The 2004 Advanced Auto Parts 500

Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts 500 was a tale of different stories for Mark and the Viagra (sildenafil citrate) Racing Mark Martin

Team. For the first 380 laps of the race, Mark had one of the cars to beat. After starting 19th, Mark quickly moved his way up the field with one of the race’s fastest cars. By lap 79 the veteran Mark had moved his way inside the field’s top 10, where he would run for the next 300 laps before a failed fuel line would halt the team’s inevitable march to the front.

“This is a tough one,” said Mark after the race. “We did everything here that you are supposed to do. We had a fast car and we were able to pass a lot of cars on the track. The team also did a great job in the pits and the effort was solid in every aspect. We had moved up the field and were really in good position.

“This was the best car that I’ve ever had at Martinsville,” added Martin. “Pat Tryson and Wally Brown and the rest of the Viagra Team just did an excellent job this weekend. It’s a shame that a routine part failure had to cost us a shot at what should have been a really solid run.

“As I said the car was great. There were a couple of cars out there that might have been a little faster, but not many, and we could run with anyone. Our car was set up for the long run and we were hoping for a run of about 100 lap to end the race, but we had the problem with the fuel line and we were never able to make a shot at that run.”

Running the fastest times on the racetrack, Mark had worked his way up to seventh place when the day’s third caution was called on lap 119. The team came into the pits for four tires and fuel and a quick stop of 14.58 seconds moved Martin’s Viagrả Ford Taurus inside the top-five for the first time of the day. For the remainder of the day, Mark would run among the leaders.

Mark was running in sixth place when caution was called for the seventh time of the day on lap 283. In one of the most bizarre events in recent NASCAR history, Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 car ran over a weak spot in the track, breaking up the asphalt and taking on damage to the right fender. The break in the racing surface forced the field to be red flagged and the race was stopped for over one hour while NASCAR worked to repair the damaged racing surface.

When the race when green again on lap 301, Mark was running in fifth place. Caution was called again for the eighth time of the day on lap 371 and Mark came in for four tires and fuel. A couple of cars in the lead only took two tires and Mark returned to the field in seventh place after a stop of 14.79-seconds. However, one lap after going green Martin’s car halted down the backstretch, falling off the pace. He reported to crew chief Pat Tryson that the car had ‘no fuel pressure’.

The team was forced to bring the car down pit road, where they replaced the fuel line. When Mark returned to the track, he was 32 laps down in 34th place - where they would eventually finish the race. Martin’s teammate, Greg Biffle, had experienced a similar problem with the fuel line earlier in the race.

“It’s a heartbreaker – that’s for sure,” said crew chief Pat Tryson. “Mark really got up on the wheel today and he did an excellent job all day long. The team was solid in the pits and it really looked like we were going to make a run at it. The No. 2 went on to win the race and we ran with him for almost all of the day, so who knows what could have been.”

The finish dropped Mark to 18th in the Nextel Cup points race, 153 points out of 10th place.

“We’ll just have to come back next week and do it again,” said Mark. “We have to go to the next race and have another strong car and another solid run. If we keep having cars like we did today, we’ll be just fine. This was one of the best car’s I’ve had in a while and if the guys can keep doing that, we’ll fight our way back up front.”