David Green was one of the top drivers in the NASCAR Busch Series in the mid-'90s. The Kentucky native won the series points championship in 1994 while finishing third, first, 12th, and second in successive seasons. Green's career began to slide, though, before he landed with Brewco Motorsports this year and won at Nashville for his first victory since 1996. Green, who at 45 is the older brother of NASCAR drivers Mark and Jeff Green, discusses what he's learned in the sport.
This season has obviously been a huge boost to my career. Brewco Motorsports has proven it can win races and be a contender in the points battle. As we talked over the winter, it was apparent that the team needed to come out of the box a little quicker, and I felt like my experience would help accomplish that.
As exciting as everything looked like it could be, there were some question marks on how quickly we could jell. We were going into a new situation, with a new body style, after switching over to Pontiac. Plus, I had never worked with this team before. Then we went out and proved we could get the job done by finishing second at Rockingham and sixth at Las Vegas, in the second and third races of the season.
For the most part last year, especially during the first half of the season, I wasn't driving. I spotted for some teams, trying to stay out there and remain visible. So to come out of the box strong, I knew we had to have our pencils sharpened up real well. The guys have just done an outstanding job of letting me be myself-a relaxed, calm driver, for the most part. That's helped me to use the ability I have, and the experience that I've gained over the years, instead of worrying about other stuff. I've been able to simply go out there, drive the race car, and communicate to my crew.
You can't discount experience in this sport. One thing that all of us would like to do is turn the clock back a few years and become a little younger. If I did that as a driver, I wouldn't turn the clock back far, because the most memorable and most positive experiences of my life have been in the last 10 years. And I would not want to trade those experiences for anything.
There's a lot of young talent out there. And just the way the standards of the sport are nowadays, young drivers get started a lot sooner and get opportunities in top equipment sooner than ever. I look at Brian Vickers in the Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 car, which I drove for six races last year, and sure, he's only 19 years old, but he acts, drives, and communicates like he's 29. In this sport, age is just a number, especially if you stay in shape and remain competitive.
Although the sport has changed over the years, the approach you take into a race is no different now than it was 10 or 12 years ago. I know I feel as good, if not better, than I did during those years when I was vying for championships.