Green looks to turn his luck in Minis

Paul Green is having a very good year in Mini Modifieds at Old Dominion Speedway. The 36-year-old Edgewater, Md., driver is second in points, with three wins and three seconds in eight races.

"It's fantastic, running so well," Green said. "But the last few races, we've had a couple of challenges that seem to be taking us out of contention."

In fact, coming into last Saturday's race, Green was leading the points race. But engine problems left him unable to start the race and he dropped to second in points.

Green also had engine problems two races ago when he was leading but wound up finishing last. The race before that, he was running second and tapped leader Dave Daniels' car, which was enough to make him lose his sway bar. Green still managed to finish second.

Despite his various car problems, Green, with his speed in the corners, has been the man to beat in Minis this season. Scotty Gore, with three wins, has been his closest rival for victory lane. Dave Daniels, however, has run the most consistently, and, as a result, took the points lead last week.

Green's most satisfying win came when he beat Bobby Able on May 9. Green started fifth and got around Able in lap 13 after a battle.

"When Bobby's out there, there's an added element because he was last year's champion," Green said. "So he's fun to beat."

Green is pleased with the handling of his Dave Moon-built car.

"This car has been amazing in the turns," Green said. "We've not been up on power with anybody. But I can just put my foot down in the turns and hold on. It's an absolute blast to drive."

From the season opener, the handling on Green's car's was good. But after some shock work by Joel Brown, the car improved.

"That work unlocked some additional performance for us," Green said.

Green drove a limited schedule in Grand Stocks for three years, the equivalent of one full season. The seat time and car knowledge he picked up then have contributed to this season's per-formance.

"I've learned a tremendous amount just listening and driving a certain amount," he said. "I also do a better job describing what the car needs."

Green's best finish in Grand Stocks was third. He said expenses made it difficult.

"We had a funny equation going on in Grand Stocks," he said. "It felt like we wrecked the car once every three times we went to the track."

Green loves competing in Mini Modifieds.

"There's something about this combination of power, tires and weight that I just feel so much more comfortable with that I can get it to do crazy things," he said. "In fact, the only place we've ever passed Mike Carte is in the middle of one and two and usually only two of our tires have been on the track. It's fun when you have a car that will turn like that."

Green's goal is to keep consistent the rest of the season and eliminate mechanical issues the team has had.

"We want to make sure we don't take ourselves out of competition," he said. "And that means sometimes buying an extra part to make sure we have it on the trailer just in case something happens on the track."