The 2003 Aaron's 499

Mark and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team were dealt another dose of bad luck during Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Jeremy Mayfield (19) and Mark slide through the infield as the accident continues.

Jeremy Mayfield (19) and Mark slide through the infield as the accident continues.

Talladega, but the team was able to battle back from adversity to post a 26th-place finish in the race. Mark, who started tenth in the race, was running in ninth place when Ryan Newman cut a tire on lap three. Newman forced Mark into the wall and the incident started a multi-car pile-up that would see a total of 27 cars damaged in the wreck.

"I tell you what, this Viagra® Racing Team just hasn't been lucky this year," said Mark. "We've been fast every week, but we just haven't had a bit of luck. The car was pretty good today, even after the damage. It's just a shame that we had to get caught up in that accident."

Seventeen cars, including Mark's, were forced to go back to the garage for repairs. The No. 6 Viagra Ford Taurus sustained severe damage to the right side.

"It looked like the No. 12 just cut a tire or something and that pretty much started the whole thing," said Mark. "It's just one of those things that happens. It's nobody's fault and it's not really one of those "Talladega" things. It's just what happens sometimes in racing."

The team worked feverishly to repair the damage. With so many other cars behind the wall, returning to the track as soon as possible was critical. Mark returned to the track on lap 37; 34 laps down and in 30th position.

Despite the fact that Mark's car had sustained severe damage, he was still able to run times as fast as the leaders for much of the race. Mark would exercise patience and speed to gain four critical positions during the remainder of the race.

"The team did a great job getting the car back out on the track," said Mark. "Anytime you have that many people in the garage, it's critical that you get back out as soon as you can, but you also have to do a good job and make sure that you have fixed all the critical parts.

"The team did a great job of that today, because even after the damage, we were able to run with just about everybody around us."

"I don't know what it is, but we just haven't had any luck this year," said crew chief Ben Leslie. "It seemed like last year we had a little bit of luck, but this year we just can't seem to get a break."

"We've had pretty good cars this year - probably better than last year - but we just haven't caught the breaks. We'll just have to come back next week and do all we can to have a good run at Marksville."

Mark is currently 14th in the Winston Cup Point standings, 37 points out of tenth and 375 points behind first place. The team will return to action next Sunday at Martinsville.