Jeff Green: Brickyard 400 preview

The thoughts of No. 43 Cheerios/Box Tops for Education Dodge driver Jeff Green heading into Indianapolis:

"This is a big weekend on the schedule. You look past the Daytona 500 and people starting talking about Indy. It's probably the second biggest race of the season for us. It's the focus of the summer swing. The money, the prestige and the fame that comes from winning at Indianapolis is nearly unmatched. Everyone wants to win the Daytona 500 in their career, but I think Indy is a close second in many people's eyes.

"For someone from Owensboro, Kentucky, to be able to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a really big deal. If you grew up around racing you always had thoughts of Daytona and Indianapolis. In American oval racing these are the two tracks that everyone can associate with. You can't have a racing conversation for too long without someone bringing up a story that revolves around the Daytona 500 or the Indianapolis 500. These are the two biggest races in our country.

"In NASCAR we focus all of our attention on the Daytona 500. We spend two straight weeks at the beginning of the season preparing for that one race. That doesn't even include all the time in January that you spend testing at the track. In that regard, it's tough to say that the Brickyard 400 is more important or bigger than Daytona. I don't know if it will ever be.

"The Brickyard 400, however, is a race that solidifies NASCAR as America's most popular sport. Having our series race on this famed oval and sell out the track each season just proves how large of a sport we have become. Indianapolis wasn't built for the purpose of the Nextel Cup Series just as Daytona wasn't built for Indy cars. But each time we come to Indy it's like the atmosphere of a Daytona. Everyone wants to go to the Brickyard 400, and you know you're missing something special if you're not there. It's that big of a deal.

"This team takes this race pretty seriously too. We know the importance of Sunday's race. We took the time to test there and worked really, really hard during that two-day session. A lot of other teams tested for this race too, but we came out with the fastest times. That might mean something, or it might not, but it shows we are taking this race very seriously. We take every race seriously, but when we're on such a large stage like we are this weekend- we want to win badly.

"You can win this race and carry the momentum the rest of the season. It's also important for us to race well with Box Tops for Education on the hood and side of the car. Getting exposure for General Mills and their programs at Indy is huge. Like Daytona, we're back in the national spotlight. This is a great weekend for NASCAR, our sponsors and for us as competitors. A lot of pressure is on everyone to perform this weekend. This Cheerios team is ready."