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Congratulations Ryan Newman for winning the NASCAR 2003 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in Richmond, VA |
Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate)
Racing Team ran to a 13th-place finish in Saturday night’s Chevy Rock n’ Roll
400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mark struggled with a temperamental
car for much of the night, before picking up five positions in the last 58
laps of the race for the finish."We just didn't run as good as we should,” said Mark. “But we did a great job with the car, the team and everything, to bring it home in 13th. It was a reasonable finish, for what we had tonight, but know that we need to run better than we did out there tonight.” Mark qualified third on Friday, but started from the inside of the front row after pole-sitter Mike Skinner was forced to start in the back after wrecking his car in happy hour. Mark led the first lap of the race and earned five bonus points. However, the car would struggle at the beginning of runs – a problem that would plague the team all night – and Mark quickly dropped back to fifth place by lap three. A caution filled race did not play well to the car’s needs and Mark would struggle heavily on restarts throughout the race. The day’s first caution occurred on lap 23 of the race. Mark stayed out, but again the car was sluggish on the restart. By lap 43 the veteran was running in 10th place. However, true to character, the car would hold its own and Mark was still in 10th place when caution was called again on lap 63. The team came into the pits for four tires and returned to the field in 12th place, as a few cars stayed out. The same dilemma would plague the No. 6 car as the race went green on lap 68, and by lap 78 Mark was in 17th position. The car began to push in the middle and Mark began to experience extreme difficulty in the handling of the Taurus. At one point the car was handling so poorly that Mark thought he might have a flat tire. Things would quickly get worse as Mark radioed to the crew on lap 91 that another car had sprayed oil all over his windshield, severely impairing his vision. With limited vision, Mark quickly fell back to 21st position, but caught a break when caution was issued on lap 94. The team came into the pits, took four tires and pulled the windshield strip. Several cars did not pit and Mark returned to the field in 24th place 
when the field went green on lap 112. Mark was having problems getting
the car to turn and was running in 22nd place when caution number 6 was
called on lap 128. Attempting to improve the car, the team came into the
pits to take four tires and lower the track bar. The adjustments were not
enough and Mark used caution number seven to come into the pits for four
tires and an additional wedge adjustment. A 14.10-second pit stop helped
Mark hold position and he returned running in 24th place when the field
went green on lap 150.The car was good on long runs and by lap 176 Mark had worked his way back inside the top 20. The team used a pair of quick stops to further advance up the field. Another 14.10-second stop under caution on lap 196 moved Mark to 18th and a 14.7-second stop on lap 269 advanced the No. 6 into 16th position. The team continued to struggle with the car and Mark fell back to 20th place by lap 320. Mark used the race’s final 80 laps to advance seven more positions and take home the 13th-place finish. The team returns to action next week in Loudon, where Mark will be making his 500th consecutive Winston Cup start. |
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