Jeff Green No. 66 Garmin / Best Buy Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet Talladega Superspeedway Preview

GARMIN ON HOOD AGAIN AT TALLADEGA: For the second consecutive week, Garmin International, a leading manufacturer of GPS navigation systems, will be the primary sponsor for driver Jeff Green and the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

Green’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo will again carry a special silver and blue paint design representing Garmin, an industry leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of GPS (Global Positioning System), navigation and communication products.

Garmin, a Best Buy retail partner, is an associate sponsor of the Haas CNC Racing team, appearing on the No. 66 Chevrolet in races where Best Buy is the car’s primary sponsor.

Many Garmin products are available at Best Buy retail locations and at www.BestBuy.com, including the highly-acclaimed nüvi and StreetPilot personal navigation devices.

MOST RECENT RACE AT TALLADEGA: Jeff Green and the No. 66 Best Buy Racing team had a strong run in the most recent NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, leading several laps on their way to a 13th-place finish.

Green’s finish marks the third time in as many races the No. 66 team has finished in the top-15 at Talladega. Green scored a 14th-place result in April, 2006, and backed that up with a seventh-place run in this race one year ago.

TESTING AT TALLADEGA: Jeff Green and the No. 66 team participated in the COT test session at Talladega Superspeedway last month. On the first day, Green posted the 35th and 20th-fastest times, respectively, in the morning and afternoon single-car run sessions, and the 14th-fastest time in the afternoon drafting session. The team focused on single-car runs on the second day.

Crew Chief Harold Holly:  “I was really happy with the way (the test) turned out. We didn’t do any drafting at all on the second day, which is why we weren’t higher up the leaderboard. The car was really fast on single-car runs, and we could pretty much run anywhere we wanted to on the track, so Johnny (Sauter, driver of the No. 70 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet) and his team focused on drafting the second day, and we focused on single-car runs. That way, we got the best of both worlds and were able to gather more information.

“I didn’t really like the speeds all the cars were running overall, but the package we had was pretty fast. The COT drove really well – better than the cars we’re currently using at the bigger tracks, in fact. I think you’re going to see some three and four-wide racing all day. It should be a heck of a show.”

Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:

There was some controversy over Greg Biffle winning last weekend at Kansas Speedway. What are your thoughts? “It doesn’t really matter what I think or any of the other drivers think. NASCAR says he won, and that’s pretty much the end of that. We can talk about it and speculate and debate it all day long, but the way the rule is written, it’s up to NASCAR’s discretion. What’s the old saying? ‘You can’t fight city hall?’ There you go. Congratulations to Greg.”

What do you think about Jacques Villeneuve making his NEXTEL Cup debut at Talladega? “Honestly, I don’t know why he’d want to have Talladega as his first race. Talk about throwing yourself in the deep end of the pool. Has he ever watched a replay of a Talladega race? If I were going to debut somewhere, I’d wait on Martinsville (Speedway) in a couple of weeks, or Phoenix (International Raceway).

“There’s no doubt the guy’s talented, but I hope I’m nowhere around him. That’s not a slam on his abilities, that’s just the reality of any first-timer at Talladega. I think he’ll probably be running at the rear of the pack regardless of where he qualifies. I don’t think anyone will help him in the draft. They’re going to hang him out to dry whenever they get the chance, just because he’s a rookie at a restrictor-plate track. It happened to all of us our first couple of times at Daytona and Talladega. The veterans see that rookie stripe and try to get as far away from you as they can.

“I really hope he has a good, solid day, and that he gains a lot of experience and stays out of trouble. If I were in the Chase (for the championship), I’d probably be at Mike Helton’s house right now, pleading my case as to why (Villineuve) shouldn’t be in the race. I really do wish him good luck, though.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF HAROLD HOLLY:

As far as how the COT cars will race versus the cars of today at Talladega, do you think fans will see a different style of racing?  “I think you’re going to see five or 10-car breakaways where they’re running single-file, especially if the cars behind them are going three and four-wide. Then I think those cars will line up single file and catch up to the breakaway, then go three and four-wide again, and it’ll happen all over again.

“It’s going to be like a big ‘slinky’ effect. It’ll be ‘breakaway, pack chases them down, breakaway, pack chases them down,’ all day. I think you’ll see a lot of passing. The cars drive well enough and the closure rate is good enough to where you can get a good run and break out of line and make an aggressive move. It’s going to be fun to watch.”

ALABAMA BORN: Two members of the No. 66 crew are Alabama natives. Crew Chief Harold Holly was born in Pell City, and mechanic Richie Harris was born and raised in Mobile.

Holly has worked on race cars since he was eight years old, starting with a Super Late Model owned by his Pee Wee Football Coach.

Harold Holly: “I only get back to Alabama whenever we test or race here, for the most part. I still have a lot of family in the area. My dad and my sister, my nephews and my grandfather and most of my immediate family still lives around Pell City.

In his free time, Holly can usually be found on or around a body of water. An avid fisherman, Holly owns his own fishing team that competes in both NSBA (National Striped Bass Association) and NFA (National Federation of Anglers)-sanctioned tournaments.

Harold Holly: “Most of the time when I’m home, I fish with my brother-in-law, Pat Crayton. Growing up, I fished Logan Martin Lake quite a bit, but I fished close to the marinas. All the good, super secret (fishing) holes, my brother-in-law knows where they are. There’s actually a really good spot about two miles from the race track called Jackson Shoals. You’ve got to watch out for the snakes, because they’re pretty heavy around there, but you can go in there and have as much fun with Spotted Bass all day long as I’ve ever seen.

“I carried (driver) Bobby (Hamilton) Jr. out there one day. He’s not much of a fisherman, but he was catching a fish just about every time he’d throw a line in, and Pat and I weren’t catching anything. The current’s pretty strong, and it wasn’t long before Bobby had his elbow hanging out of the boat. I said, ‘Hey, Bobby, you might want to move your arm.’ He said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Well, because that big Water Moccasin laying underneath your elbow is liable to bite you.’ There was a big old snake swimming by, and it startled him pretty good, but it made for a pretty funny story. At least, I thought it was funny. I’m not so sure Bobby saw the humor.”

Mechanic Richie Harris, who also goes over the wall on race day as the gas man for the No. 66 team, hails from Mobile, Ala., and lived in the area until moving to North Carolina in 2002.

Richie Harris: “My dad raced when I was younger back home in Alabama. I started hanging around the track and helping out when I was around six years old. He raced at Loxley on the way to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Then we raced at Mobile International a few times and went to the Snowball Derby a few times. He raced Late Models. His name is Richie Harris, too. I’m Richie Harris IV, and my son is the fifth.”

JEFF GREEN’S HISTORY AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY: In 12 Nextel Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, Jeff Green’s best starting spot is a 13th-place qualifying effort that came in the Sept., 2003, event, when Green drove for Petty Enterprises. Green’s best finish in a Cup race at Talladega was a fifth-place finish in Oct., 2002, while driving for Richard Childress Racing.

In seven Busch Series races at Talladega, Green has three top-10 starting positions (1995, 1997 and 2000), and three top-five finishes (third-place finishes in 1997 and 2001, and a fifth-place finish in 2000).

HAAS CNC RACING’S HISTORY AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY: In nine Nextel Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, the Haas CNC Racing team has one top-10 starting spot (a 10th-place qualifying effort by driver Ward Burton in April, 2004), and two top-10 finishes (a 10th-place finish by Burton in Oct., 2004, and a seventh-place finish by Jeff Green in October, 2006).