Winston Cup standings, trailing Tony Stewart by 146 points. But it's
almost impossible to get him to talk about this championship chase, or
any of the others he's been in over the years.Since 1989, Mark has finished second or third in the standings seven times, including a second-place finish in 1990 when a controversial 46 point penalty for an unapproved manifold spacer caused him to lose the title to the late Dale Earnhardt by 26 points.
"I'd prefer not to talk about it", Mark said. "What is is; what ain't ain't".
But just as Mark got those words out of his mouth, into his hauler walked Kirk Shelmerdine, Dale Earnhardt's former crew chief to talk about those old battles.
"Mark, there were times that I did to keep you from winning the championship," he said. "But I'm really pulling for you to win this one."
There are lots of NASCAR insiders who would like to see Mark add a championship to his resume. But with just three races left, the odds of that happening this year are long.
"I just need some luck," Mark said. "I went from leading to two behind. The same thing can happen [to Stewart]. I don't expect it to, but we had three races in a row where we had mechanical failures, and there are three races left. If that happens to [Stewart], he won't win."
But Mark says that even if he never wins a title, he has plenty to be proud of.
"I've earned four ASA championships and four IROC championships and 33 Winston Cup wins and 45 Busch wins" he said. "That pales in comparison to what Jeff Gordon has done, but it sure puts a lot of others to shame."
Mark: "I could win the championship every year that I race from now on, and it wouldn't make me a better driver, and it probably wouldn't make me more respected in the garage."
