Mark and the No. 8 U.S. Army team experienced an unidentified power steering issue, but still
managed to post a solid 16th-place finish in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington
Raceway.
“This was a really tough race,” said Mark. “But these guys on this U.S. Army team are just
incredible. They don’t give up and got us so many positions on pit road. We were able to hang in
there and bring home a respectable finish."
“You don’t always have the fastest car out there and everything doesn’t always go perfect,"
added Mark. "On those nights you just have to dig deep and give it all you have. That is what
these guys did tonight and I’m incredibly proud to drive their car each week.”
The veteran driver, who started 27th, patiently bided his time early in the race as several cars
continued to collide with the wall. In the end, Mark’s Chevrolet Impala SS was one of only a
handful of cars that did not tag the wall and collect the famous Darlington Stripe.
With the help of quick pit work by the Army over-the-wall crew, Mark did run as high as 12th during
the 367-lap, 501-mile race.
The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team is now 15th in the Sprint Cup owner point standings, just
20 points outside of 12th and the cutoff point for the Chase.
In the driver standings, Mark is ranked 26th, despite only having competed in eight of 11 events.
He is ahead of eight drivers who have competed in all 11 races this season.
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