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Congratulations, Ward Burton, for winning the NASCAR 2002 Daytona 500. |
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"Mark's picture behind Ward Burton was contributed by Todd Butts who manages www.pitstopradio.com. That picture was taken at the New Hampshire 300 in November, 2001. |
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Not usually one of
superstitious nature, Mark went into
Sunday's Daytona 500 looking for any help he could get. So
when his son Matt handed him a shiny copper penny just before
the start of what many consider one of the grandest events
of the sports world, Mark decided he would hang on to it -
just for luck. After 20 years of racing in the Daytona 500,
Mark figured he could use any amount of luck."I don't believe in good luck charms at all," said Mark, just minutes after crawling out of his car with the sixth place finish, the sixth top-10 finish of his career in the Daytona 500. "But my son gave me something this morning - a penny that he found on the ground at the chapel service - and I was so desperate for something good to happen that I sent back for it and kept it with me during the race." It may have had more to do with what Mark would later term "the best car we've had at Speedweeks" or perhaps it was the penny, but in his 18th career Daytona 500, the veteran and his new crew turned in a solid performance, taking the No. 6 ViagraŽ Ford Taurus to a sixth place finish Sunday in a race that marked the 20th anniversary since Mark started his first Daytona 500 in 1982 and the 44th running of the historic race. Mark started in 39th position, after the team struggled with the car and its setup for most of the week and struggled to 25th in the first leg of Thursday's Twin 125s. Forced to take a provisional to enter the race, the outlook did not seem bright for the ViagraŽ Racing team on Sunday. However, once the green flag dropped Mark began to rewrite the story. 
He quickly sliced through the field, moving the car up 10
places into 29th place in only the first four laps of the
race. By lap nine, the No. 6 Ford Taurus had cracked the
top 20. Mark was running in 25th position when the first
caution of the day came out as Dale Earnhardt Jr. blew a
tire on lap 21. Mark pitted under caution taking four tires
and a spring rubber adjustment to the right rear of the car.
In their first official race with Mark, the new No. 6
ViagraŽ crew posted an excellent pit stop and Mark re-entered
the field at 24th when the race went green on lap 27.Working with the draft, Mark maneuvered the car back into the field's top 20 and into 14th position by the 35th lap of the race. In fact, after passing four cars on lap 33 to go from 23rd to 18th position, Mark would consistently run inside the field's top 20 for the remainder of the race. The No. 6 moved into 10th place on lap 76 and climbed to fourth place on lap 82 before pitting on green during the same lap to take on four tires, make air pressure adjustments and remove a spring rubber from the rear. A caution on lap 83 forced Mark to have to beat the pace car around to stay on the lead lap, but the veteran driver was able to stay ahead and when the field went back to green on lap 87, Mark and the No. 6 team stood in second place. Running in ninth place, the No. 6 team decided to stay out when caution was called on lap 96 to clear debris from the track. This decision returned Mark to third place. He would run in third for the next 20 laps before moving into second place where he remained until pitting on lap 139 after a caution. Mark slightly overshot his pit, but the No. 6 crew quickly responded, and was able to get the car into position, change four tires and make adjustments to the rear of the car and Mark returned to the field in 12th position. Mark was running in 10th position when the largest wreck of the day occurred on lap 148 when Jeff Gordon bumped Kevin Harvick from behind. Using his excellent driving skills, Mark was able to escape the collision, which would eventually claim 18 cars. The No. 6 team chose not to pit and sat in sixth position when the race resumed on lap 157. Another caution was issued on lap 171 and the crew made its last pit stop of the day, taking two tires and removing wedge. Mark returned to the field in seventh place with only 26 laps remaining. 
Mark was running ninth when another caution was issued on
lap 191 when the 31 car of Robby Gordon collided with the
wall. The field returned to green on lap 193 with six to go,
but Sterling Marlin got into Jeff Gordon on lap 194 causing
Gordon to spin out and forcing a red flag as the field was
stopped and set up for a restart with just four laps to go.
The leader of the race, Sterling Marlin, was forced to move
to the back of first line after climbing out of his car
during the red flag to repair damage to his right front
fender and Mark started the four lap shootout in fifth
place. Mark felt confident that he and teammate Kurt Busch
could make a strong run, but the No. 6 was cut-off by the
No. 88 car trying to go low, costing Mark one position and
a run at the front. Still the sixth place finish capped
off a strong and impressive run for Mark, the ViagraŽ racing
team and Roush Racing and signified the type of start all
three were looking for to begin 2002. Ward Burton would move
on to win the race, with Elliot Sadler finishing second.
Teammate Kurt Bush finished fourth. The race saw five
cautions in the last 61 laps."It was a good run, and I'm proud of these guys," said Mark after the race. "They dug in and never gave up. This was the best car I've had since we've been here at Speedweeks. I'd like to give real credit to Ben Leslie and all the guys. Maybe this is the start of good things." "After seeing what happened in the 125s and with having to fight the car all week, I really didn't expect anything like this," said crew chief Ben Leslie, who joined the No. 6 team after last season. "It's really a huge shot in the arm for the whole team and a big step. "It's an unreal boost," added Leslie, who admitted he was worried after Thursday. "Usually the 125s gives you a real idea of who is going to run and who is not going to run. If you based it off the 125s, we were not going to run. But we came together, worked really hard and came out with a good result." 
For owner Jack Roush, Sunday was a day to remember. "All
four of our cars were good enough to run in the top 10
today," said Roush. "It's a good way to start the season and
I feel real good about it. I was very concerned coming into
the race."We have come down here for so many years and had so much bad luck and it didn't feel very good based on the way we were running," added Roush. "But the drivers did really well, the crews did really well and we have to be happy about the way we ran." Mark and the No. 6 team will return to the track next weekend in Rockingham for the Subway 400. |
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