David A. Green (born in
Owensboro, Kentucky on January 28, 1958) is a
NASCAR driver. His two younger brothers,
Jeff and
Mark also compete on the NASCAR circuit.
Early Nationwide career
Green made his
Busch Series debut in 1989 at
Hickory Motor Speedway for
Day Enterprise Racing, starting 15th but finishing 30th after suffering an engine failure. He ran two more races the next year, suffering transmission failure in both races. In 1991, Green signed up with
FILMAR Racing to drive the #8, and made an immediate impact, winning the pole position at the season-opening
Goody's 300. Despite failing to qualify for two of the first seven races, Green won in just his 12th start at
Lanier Raceway. He would finish runner-up to
Jeff Gordon for
Rookie of the Year. Surprisingly, Green was fired from the ride, and spent the 1992 season working as a member of
Bobby Labonte's pit crew. When Labonte moved to
Winston Cup in 1993, Green took over the team's #44 ride. Although he did not win, he finished in the top ten 16 times and finished third in the points. The next year, he won the
Goody's 250, nine poles, as well as the Busch Series championship. Green stayed with Labonte Racing and won four more poles in 1995, but dropped to twelfth in points.
Winston Cup
After the 1995 season, Green was offered a contract from
Buz McCall, owner of the new
American Equipment Racing team. Running the #95, Green returned to his former dominance, winning twice and finishing runner-up to
Johnny Benson in the championship chase. At the end of the season, McCall and Green elevated their operation to Winston Cup, this time as the #96 with sponsorship from
Caterpillar. Unfortunately, they were not able to duplicate their success, as Green failed to qualify for six races, and could only manage a best finish of 16th at the
Coca-Cola 600. Despite this, he still finished runner-up to
Mike Skinner for Rookie of the Year. After he could not manage a higher finish than 17th at
Talladega Superspeedway in 1998, Green was fired from the 96 ride. Green returned to the Busch Series to drive the #36
Stanley Works Pontiac Grand Prix for
Team 34. He drove for the rest of the year, and finished in the top-five in his first six races for the team. Late in the season, he received a call from
Larry Hedrick Motorsports, who had been struggling following the release of
Steve Grissom from their #41
Kodiak Chevy. Green would run four races for Hedrick for the rest of the year, and signed to drive for them in
1999. In addition, he would run the #41
AFG Industries car in the Busch Series for Hedrick on a limited schedule. Still, Green continued to struggle, but had the lowest DNQ count (2) in his career.
As the season began to close, Green signed on for the rest of the season with Tyler Jet Motorsports, and enjoyed the best performance of his career, finishing a career-best 12th at Phoenix International Raceway, then won the pole the next race at the inaugural Pennzoil 400. Green did well in the Busch Series, running seventeen races and having seven top-tens and a pole position. He ran the Bud Shootout in 2000 in a car owned by Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and hoped to run the Daytona 500, but sponorship problems forced that deal to fall through. Green would fill in for an injured Bill Elliott for two races later on that season, with a best finish of twenty-fifth.
Current run
In 2000, Green returned to Team 34, taking sponsor AFG with him. That year, he had eleven top-ten finishes, and then six more the following year. At the end of that season, AFG left, and Green was left without a permanent ride. After a few part-time rides, Green finished out the season with
Hendrick Motorsports, replacing
Ricky Hendrick in the #5. That performance gave Green a brief return to Cup, running two races in Hendrick's R&D; car. During the season, he also worked in Winston Cup as a spotter for
Dale Jarrett.
In 2003, Green signed with Brewco Motorsports, and returned to his winning form, as he visited victory lane three times, and finishing second in points. He would not win in 2004, but he did run another Cup race at Richmond for Brewco, finishing 31st. In 2005, Green won at Pikes Peak and had an eighth place finish in points. After failing to finish in the top-five during the 2006, Green was released from Brewco in the closing part of the season. He drove for Riley D'Hondt Motorsports in a part-time schedule in 2007, making three starts with a best finish of eleventh. He also drove seven races in the 2007 season for Red Horse Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, finishing fifth at Kentucky Speedway. He spent 2008 as a test driver for JR Motorsports, and ran the final race of the season in the #0 JD Motorsports Chevy. He signed up to drive the new #07 SK Motorsports team in 2009 full-time, but was released after several races. Green made one start in 2010 driving the #49 Chevy at Phoenix.
External links
Racing Reference
Green trying to spot a driving job.
Category:1958 births
Category:American racecar drivers
Category:NASCAR Nationwide Series champions
Category:Living people
Category:NASCAR drivers
Category:People from Owensboro, Kentucky
Category:Racecar drivers from Kentucky
