Mark Green, NASCAR Driver #49
Mark Green
Owensboro, KY
NASCAR's Mark Green is a veteran driver with more than three decades of experience under his belt. Born in Owensboro, Kentucky on April 8, 1959, Green hails from a family of racers. His father, David Sr., was a drag racer. Green’s younger brother, Jeff, won the NASCAR Busch Series Championship in 1994, and his older brother, David, took that title in 2000.
Family
Green is married to Cathy. Their two children are Rachel and Tyler. Rachel is the sales coordinator at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Tyler is a racecar driver who has won several Bandolero and Legends championships.
Charity
In 2002, Green and his brother founded a charity called The Green Foundation. Its purpose is to help severely injured people and organizations that aid at-risk youths, support children who have serious illnesses, or involve motorsports (such as by providing assistance for injured drivers).
Early Racing Career
Green began racing go-karts in 1973, when he was just 13, and won six straight Indiana State Karting Championships. His go-kart career lasted from 1973-81. When he moved on to the late-model division, he again found success and scored four track championships. He fared especially well at Beech Bend, winning 16 of 20 races in 1993 and taking the track championship there from 1991-93. His other track championship came at Kentucky Motor Speedway in 1993.
NASCAR: 1995-2001
In 1995, Green started on the NASCAR Busch series, driving the #41 Brewco Motorsports Chevrolet. He finished eighteenth in his first race, at Indianapolis Raceway Park. His first top-ten finish came the following year, when he drove the #37 Timber Wolf Chevy and ended up tenth at Myrtle Beach Speedway. Green's first full NASCAR Busch Series season came in 1997. His first ever top-five finish was a fifth at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and he completed the season ranked 11th in points, with five top-ten finishes. In addition, Green drove in two Craftsman Truck Series races for Brewco. In 1998, he drove for Brewco at the start of the season but then switched over to working for Washington-Erving Motorsports. He finished 21st in the standings, with his best finish being tenth in the Yellow Freight 300. He next drove for HVP Motorsports then Davis & Weight Motorsports. When Davis & Weight closed its team in 2001, Green drove for various teams during the rest of the season. His best result was for ST Motorsports: a ninth place at Kansas Speedway.
Nashville Superspeedway
Lebanon, TN
NASCAR: 2002-Today
In 2002, he drove for Akins Motorsports, but the gig didn't last into the next year. Green finished 32nd in the standings in 2002. During 2003, Green again drove for a variety of teams, then for Jay Robinson Racing during most of 2004. Upon leaving Jay Robinson Racing that same year, he moved over to Keith Coleman Racing until near the end of 2005. In 2006, Green was behind the wheel for Biagi Brothers Racing for some time. He finished in the top fifteen three times before being let go. He signed with ML Motorsports in 2007 and drove for them until 2009. After a brief stint with JD Motorsports, he moved over to Jay Robinson Racing and currently drives the #49 GetMoreVacations.com Chevrolet Impala.
Career Statistics
Green's career NASCAR statistics are as follows: Various websites disagree slightly as to Green's number of career starts and amount of earnings. However, if one goes by the official NASCAR website, as of October 16, 2009 he has made 274 starts, with two top-five finishes and 15 top-ten finishes. His most top-ten finishes ever is five, in 1997. He drove in his greatest number of races in a year in 1998 (31 starts). He has driven 45,116 laps, and led 93 of them (66 during 1998 alone). His earnings total $4,090,484, with the $541,458 so far in 2009 being his highest amount for a single year. His best-ever seasonal ranking was 11th, in 1997.
2009 Statistics
As of October 16, 2009, Green has made 26 starts this season. He has no top-ten finishes, and his best result was a 19th place in the Meijer 300 on June 13. His earnings are currently $541,458.
Read more about Mark Green and his teammate Kenny Wallace, both of whom race for Jay Robinson Racing.