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Congratulations, Mark, for winning the NASCAR 2002 Coca-Cola Racing Family 600. |
Mark held off a late charge from teammate
Matt Kenseth to take the checkered flag in Sunday’s Coca-Cola Racing
Family 600. Mark took the lead for good with 40 laps to go in the 600-mile
race, and held off the late charge to take his 33rd career Winston Cup
victory.Mark, who ran in the top five for the last 235 laps of the race, entered the pits for the final time of the day on lap 360; running in second place. The Viagra® Racing team used excellent work in the pits – adding four fresh tires and making a rear-end adjustment – to re-enter the race in first place with 40 laps remaining. The rest would be up to Mark, who ran to an 11 car lead before holding off Kenseth’s final charge. “Those last 40 laps were really tense. I wanted to win really badly,” said Mark after the race. “I wanted to win for my team probably as much as for myself. They wanted this really bad and they worked really hard for this victory and my hat goes off to those guys.” Mark was able to maneuver between lapped traffic in the final laps of the race to help pull away from the field and Kenseth. “We just didn’t have time to waste on those lapped cars,” added Mark. “To be able to win this race is a great feeling. There are so many guys on this team that haven’t tasted victory at this level and it’s just wonderful to be a part of this win and a part of the Viagra® racing team.” 
Mark started the race 25th, but broke into the top 20 by lap two. By the
21st lap of the race Mark had maneuvered the Viagra® Ford Taurus into
15th position. Two laps later, Mark was running in 13th place when the
day’s second caution came out. Mark entered the pits to take on four
tires and make air pressure and rear-end adjustments. Not everyone pitted
and Mark returned to the field running in 17th position when the field
went green on lap 28.Working his way up the field, Mark broke back into the field’s top 15 on lap 43, before moving to 14th on lap 50. Over the next nine laps, Mark gained four more positions, breaking into the field’s top 10 for the first time of the day on lap 59; The Viagra® car would not run outside the top-10 for the remainder of the race. Mark was running in seventh place when caution broke again on lap 69. Mark came into the pits for the second time on the day, taking four fresh tires. Excellent pit work by the Viagra® Racing team (14.33 seconds) sent Mark back out onto the track in fifth place when the field went green on lap 74. Mark worked his way up to fourth place by lap 87 and remained there until caution came on lap 101, and the team came into pit to take four tires and make further adjustments to the rear of the car. Another excellent stop of 14.80 seconds sent Mark back out in third place when the field went green on lap 108. Mark passed Kenseth on lap 113 for second place, before overpowering the 28 car one lap later to take the lead. The car began to push and Mark dropped back to fourth place on lap 126. 
When caution broke on lap 131, Mark came in for four tires and to put a
spring rubber in the right rear. Again everyone did not come into pit and
Mark returned to the track in ninth place. He dropped back to 10th pace on
lap 142, and was running there when caution came out on lap 163.Mark again entered pit road, making a track bar adjustment and taking four fresh tires. Another outstanding stop of 14.70 seconds sent Mark back out in fifth place when the field returned to green flag racing on lap 167. Mark would not run outside the top five again. At the halfway mark on lap 200, Mark had run to third place, before taking over second on lap 204. Mark took over the top spot when green flag pitting began and was running at the top spot when the No. 6 team came in for a stop on lap 228, making more track bar adjustments and taking four tires. The No. 6 Ford Taurus returned to the field in second place. Mark dropped back to third on lap 240, where he ran for the next 34 laps. With the car ‘pushing really badly’, Mark dropped back to fourth place on lap 288. He would run in fourth place, behind teammates Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch for the next several laps coming in for a green flag pit stop on lap 309. 
After the stop Mark returned to the field in third place and moved up to
second on lap 355, where he was running when caution broke on lap 360.
With the car running loose, the Viagra® Racing team pulled off a clutch
pit stop, taking four tires and a wedge adjustment in only 14 seconds and
sending Mark back out in the top spot; setting up Mark’s 40 lap dash to
the finish line.“The team just did an outstanding job,” said Mark. “We went all out for this win. This was a No Bull Five race and we had a million dollars on the line. I told them that I would split that up with the guys and they just worked really hard for this. The team just wanted this so bad." By virtue of Mark’s victory in the No Bull event, fan Janet Hogan of Sterling, Va. who was paired with Mark in last week’s drawing also went home with a million-dollar prize on the night. “This is just a huge win for us,” added Mark. “I love this race track. It’s probably the best race track I’ve ever driven on and it just feels so good to leave here with the victory." “The last few laps were just a nail biting experience,” added crew chief Ben Leslie, who collected his first win as a Winston Cup crew chief. “I know how good Matt Kenseth is, but I know how good Mark Mark is too. It was gut wrenching to watch, but in the end it’s all worth it.” 
The win marks the first for Mark since the 2000 season. It also is the
fourth straight time that a Roush driver has won the Coca-Cola 600 (
Jeff Burton 1999, 2001 and Matt Kenseth 2000). It is Mark’s third
straight top-five finish and his fifth top-10 finish in his last six
races.Mark has now finished in the top-five on five occasions this season and in the top ten in eight of 12 races this season. The win is Mark’s 33rd career Winston Cup victory, his 301st top-10 finish and his 193rd top five in 506 starts. The win moves Mark into third place in the Winston Cup point standings, just 143 points out of first place and 56 points behind second-place Matt Kenseth. Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® racing team will hope to carry the momentum to the track next week, when NASCAR takes to the track at Dover. Following the race, Mark, Matt Kenseth and Mark's Crew Chief, Ben Leslie, went to the media center for their post-race interviews with the press. You can read a transcript of that press conference by clicking here. You can read some additional comments from that press conference here. |
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