UAW/DaimlerChrysler 400

After a 15th place qualifying effort on Friday, Mark was The Viagra car in Vegas

ready to race on Sunday in Las Vegas. Three cautions filled the first 30 laps of the race, and he pitted on lap 28 for an air pressure adjustment to help the loose condition of the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Taurus. He returned to the race in 13th place, but the car was still loose.

Mark held on until he was able to pit again on lap 91. The crew added wedge to the car, in addition to another air pressure adjustment. He was very pleased with the car after the changes since he easily pulled away from the field and led for 47 laps. He also earned 10 bonus points for leading the most laps of any driver. As the handling began to deteriorate, Bill Elliott was able to pass him for the lead on lap 145. Mark returned to the pits about 10 laps later for more adjustments. A 15.77-second pit stop helped him stay up front so he was able to assume the lead again on lap 162 under caution.

When the race resumed on lap 166, Mark led for one more lap before Sterling Marlin took the lead. Now the car was too tight, so he had the crew reverse their previous adjustment during their next stop on lap 178.

With 30 laps to go, the team made their final pit stop of the day. Mark and Jimmy Fennig decided to change right-side tires only since it had worked well for other teams throughout the day. Taking only two tires would also give them better track position as the end of the race was in sight. After 10 laps, Mark told the crew the car was too loose again. The car did not respond the way they expected with two fresh tires. He held on to finish the race in sixth place. It was his first top-10 finish of the season.

"That was the best car I have driven this year," Mark said. "We've figured out how to be competitive, now we just need to work on winning. We fought with the handling a little bit today, but it was real good during the stretch that I led. We had a good car and I hope that we can be as good in Atlanta next week. That finish was a ton better than anything we've done so far this year. I'm happy with that, but it's not as good as a win."

The strong finish moved Mark up to 15th in the Winston Cup point standings. Next weekend the teams head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Cracker Barrel 500.

Mark is ready to face the challenges of Atlanta Motor Speedway after a strong run in Las Vegas last weekend. Mark led the most laps Sunday at Las Vegas and earned a solid sixth place finish. It was Mark's first top-10 of the season, and it should be the first of many. The sixth place finish and 10 bonus points moved him up to 15th in the Winston Cup point standings.

"I think we should be solid at Atlanta this weekend," Mark said. "We were really competitive for the first time this season in Vegas. That was the first step, now we have to put ourselves in a position to be able to win. We've got a little bit more work to do, but that really felt good. We were able to sit out front and not see anybody coming. It was kind of shades of the old days and I think we're getting closer."

Mark will run JR-85 this weekend in Atlanta. He raced this car at Atlanta in the fall and led 20 laps before engine problems ended his day early. He had a strong run in the spring race last year with a different car and earned a third place finish. That gave Mark nine top-five finishes in 30 starts at the speedway. He has never won the spring race, but has taken the checkered flag in the fall twice (1991 & 1994). "We are typically pretty good at Atlanta," Mark said. "It has been a while since we won there, but we've had five top-five finishes in our last eight races there. It is so much faster than it used to be. Your car really has to be on the money to be competitive. It seems like since they reconfigured the track a few years ago, there are always about two, or three cars that just pull away from the rest of the field. I want to make sure our car is one of those this time. All we need is a strong car and a little luck. I know we can get the car, so hopefully the luck will come naturally."