NEW CREW CHIEF FOR NO. 66 TEAM: Earlier this week, Haas CNC Racing announced changes in crew chief roles for the No. 66 Chevrolet, driven by Jeff Green in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and the No. 00 Chevrolet, driven by Johnny Sauter in the NASCAR Busch Series.
Harold Holly, who previously served as crew chief for Sauter, is now the crew chief for driver Jeff Green and the No. 66 entry. Robert "Bootie" Barker, who previously served as crew chief for Green, in turn takes over crew chief duties for Sauter.
Holly, a native of Pell City, AL, previously worked with Green at PPC Racing, where the duo won a Busch Series championship in 2000. The Green/Holly partnership still holds the record for most top-five finishes in a single season (27 in 32 starts), and won the championship by the largest margin in series history (616 points).
In 96 Busch Series starts from 1999-2001, Green and Holly posted 13 wins, 11 poles, 56 top-five and 72 top-10 finishes, which averages out to a top-10 finish in three out of every four races.
Before joining Haas CNC Racing in the middle of 2005, Holly's most recent Cup series crew chief experience came when he worked on the No. 32 PPI Racing Chevrolet, driven by Bobby Hamilton, Jr.
FAST TIMES AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY: Jeff Green and the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing team posted the fastest lap time in the final session of Nextel Cup Series testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Wednesday. Unofficially, Green's lap time of 30.921 seconds, at an average speed of 174.639 miles per hour, was the fourth-fastest time of the three-day session, just behind the times posted by Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon.
Q&A WITH DRIVER JEFF GREEN:
How does it feel to be reunited with Harold Holly? "I'm very, very excited about me and Harold working together again. We were fortunate enough to have a lot of success in the Busch Series, and he and I just have one of those relationships where we almost know what the other guy is thinking without having to say anything. I hope that it will help to really make our team stronger and more successful."
You posted the fastest lap time in the final test session on Wednesday afternoon at Homestead. Was that due to cooler afternoon temperatures, or do you feel like your car is that good? "That was a 'legitimate' lap, so I feel like the car is pretty good. It took us a day to start hitting on all cylinders. Different crew chiefs like different things on the cars, so Harold needed to change a few things to suit his style a little better. On Wednesday, we were really good in race trim, and really good in qualifying trim.
"With me and Harold, we just picked up right where we left off five years ago. I don't feel like we missed a beat. It's really gotten me pumped up for the end of the season. I feel more like this weekend is the first race of the year. I hope we can make some noise in these last few races."
Martinsville is one of those tracks where you have to make your car work on the inside line to be really successful. Does that get frustrating when you're trying to pass someone? "Well, Martinsville is not nearly as bad as Bristol (Motor Speedway) in that respect. You can get side-by-side with someone at Martinsville, and if you work hard enough, you'll eventually get by them. At Bristol, the other guy either has to make a mistake, or you have to bump them out of the way to get by. From that point of view, Martinsville's an easier track to drive."
Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF HAROLD HOLLY
How does it feel to be back in the Nextel Cup Series, especially with a driver like Jeff Green, with whom you have such a history? "It's like being at home again. It didn't take us long during the Homestead test to get back on the same page. It's the first time in a long time that I've had that level of communication with a driver. Jeff would give me his feedback, we'd make changes to the car, and you could immediately see the progress on the race track. It's been a long time since that happened for me, and it's very satisfying when that happens.
"We made about 52 runs over the two days, and Jeff and I pretty much went through the same testing procedures we did when we worked together before. We used the first day to work on our setup packages, and then when we put in the packages we had developed for all four corners of the car, the balance of the car came right in.
"That fast lap time we ran on Wednesday was really encouraging, especially when you realize the track was about 20 degrees warmer on Wednesday than Tuesday. We made race runs during the day, and then when we got to around the time of day when qualifying will happen, we threw the qualifying package under it and Jeff busted off a really good lap. He said he didn't feel like he had to drive over his head to get a good lap time, so that's encouraging as well.
"It's exciting to be back in the Cup series, especially with Jeff. I'm just getting my feet wet and going through our inventory of cars and changing some things to better suit my style. We don't expect to immediately come out and run in the top-10, but I do feel like we'll do well together, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season and beyond."
JEFF GREEN'S HISTORY AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY: In 12 Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, Jeff Green's best starting spot was a sixth-place qualifying effort in the Sept., 1998, event, when Green drove for Felix Sabates. His best finish came in Oct., 2004, when he finished seventh while driving the No. 43 car for Petty Enterprises.
HAAS CNC RACING'S HISTORY AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY: In seven Cup Series starts at Martinsville, the Haas CNC Racing team has qualified in the top-15 four times. The team's best qualifying effort was a fourth-place run by driver Ward Burton in Oct., 2004. The team's best finish was a 22nd-place result in that same event.
VIRGINIA NATIVE ON THE HAAS CNC RACING TEAM: The No. 66 team's shock engineer, Adam "Hot Sauce" Gravitt, is from South Boston, and holds an engineering degree from Virginia Tech.