If the Car of Tomorrow (COT) is the future of NASCAR racing, then based on his accomplishments in the COT at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, Jeff Green’s future could be very bright indeed.
After qualifying ninth on Friday in his new No. 66 Best Buy Chevrolet Impala SS, Green backed up his performance with a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s 500-lap NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Bristol.
“If this is the future, maybe this is the future for our team and for Best Buy and for Haas racing and everyone involved with our team, ” Green said. “This is where we’re supposed to be. I’m just excited for my guys. Top-10 is where we need to be ending up after each and every one of these races. ”
The finish not only marked the first top-10 result of the 2007 season for Green and his Haas CNC Racing team, but also stands as the best Cup series result in the history of the Haas organization.
More importantly, the finish unofficially vaults team owner Gene Haas up seven spots (from 35th to 28th) in the all-important NEXTEL Cup Series owners’ points standings. This means the No. 66 team has a guaranteed starting spot in next weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway. That race marks the first time in 2007 that NASCAR will refer to the current season’s points standings to determine which 35 teams are locked in.
Despite starting the race in the top-10, the finish didn’t come easy for Green, Crew Chief Harold Holly, and the crew of the Best Buy Chevrolet.
In the opening laps, Green reported his car had a loose handling condition all the way through the 36-degree turns of the. 533-mile speedway.
During the second caution period, Green came to pit road, where Holly called for a track bar adjustment to the No. 66 entry. Green returned to the race in 14th position, but found the adjustment made his car tight in the middle of the turns and loose as he exited the turns.
By the time the caution flag came out on lap 120, Green found himself as far back as 23rd position. Holly called for more drastic chassis adjustments when Green pitted during the caution, and the No. 66 was shown in 23rd position for the lap 126 restart.
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