as well. Was that part of your original deal with Childress?Green: Not at first. We thought driving the Busch car on Saturday would help our performance on Sunday. I will be sharing the car with Jay Sauter. I will run about 15 to 20 races on the tracks we are racing on that weekend in the Cup car. We think having my crew chief, Todd Barrier, and the guys from the AOL team working on the Busch car on Saturday with me driving it will help us perform better on Sunday.
SCR: Technically, this is not your rookie year in the Winston Cup Series, but are you approaching it like it is?Green: Virtually the only rookie status I will have is not running a full year in a Winston Cup car from February to November. I have run at almost every racetrack other than Sears Point. I have a lot of experience from running in the Busch Series over what I did in '97 and '98 in the Winston Cup Series. I am probably more of a veteran than I am a rookie.