acegear
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Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 973
Location: Enumclaw, WA
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 Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 12:05 am Post subject: Busch Driver: David Green |
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David Green is used to having tough competition.
Like many successful drivers, Green started racing in go karts as a youngster. In the Southern Indiana Racing Association, Green's peers were drivers like John Andretti, Scott Pruett and IRL driver Mark Dismore.
Green captured three consecutive Indiana state championship from 1974 to 1976. He won a national title in the World Karting Association in 1979.
"In go karts, you learn a lot about preparation," said Green, "if you do your own work, like I did. But the main things they teach you are smoothness, coordination and aggressiveness."
Green moved to stock cars in the street stock division at Kentucky Speedway in 1980. He wasted no time letting his competitors know he meant business. In his first race there, he won the pole for his first feature race and finished second. He followed that success up with four consecutive victories in his next four starts.
Three years later, he won 10 Late Model Races in one season at Kentucky.
In 1984, a confident Green decided to raise the stakes. He entered the All American 400 at Nashville, a race that boasted Alan Kulwicki and Mark Martin among its entrants.
"I really didn’t know what I was doing; it was my first race there, but we qualified about 20th out of over 100 cars and made the race. At the end of the race I was three laps down out of 400 laps and finished 13th, but I felt like I had won.
"And that was when I thought that I could be more than a local driver. I could run with the big guys."
Green then got together with car owner Wayne Day in the All-American Challenge series, a NASCAR touring division. He won six poles, five races, and finished third in the points twice driving Day Enterprises race cars.
Mike Alexander was running in the Busch Series at that time and buying his race cars from Day. It was through Mike that Green’s career took a turn.
"I only had a business relationship with Mike," said Green. "On the Tuesday after Bobby Allison had his bad wreck at Pocono, Mike called me and said, ‘I need you to go with my team this weekend to practice and qualify my car at the Busch race at Louisville; they’ve called me to drive Bobby’s Miller car.'"
"I think I had to pick myself up off the floor I was so shocked," continued Green. "Mike was the Busch Series point leader and I went to five races for him in 1988 -- Louisville, Myrtle Beach, Hickory, Langley and Orange County.
"I would set up and qualify his car, and he would fly in from wherever the Cup races were and run the race. I think the worst he had to start was a 10th at Hickory; the best was 2nd at Louisville. That’s when I got interested in running the Busch cars.
"In practice and qualifying I’d get just enough time in the car to really get hungry; then I’d have to sit and watch Mike race the car. It was like swinging bait in front of me."
Green and Day put together a Busch team that was ready for the July 4, 1989 race at Myrtle Beach, S.C. There Green met Bobby Labonte, and his career took another turn.
"David’s cars were clean and light," said Labonte. "He went the extra mile to help us. We were on the phone almost every day putting our heads together to get them working."
Green made the jump to full-time Busch Series driver in 1991. He captured the pole at Daytona in his first event at the famed high banked racetrack.
He also scored his first career Busch Series victory that season. He won at Lanier, Ga., in only his 12th start on the circuit. He finished runner-up to Jeff Gordon in the 1991 Rookie of the Year competition.
In 1994 David Green captured the Busch Series championship.
After competing in the Cup series for several years, he returned to the Busch Series full time in 2000.
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A win is a win, and second place is never good enough |
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