Green buzzing after fast test.

Half way through the traditional pre-season test at Daytona, Jeff Green stands atop the time charts with his Hendrick powered #66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet.

Going into his second full season with the #66 BestBuy sponsored squad, Green has been reunited with crew chief Harold Holly, the man who helped guide him to the 2000 Busch Series title and Green's session leading time was the perfect boost for the new tandem.

"It's a big momentum thing, no doubt," Holly said. "It's big for both teams - the #66 team going away from testing, and for Bootie (Barker, crew chief of the second Haas Cup Series entry) and Johnny (Sauter, driver of the second entry) as they head down for testing."

Even more important is the morale boost it gives crew members who have worked for the past two months to get both teams ready for the test.

"It means a lot to the shop guys," Holly added. "It's a great confidence booster for them to see the hard work they've put in pay dividends right off the bat. They've been putting in some long hours, so it was great to come in after the test and shake those guys' hands and congratulate them."

For Green, the test was not only evidence of the strength of his team's engines and fabricators, but also of the decision to reunite Green with Holly.

"I can't say enough about how hard our body guys have worked, and of how strong those Hendrick (Motorsports) engines are," said Green, whose 186.722mph quickest lap on the third day of testing was the fastest of the near-30 teams participating in the test. "It's an awesome feeling to go down the backstretch at Daytona with that kind of horsepower under the hood.

"As far as Harold, it really does feel like old times. He almost knows what I'm going to tell him about the car before I even open my mouth. From the first time we worked together, we just had chemistry. You can't create it, it's either there or it's not. It gives me an incredible confidence to have him leading our team, and I'm more excited about this season than I have been in a long time."

Green spent plenty of time behind the wheel of the #66 entry over the three days the team tested in Daytona. During the drafting portion of the test session, Green turned over 100 laps in his Best Buy Chevrolet, giving his team ample data as to how the car performs on a long fuel run.

"We were good right from the start of that long run all the way through to the end, and Jeff was extremely happy with how the car felt the entire time," Holly said. "That's crucial to being successful, so that was a big morale boost as well."

While Holly was extremely satisfied with how the Best Buy Chevrolet performed in the draft, he feels there is still work to be done to improve the car's potential in qualifying trim. With that in mind, Holly chose to forego the final day of testing on Thursday, as NASCAR limited the last session to single-car runs. Holly felt the team's time would be better spent back in North Carolina, making changes to the car at the Haas shops.

"We need to pick up about a tenth or a tenth and a half of a second to be where I'd like in qualifying," Holly said. "That's why it's great to have that second team. We went down there with a plan and brought our data back to share with Bootie. Now, he'll pick up where we left off and develop things further. It's the first time a Haas team has had that luxury, and I think it's going to pay off huge for both teams."

After the way it performed during the test, some might be surprised to learn Holly may not bring the same car back for the Daytona 500.

"We're finishing up a brand new chassis that will be the sister of one of the cars we tested," Holly said. "It should have lower drag and qualify better, so it could be our Daytona 500 car. It really depends on what Bootie learns on the third day of testing next week and what the wind tunnel numbers look like as to which ones he and I will bring back. We'll see."

While Holly takes the test results with a grain of salt, understanding that testing doesn't necessarily reflect how a team will perform under race conditions, he's confident of his team's chances, and clear as to which end of the speed charts he prefers.

"We were the only ones walking out of (Daytona International Speedway) with the fastest time, so it gives us bragging rights for at least a couple of days," Holly said. "It's fun to be the best of the bunch, even when there's no trophy involved. I'm like everyone else that works in this sport, I always want to be first."