Casey Atwood has two career Busch Series victories. Credit: Autostock

Atwood back at Brewco, Green out of 27 Ford

Former "young gun" Casey Atwood, who scored his first Busch Series victory for Brewco Motorsports as a teenager, was named Tuesday as the interim replacement for former Busch champion David Green in Brewco's No. 27 Ford Fusion.

The team's announcement said Atwood, 26, would drive the car "for a few races," beginning with Friday night's Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond International Raceway.

Inside the Numbers Casey Atwood (career Busch stats) Years 6 Starts 123 Wins 2 Top-5s 7 Top-10s 30 Poles 6 Avg. Start 18.5 Avg. Finish 20.1

Atwood made his Busch Series debut in 1998 as a 17-year-old, winning his first pole at his hometown Nashville Fairgrounds. He made 13 starts that season for several owners, with a second pole position. Atwood began his full-time Busch career with Brewco in 1999 at age 18, and was the original driver of Clarence and Tammy Brewer's No. 27 car.

That season the Nashville, Tenn., native finished 13th in points with two wins, five top-five, and nine top-10 finishes. After finishing eighth in the Busch Series, Atwood signed with Evernham Motorsports to race in the Cup Series in 2001.

That ended after one season, in which Atwood finished 26th in points, with one top-five and three top-10 finishes. Since then, he's appeared only sporadically in NASCAR's three national tours.

In six years and 123 starts in the Busch Series, Atwood has two wins, seven top-five and 30 top-10 finishes, plus six poles.

Atwood takes over for former Busch Series champion Green, who joined Brewco in 2003 and has served as the driver of the No. 27 Kleenex Ford since 2005. While driving for Brewco, Green posted four wins, 20 top-five and 45 top-10 finishes.

	The 1994 Busch champ, David Green had only two top-10s in 27 starts this season. Credit: Autostock
	David Green (career Busch stats) Years 16 Starts 383 Wins 9 Top-5s 72 Top-10s 144 Poles 22 Avg. Start 15.3 Avg. Finish 16.3

"One of the highlights of Brewco's history was our run at the 2003 Busch Series championship with David Green and our No. 37 TimberWolf team," said Clarence Brewer Jr., team owner and Brewco founder. "We thank David for his commitment to Brewco for the last few years and wish him well for the future."

Green's career was virtually at a standstill when he went to work for Brewco, and he had often said he hoped to retire there. After finishing second in the championship in 2003, Green fell from seventh in 2004 to eighth last season. In 2006, the team has struggled with the new Ford Fusion and after 27 races Green was 16th in the standings with two top-10 finishes.

"I'm looking forward to rejoining my teammates at Brewco and representing Kleenex Racing," Atwood said. "I'm excited to be back in the NASCAR Busch Series, especially with the support of a great sponsor like Kimberly-Clark.

"I also have to thank Clarence and Tammy Brewer for their confidence in me both early in my career and now. They have been dedicated to building a top-notch NASCAR program since the beginning, and I'm looking forward to bringing success to them and Kleenex Racing for the rest of 2006."

"At Brewco we continually try to stay ahead of the ever-changing competitive landscape in the Busch Series," Brewer said. "We need to evaluate our program and potential drivers for next season so we can prepare our team for a successful 2007."

Brewco has had a successful driver development program in 2006 in the ARCA Re/Max Series with former sports car driver Brad Coleman, who has a win and eight top-five finishes in nine starts. He is also the Re/Max Series' leading Pork Pole Award winner, with three.