rpm.espn.com: Jeff Green

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Friday, January 3
Updated: January 6, 4:25 PM ET

Jeff Green
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com

Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car/sponsor/make: No. 30 America Online Chevrolet

Jeff Green
Green

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
Best finish

2002 17 0 4 6 Second, Loudon

Career 0 5 8

2002 recap
The good: Jeff Green surprised not only himself, but the rest of NASCAR, including the entire Richard Childress Racing operation, by being the highest finisher (17th-place) of the team's three drivers (Robby Gordon was 20th and Kevin Harvick was 21st). Green won more money than he ever has in a single season, recorded his highest finish ever in Winston Cup competition and laid the groundwork for an even better season in 2003. Ironically, even though Green has knocked around Winston Cup for nearly a decade, primarily as a back-up or fill-in driver, 2002 was his first full season on the circuit.

Season highlight: Green's second-place finish at Loudon in July and his third-place finish at Richmond in September. Not only were these his highest finishes ever in Winston Cup, but he did it the hard way, coming from far back in the pack, having started in 30th at Loudon and 29th at Richmond. He had a similar outing at Sears Point, where he started 33rd and finished fifth.

The bad: After having a mostly respectable time during the first 30 races, Green tapered off in the final six races of the season, with five finishes between 24th and 38th place. At no other time during the season did he struggle as much. It was a disappointing end to what still was a good season for him. And, most importantly, he didn't lose any positions in the standings. In fact, even though he finished 38th in the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami (Fla.), he still managed to climb one spot in the final standings from 18th to 17th --and he can thank Sterling Marlin for that spot.

Season lowlight: Green's lowest point of the season came in the final two races -- started 39th and finished 35th at Phoenix, and started and finished 38th at Homestead-Miami -- when he could not mount any kind of rally, and ultimately was forced to drop out of the Homestead-Miami event due to engine trouble. Ironically, he failed to finish only two races this season, both due to engine trouble.

Jeff Green

Key stat: Green finished an impressive 96.5 percent of all laps in all 36 races, leaving only two races early due to engine failure. He also was one of the best drivers when it came to avoiding crashes, never leaving an event due to an accident.

2003 outlook
What needs to be done: Prior to 2002, Green had somewhat of a stigma attached to him, that he had never been given an opportunity to really show what he could do in a full season. Well, he finally accomplished that this past season and not only had a respectable showing, he left a strong indication that, with one full season finally under his belt, he'll finish even higher in 2003.

Prediction: With RCR's considerable resources behind him, Green should easily finish in the top-15 in 2003, and maybe even take a shot at the top-10. He's one of the most underrated and yet effective drivers on the circuit, and 2003 could finally be the season Green finally not only makes a big name for himself in Winston Cup, but becomes one its most successful drivers.

Your take
Is Jeff Green ready to challenge for a top 10 overall finish in Cup points? Or was last season's 17th-place pretty much the best he'll do? Here are your thoughts.

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