Jeff Green No. 66 Best Buy "HD Done Right" Chevolet Haas CNC Racing Richmond International Raceway Preview

RECAP OF THE MOST RECENT RICHMOND NEXTEL CUP RACE: Jeff Green finished 24th in the May NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway (RIR). Starting from the 12th position, Green worked his way up as high as sixth-place, remaining in the top-10 for over 160 laps.

A pit road miscue just past the midway point of the race dropped Green a lap down to the race leaders, and brake issues in the latter stages of the event added to his team’s misfortunes.

When Green came to pit road for fresh tires and fuel around lap 203, a lug nut fell off the left front wheel of the No. 66 machine. Green had to come back down pit lane a second time so his crew could replace the missing lug nut, putting the Best Buy car a lap down.

On two occasions later in the race, the front brakes locked up on Green’s car. The first time, Green slid up the track and made contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. around lap 285. When the brake issue reappeared some 70 laps later, Green made contact with Greg Biffle, damaging both drivers’ cars.

QUALITY QUALIFYING – Jeff Green’s 12th-place starting spot in the May race at Richmond International Raceway is the second-best qualifying effort of the season for Green and the No. 66 Best Buy team. The team’s best effort was a ninth-place starting spot at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

CHASSIS – Chassis No. 448 – This COT chassis is brand new to the Haas CNC Racing stable, and has never been driven in a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event. The No. 66 team did test with this chassis at the Milwaukee Mile track in Wisconsin last week.

“HD Done Right” Design Returns – For the second week in a row, Jeff Green’s No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet is carrying a special Best Buy “HD Done Right” paint design.

Best Buy, the primary sponsor of the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet in a number of events this season, is promoting its expertise in the area of high-definition (HD) televisions and home theaters with the pledge, “HD Done Right.” The pledge, along with the yellow Best Buy tag logo, appears on the hood of the No. 66 entry.

The car is painted a lighter shade of blue than what is usually seen on the Best Buy-sponsored entry, and carries special graphics on the car’s sides and quarter panels, along with the logos of Samsung HDTV, Comcast and Garmin, associate sponsors of the No. 66 Best Buy machine.

The “HD Done Right” paint design will appear in a total of three events – at California Speedway last weekend, in this weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway, and in next weekend’s race at New Hampshire International Speedway.

For more information on “HD Done Right,” visit a Best Buy retail location, or BestBuy.com.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

Some fans say the September night race at Richmond is arguably just as exciting as the Bristol night race. Where do you stand on that debate? “I’d have to agree the Richmond (International Raceway) night race is as exciting, if not more exciting, than the Bristol night race. I know some people will say that’s blasphemy, but I’ve always said that if I had to pick just one track, Richmond is definitely my favorite.

“It’s the best of both worlds. You get the speeds of a bigger track, but you get the hard, side-by-side racing that you can only see on a short track. The drivers are able to lean on each other, which is something you just can do at the bigger tracks. It’s honestly Saturday night short track racing at its finest, and I think it’s the best show of the year.”

You qualified 12th at Richmond in May, but brake issues and a pit road problem cost you. What do you think of your chances this time around? “I think a top-five is not out of the question, we’ve just got to eliminate mistakes. We’ve got three sixth-place finishes in COT races and in the ones where we haven’t finished well, it seems like it’s our own mental mistakes a lot of the time that take us out of the running.

“It takes a million things going right to win one of these races, and only one thing going wrong to cost you a win. Guys like Jimmie (Johnson) and Tony (Stewart) make it look easy, but the average fan has no idea how many variables have to line up to be successful at this level of competition.

“We’ve got some of the best equipment on the track, with Hendrick motors and chassis, and I know that Harold (Holly, No. 66 crew chief) and I have good communication. I love my crew, and we’ve got great guys on our team, but maybe there’s just a missing ingredient, personnel-wise, that would get us over the hump. It’s just so difficult to be able to pinpoint what that missing ingredient is. There are a lot of teams searching for it.”

After this weekend’s race, anyone outside the top-12 in points cannot win the championship. With that in mind, what are the goals for the remainder of the season?
“I think teams outside the top-12 in points are all just looking for improvement. As long as you feel your team is improving and moving in the right direction, I think that’s what everyone’s goal is for the rest of the year. You want to be consistently competitive so you can put yourself in a position to contend for wins. You try to fix the weaknesses in your organization and stay strong on the things your team is good at, and just build.”

VIRGINIA MUSICAL ACTS:

A number of artists who hail from Virginia have music available at Best Buy retail stores and at BestBuy.com, including:

Robert Cray – From Newport News, Va., Cray is a blues guitarist/singer/songwriter best known for his mid-80’s CD, Strong Persuader. Cray has opened for legendary guitarist Eric Clapton on several tours, and his guitar prowess has led Fender Guitars to release two Robert Cray signature model Stratocasters. Cray can also be seen as the bassist (uncredited) for the band, “Otis Day and the Knights,” in the 1970’s comedy classic, Animal House.

Timbaland – Born in Norfolk, Va., Timbaland (aka Timothy Z. Mosley) is one of the biggest and most sought after producers in popular music today, having worked with everyone from Jay-Z and Missy Elliott to Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado.

Roy Clark – Born in Meherrin, Va., Clark is best known for co-hosting (with Buck Owens) the syndicated Country music variety show, Hee Haw, from 1969-1992. An accomplished guitarist and banjo player, Clark has won a number of Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Association (CMA) awards, including ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1972 and 1973, and CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1973.

Patsy Cline – From Winchester, Va., Cline is revered as one of the greatest voices in Country music history. Famous for legendary songs like, “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,” and “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Cline was killed in a plane crash in 1963, at the age of 30. Singer/guitarist Marty Stuart sums up many people’s opinion of Cline by saying, “Patsy Cline will still be around one thousand years from now."

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: In 15 Nextel Cup Series starts at Richmond International Raceway, Jeff Green’s best finish was a third-place result in the September, 2002, event, while driving for Richard Childress Racing. His best starting spot was also a third-place effort, which came in the May, 2004, event, while driving for Petty Enterprises.

In 18 Busch Series starts at Richmond, Green has one win (May 5, 2000), four top-five and six top-10 finishes, and two pole positions. Green’s first pole at Richmond came in the May 5, 2000, event, the race he eventually won. His second pole position came in September, 2001.

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: In 10 Nextel Cup Series starts at Richmond International Raceway, Haas CNC Racing’s best starting spot is a 12th-place effort, scored by driver Jeff Green in May, 2007. The team’s best finish came in the September, 2005, event, where driver Mike Bliss finished 15th.