NASCAR Winston Cup Bud at Watkins Glen Preview: Chevy Notes and Quotes
6 August 1997
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Pre-Race Notes & Quotes The Bud at the Glen Watkins Glen International CHEVY ROOKIES READY TO RUMBLE AT WATKINS GLEN -- The four Chevrolet NASCAR Winston Cup rookie of the year contenders have never competed in a Winston Cup race at Watkins Glen International, but Mike Skinner, David Green, Robby Gordon and Jeff Green are all anxious to tackle the historic 11-turn, 2.45-mile road course on Sunday. Skinner, fresh off back-to-back top 10 finishes at Pocono and Indianapolis, leads the rookie of the year race with 184 points. David Green has 155, followed by Gordon with 142 and Jeff Green with 73. Jeff Green has competed in only eight races this season, but rookie points are determined by the driver's top 15 finishes. MIKE SKINNER (#31 Lowe's Monte Carlo) - Skinner has recorded top 10 finishes in three of the past eight races. He's been the top rookie finisher in 12 of 19 races in '97 with a career-best sixth-place finish at Pocono on July 20. Skinner also won the pole for both races at Daytona this season. He competed in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Watkins Glen last year and led 20 of 61 laps. He started second and finished third. DAVID GREEN (#96 Caterpillar Monte Carlo) - David Green has been the top rookie in five NASCAR Winston Cup races in 1997. He has plenty of experience at Watkins Glen in Busch and scored two top-five finishes in Busch races at The Glen. "I know that Winston Cup is a totally different ball game but this team has really turned it up a notch over the last few months," Green said. "I see no reason why we can't be successful." Green's car owner, Buz McCall, has plenty of success in his corner at Watkins Glen. McCall's Trans-Am teams won four straight titles from 1991-94 and won four races from '91-'96 at The Glen with three different drivers. ROBBY GORDON (#40 Coors Light Monte Carlo) - Gordon won the pole at Atlanta this season and finished 14th in that race to lead all rookies. Gordon missed four NASCAR Winston Cup races because of burns sustained in the Indianapolis 500. A noted road racer, Gordon qualified 18th earlier this season at Sears Point but completed only 43 of 74 laps because of engine failure. JEFF GREEN (#29 Cartoon Network Monte Carlo) - In only his fifth NASCAR Winston Cup start this season. Green qualified seventh and finished seventh in the inaugural California 500. David's younger brother led second-round qualifying last week at Indianapolis and won a career-high $67,735 for his 25th-place finish. He's competed in two Busch races at Watkins Glen. "Because of the horsepower, there is a big difference between driving a Winston Cup car and a Busch car on a road course," Green said. "A Busch car doesn't have as much power, so you drive into the turns much harder. In a Winston Cup car, you let off the gas earlier going into the turn and get back in the gas sooner out of the turn. If you try to drive a Cup car like a Busch car, you'll overshoot the corners." By Chevrolet Motor Division, General Motors Corporation Public Relations
