Green to start from pole at Dover
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
June 1, 2001
3:45 PM EDT (1945 GMT)
DOVER, Del. -- Defending NASCAR Busch Series champion Jeff Green re-captured the lead in the points race just last week. On Friday that first-place position was enough to make him the pole sitter for Saturday's MBNA Platinum 200 at Dover Downs International Speedway when Bud Pole Qualifying was rained out.
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Green re-captured the points lead by winning last week at Lowe's.
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"Our car was really, really good in practice and we thought we had a shot at the pole anyway," Green said. "That's what we work hard for every week, to gets points and be on top of the list. I'm proud of my guys -- they work hard every week and this is a reward for them."
Green's No. 10 Nestle NesQuik Ford will line up on the pole Saturday for the 1 p.m. ET start. He will be flanked by NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year leader Kevin Harvick.
Rounding out the top-five starters are Greg Biffle, Jason Keller and Mike McLaughlin.
It marked the second straight week Busch Series qualifying was rained out. Last weekend for the Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Harvick started on the pole with Green next to him. Green went on to win the race with Harvick finishing 26th after recovering from a broken shock.
In nearly two hours of practice Friday morning, Harvick, Biffle and Green drove the three fastest cars. Harvick's best lap was 156.488 mph, followed by Biffle (156.440) and Green (156.243). Rounding out the top-five were Jeff Purvis' No. 18 MBNA Pontiac (156.108) and Mike Skinner's No. 21 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet (155.642). Only 43 cars are at Dover.
Green, of all people, knows the benefit of starting up front at the "Monster Mile."
"Last spring, I about wrecked in qualifying and had to take a provisional and had to fight traffic all day and ended up finishing third," said Green, who actually scored a fourth-place finish and also had to start at the back in the fall after wrecking in Happy Hour. "It's very rewarding for me to be able to see the pace car here for a change.
"I was lucky that I got to test here a couple of weeks ago in a Cup car. The cars are so much alike now that it makes it easier for us to go back and forth. Harold (Holly, crew chief) has told me that he would be on. . .and we feel like we're as good as anybody."
"It's a lot better than starting 30th, that's for sure," said Harvick, who won his first career Busch Series pole here a year ago and won his career first Busch race on Bristol's concrete oval. "We've always run real good here -- for some reason I run good on the concrete tracks. Starting on the front row is a big benefit."
Biffle was another who thought he had a shot for the pole. He was bolstered by a runner-up run in last year's Truck Series inaugural here.
"That race in September here really did a lot for me -- this is a difficult race track," said Biffle, the Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader who has won twice this season, including a race on concrete at Nashville Superspeedway. "We worked on race runs for 45 minutes this morning and that may work to our advantage. I feel pretty good about tomorrow."
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