The 2003 Coca-Cola 600

Optimism was high for Mark and the No. 6 Mark at Lowes Speedway

Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team as they entered the Coca-Cola 600. Mark won the event a year ago and was coming off a top-five finish at Richmond, heading into a racetrack that he considers one of his favorites.

The 600 presents a situation where the race begins during the warm May afternoon, but track conditions dramatically change as the North Carolina sun disappears into the horizon and night falls over the track. Mark and the no. 6 crew set the car up to handle the cooler conditions of the night and the plan was working to perfection. After struggling during the beginning of the race, Mark had become one of the fastest cars on the track and had worked his way inside the top 20 by lap 113. Mark radioed his crew that the car was working ‘very good.’

However, there would be a niche. The crew had noticed a small oil leak during an earlier pit stop and took the opportunity during a caution on lap 127 to check under the hood. Further examination of the problem revealed a broken oil line. The team came back into the pits to work on the line. They were able to bypass the line, but lost a lap in the process. When Mark returned to the field he was one lap down and in 38th position.

“We broke an oil line,” said Mark after the race. “We had a 10th-place car, maybe a little better. Under good conditions we were even better than that. I would say we were about a fifth-place car, but we were off at the start.

“We knew we would be off at the start, but we also knew the track was going come to us and it did,” added Mark. “Unfortunately, so did the oil leak.” Despite the fact the team was not satisfied it has completely remedied the problem with the oil line, Mark quickly worked his way back up the field. By lap 186 he had moved all the way into 28th place and towards the leaders. However, fearing that the bypass would not hold up, the crew decided to come in and completely replace the damaged oil line when a caution was called on lap 197. When the repairs were finished, Mark had lost another lap and due to the fact that a handful of cars had yet to pit when the caution was called, Mark would return to the field three laps down and in 36th place on lap 203.

Mark battles Jeff Gordon

“It was frustrating, because I had worked so hard to move up the field and try to get my lap back,” said Mark. “But we had to fix the problem or we could have come out much worse in the end.”

With the oil line repaired, Mark’s car was still fast. By lap 222 he had moved into 30th place; the first car on his lap. Mark would move into 29th place after a caution on lap 239. However, heavy rain would force another caution on lap 263. A few moments later NASCAR announced that the race was officially over and Mark would never get a chance regain any of his laps back or further his position. Jimmy Johnson was declared the race winner and Roush teammate Matt Kenseth finished second.

“The problem with the oil line was really unfortunate,” said crew chief Ben Leslie. “We had set the car up to get better as the night went on and we were right on track. The car was working really well and we were starting to move up the field when we found the problem. We were able to fix it, but it cost us a couple of laps. We never really had the opportunity to get any of the laps back, despite the fact Mark was really fast out there. Hopefully, we’ll come back and have a little better luck next week in Dover.”

Mark is currently in 13th place in the Winston Cup point standings, 83 points outside of 10th place. Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® Racing team will return to action next week in Dover, where Mark ran to a second-place finish last fall.