won't win a Winston Cup championship, go ahead and wonder.But don't ask.
Of course, somebody always does.
"I don't know why I have to consistently explain to writers why my career's not in crisis,'' Mark said last week, adopting the scolding tone he uses when the subject is broached. ``My glass is very full. There is probably room in that glass for a couple of things in it that are not in the glass yet, but it's very full. I've had a fantastic career and I'm very proud of it."
This time it was Larry Woody, a columnist with The Tennessean newspaper of Nashville, who was pressing Mark for introspection.
Some veterans, Mark was reminded, say their careers will not be full if they do not win the championship.
"Who?" Mark wanted to know.
Sterling Marlin, for instance.
"Maybe he doesn't have four IROC championships and 33 Winston Cup wins and 45 Busch wins and all that stuff,'' Mark retorted. ``He'd better get on with it is all I've got to say. I would hate to think my career's been a failure."
No failure. At worst, Mark will go down in history as the finest stock car racer never to win a major championship.
Last year's runner-up finish to Tony Stewart was Mark's eighth time in the final top three. He also was a bridesmaid in 1990 and '94 behind Dale Earnhardt and '98 behind Jeff Gordon.
Maybe the reason Mark is questioned so often about his career is that he often leaves the door open. One of the most complex personalities in racing, he frequently comes across as moody and sullen, yet always manages to quantify disappointment with pragmatism.
For instance, he treated last year's controversial 25-point penalty from NASCAR for a minor rules violation with resignation because, he said, he has no control over the matter. He lost the championship to Stewart by 38 points.
When Mark does light up, it's usually because of his other passion - directing the racing career of his 11-year-old son, Matt, and following the progress of other young stalwarts.
Matt won two track championships in Quarter Midgets at New Smyrna last year as well as a state championship in Bandolero cars. He'll continue in Quarter Midgets and Bandeleros this year, working on a foundation his dad believes will take him to Winston Cup.
Would Mark ease his son into the big time or allow him to come up at say 22, as Roush Racing teammate Kurt Busch did?
"Twenty-two would be too late," Mark deadpans.
There's a kid named Patrick Conrad from the Quarter Midget ranks, Mark goes on, who could fare well in a big-league car now. He's 14.
"You take him to a racetrack and by the end of the day, he would be doing anything I can do," Mark said. "I'm a race fan, and these young kids are amazing. A lot of you guys [media] criticized me for talking about this stuff two years ago, and now everybody's getting interested."
Skeptics looked at Mark's 12th- place finish in the 2001 point standings, listened to him rave about Quarter Midget racing, and concluded that he had lost interest in his own career. Last year's comeback proved otherwise.
There's reason to believe that although he is 44, Mark could be a factor again this year. For one, he is driving for red-hot Roush Racing, which won 10 Winston Cup races last year, for another, he is clicking with crew chief Ben Leslie, who came aboard at the start of last season in a swap with Busch's team.
"I can tell you with confidence that we're going to be better this year," Mark said. "What I can't tell you is whether other people will be better as well."
