Sunday, July 07, 2002
Green gets ride with Gary Keller Racing
By Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Willie Green of Walton, Ky., will return to the ARCA series at Kentucky Speedway with a new ride this week.
Green and fellow ARCA drivers will drive Friday night in a warmup event for Saturday's featured race at Kentucky, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck race.
Green, 39, has joined the new Gary Keller Racing team based in Fairfield. Keller operates Environmental Specialists of Greater Cincinnati, which deals in water restoration and mold remediation.
“I've changed car owners before, but Gary seems to have come in at a good time,” Green said.
Green finished 11th at the ARCA race at Kentucky in May, for the top finish of a local driver. His previous team was searching for more funds, and Keller became a new option.
Green finished fifth at an ARCA race at Kentucky in May 2001, the top finish by a local ARCA driver since Kentucky opened in 2000.
Keller, 49, just bought a 2002 Ford Taurus from the Wood Brothers Racing organization, one of NASCAR's best-known teams. David Pearson and Cale Yarborough drove for the Wood Brothers, with Elliott Sadler currently driving for the team in Winston Cup.
Keller and Green hope to run in four ARCA races this year, the Busch race at Kentucky in 2003 and about a half-dozen ARCA races next year.
“I'm just a business guy who's got the racing bug,” Keller said. “We think Willie is a driver who can go places.”
Green is director of transportation for Covington (Ky.) City Schools. His late father, Bill Green, was ARCA rookie of the year in 1977.
Local drivers Mike Burg and Joe “Jeep” Pflum, both of Bridgetown, are on the ARCA entry list. Burg finished 15th and Pflum 18th in the ARCA race at Kentucky in May.
TRUCK STOP: The NASCAR Craftsman Truck series drew 63,750 to Kentucky Speedway for the track's inaugural event in 2000. Last year, Truck attendance was 41,229, a decline that did not surprise track officials.
“There was a natural dropoff after the opening event,” speedway general manager Mark Cassis said. “We think this time we'll have 40,000 to 45,000 people on the property.”
The serious fans, the ones who don't need “Winston Cup” on the marquee, show up for these races.
“I think people understand it and like it,” Cassis said of NASCAR trucks. “The people we have will come back. And when you consider the average truck crowd is 18,000, we're more than double the average.”
TRUCK PRIMER: The NASCAR Craftsman Trucks are a bit different than your buddy's pickup. The series is for American-made, full-size pickup trucks modified for racing.
NASCAR trucks reach speeds of about 185 mph, compared to about 200 mph for a Winston Cup car.
Trucks weigh 3,400 pounds (same as a Winston Cup stock car) and are powered by 358-cubic-inch, limited-compression V8 engines of approximately 750 horsepower. (A Winston Cup car gets 770 horsepower). The truck chassis construction is identical to a Cup car.
Eligible trucks are Chevrolet C1500 (Silverado), Dodge Ram 1500 and Ford F-150.
THE SCHEDULE: The weekend Kentucky schedule:
• Friday: NASCAR Truck pole qualifying (5:30 p.m.) and ARCA RE/MAX “Blue Grass Quality Meats 200” race (9 p.m.).
• Saturday: NASCAR Trucks “Kroger 225” race (8 p.m.).
TV/RADIO: Saturday's NASCAR Truck race will be carried live by ESPN.
On radio, MRN (Motor Racing Network) will broadcast live, with local feeds on WNKR-FM (106.5) and WCKY-AM (1360).
E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com.
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