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By
Ruth Wright
Staff Writer
(June 2003) – Veteran driver David
Green celebrated his first NASCAR Busch
Series win since 1996 on April 12 at Nashville
Superspeedway in Tennessee.
Green and his No. 37 Timber Wolf Pontiac
team narrowly edged out the No. 21 Curb
Records/Chan-nellock Chevrolet driven by
Johnny Sauter to capture the checkered flag
in the Pepsi 300, the eighth race of the
Busch season.
“I think we put an exclamation point
on showing the world how good our racing
team is,” Green said. After the win,
Green triumphantly hoisted the championship
guitar up high as fans cheered the seasoned
racer’s comeback victory in “Music
City.”
“Comeback” is just the word to
describe Green’s season thus far. First
in point standings after the May 10 Charter
Pipeline 250 at Gateway International Raceway
in Illinois, Green is proving to the racing
community that he’s still got it. Last
year, the 45-year-old 1994 Busch Grand National
Champion faced uncertainty when he found
himself without a ride for the first time
in many years.
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David
Green drives for Brewco Motorsports.
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“Last year was tough,” said Green
in mid-May by telephone. “I honestly
didn’t know if I’d ever get a
shot to drive again.”
Green had nearly given up hope of getting
back behind the wheel when, near the end
of the season, he hooked up with Hendrick
Motorsports, driving a car for the injured
Ricky Hendrick for the last six races of
the year.
“If that deal hadn’t happened,
I think everybody would have written me
off,” said Green.
Instead, Green managed to pull off four
top-10 finishes for Hendrick, and in doing
so, he captured the attention of Clarence
Brewer of Brewco Motorsports. “We knew
that he had the talent and knew he could
drive but that he had been out of a ride
for about a year,” said Brewer.
Brewer approached Green toward the end of
the year about driving for his team the
following season. “That was about the
time we were ready to name a full time driver
for 2003, and he was the perfect fit,”
Brewer said.
For Green, it was just the opportunity he
was looking for. “Clarence said he
wanted an experienced driver, and that was
music to my ears,” Green said.
Experience is exactly what Brewer got when
he signed Green for a full Busch season
this year. A native of Owensboro, Ky., Green
has been racing since his early teens, beginning
with go-karts in the early 1970s. In 1980,
he started running stock cars at Kentucky
Motor Speedway near Owensboro, and in 1989,
Green hit the big time with his first Busch
Series start at Hickory Motor Speedway in
North Carolina. Two years later, in 1991,
he captured his first Busch victory in Lanier,
Ga.
Since then, Green has added five winning
runs, including his most recent in Nashville,
and a Busch Grand National championship
title to his credentials. In addition to
experience behind the wheel, Green has worked
his way through the ranks of the sport building
race cars and supporting other drivers from
the pits.
Green has more than his own career of which
to be proud. The motorsports legend has
a family legacy as well. Green’s dad,
Dave Green, raced drag cars in the 1960s,
and his two brothers, Jeff and Mark, have
had their own successful NASCAR careers.
In 2000, when Jeff claimed the Busch championship,
he and David made history by becoming the
first brothers to hold NASCAR championship
titles.
“To have not just one of us, but the
three of us all having great careers in
NASCAR is a blessing, and I’m proud
of that,” Green said.
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June
cover of RoundAbout's Ky. Speedway
Guide
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Besides family, Green said there are many
others who have profoundly influenced his
racing career, including Mike Alexander.
“When I first got started, Mike Alexander
gave me the first opportunity ever to sit
in a Busch car,” he said.
Green credited Bobby Labonte and his family
for helping him stay there. “Bar none,
Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte and the whole
Labonte family stepped in when there was
absolutely nothing going on. I was so close
to (giving up on it), and those were the
guys who stepped in.”
That was in 1992, when after Green’s
team lost its sponsor he was named to drive
the No. 44 Slim Jim Chevrolet for Labonte.
Green is also quick to thank Rick Hendrick
for fielding him for several races last
year and Clarence and Tammy Brewer for putting
him back in the drivers seat for another
full Busch season this year.
“You won’t find better owners
to drive for or a better sponsor,”
said Green. “Sometimes it feels like
it’s too good to be true.”
But true it is, and there have been no regrets
this season for either Green or Brewer.
“You never know when you hire someone
how it’s going to work out,” said
Brewer, who admitted that sometimes a team
just doesn’t gel. “With David,
it was just the opposite. David came in
and immediately he and the crew chief and
the chief mechanic were able to understand
what the other needed.”
Continuing to do a good job is especially
important to Green when he returns home
to Kentucky on June 14 for the “Meijer
300 Presented by Oreo” at the Kentucky
Speedway in Sparta.
“If we do our job, we’ll be one
of the guys to beat,” Green said. “I
think the biggest thing is, I have to be
careful not to try too hard because it is
my home track and the track I want to win
on more than any other.”
Brewer said he has big expectations for
the team’s performance at Kentucky
Speedway, especially since it is a stand-alone
event not paired with a Winston Cup race.
“We’re in our own back yard, and
we don’t have to compete against Winston
Cup drivers dropping down. I really think
we have a shot to win,” he said.
Brewco Motorsports’ headquarters is
in Central City, Ky., just south of Owensboro
In addition to the race in Sparta, Green
plans to return to Kentucky at the end of
the month for an appearance at the Owensboro-Daviess
County Kentucky Motorsports Festival. Green
currently lives in Concord, N.C., with his
wife, Diane, and two children, Kaylie Rae,
6, and Austin, 2.
"Meijer
300 Presented by Oreo"
at the Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky.
June 14, 2003
(All times EDT-fast time)
Friday,
June 13
Tickets: $30
5
p.m. Lexington Herald-Leader Pole Night
8 p.m. "The Kentucky 150" NASCAR
Kodak Southeast Series All-Pro Race
Saturday, June 14
Tickets: $45-$75
5:30 p.m. Mark Wills in concert, B-105 Country
SoundStage
8 p.m. "The Meijer 300 Presented by
Oreo" NASCAR Busch Series Race
For More Information Visit:
www.kentuckyspeedway.com
Phone: 1-888-652-RACE
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