2000 DuraLube 300

Nobody knew what to expect going into New Hampshire, after NASCAR mandated a one-inch restrictor plate for all teams. Rain on Friday washed out most of practice, and the teams were forced to take two qualifying laps on Saturday morning.

Mark qualified 15th with a speed of 126.429 mph. The first 95 laps of the race were run caution-free, and Mark's crew made a wedge adjustment on his first pit stop on lap 96. Mark moved from 13th to 11th after the stop. The team made additional adjustments during the next caution period on lap 201 to try to improve the car's tight condition. Five more cautions maked the final 85 laps of the race. What everyone thought was the final caution brought out the red flag with 10 laps to go when Mark bumped Jerry Nadeau shortly after a restart. Nadeau slowed down more than Mark as the field stacked up. Mark was not collected in the accident, but apologized for having a part in it.

Burton race team

Just before the race resumed, the team decided to pit one more time to take more wedge out. The stop only cost Mark two positions and he figured he could make them up in the final seven laps. Mark was ninth with seven laps to go and only a few laps later, Sterling Marlin brought out another caution and the race ended under yellow. Mark never got the chance to put his newer tires to work and finished eighth. His Roush teammate Jeff Burton won the race, leading from flag to flag -- the first time this has been accomplished since 1978.

"We had a reasonable finish," Mark said. "We missed the setup and we salvaged the best finish we could. I feel real bad about getting into Nadeau. I certainly never meant to bump him; he just slowed down more than I thought he would. We took a chance at the end to pit when the leaders did not, and it might have worked better for us if that last yellow had not come out. Nobody could touch Burton. He was hooked up all weekend."

MARK ON RICHMOND:

After finishing third to Jeff Burton and Jeff Green at the BGN race in Richmond, Va., on Sept. 8, Mark had this to say:

"We weren't on the money tonight. We were best on the last run, but it still wasn't enough. We were missing a little bit to be the best. Nobody could touch Burton and Green, but at least I was able to be in a position to catch Todd Bodine. It was a good night, but not as good as it could have been."

The #6 car

Following his third-place finish in the Richmond Winston Cup race the next night, Mark had these comments:

"We were off on handling all night until the final run. If there would have been about eight more laps, we could have won that race. The car was just awesome at the end and I could have caught Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. Our pit stops got better all night. Since we have two new guys going over the wall it will take some time for them to get used to working together, but the last two stops were great. Hopefully we can keep moving up in the points to at least get sixth before the end of the season."

THE "NEW GUYS"

Rodney Fetters (jack man) and Bobby Sada (rear tire carrier) have joined the "over the wall gang" for Martks No. 6 Ford Taurus. Here is a complete list of the guys who go over the wall: Robert Benfield (front tire changer), Jon Davis (catch can), Rodney Fetters (jack man), Tom McCrimmon (second gas can), Doug Newell (gas man), Shawn Parker (rear tire changer), Bryan Porter (windshield), Dennis Ritchie (front tire carrier), and Bobby Sada (rear tire carrier).

LOOKING FORWARD TO DOVER

Mark is anxious to hit the concrete running this weekend at Dover Downs. He has won the past three fall races at the one-mile oval and is ready to extend his streak to four. After a disappointing 36th-place finish due to engine failure in June, Martin believes his team and his equipment are prepared to visit victory lane for the second time this season.

"We are taking the same car that we brought to Dover in June," he said. "That is the car that won in 1998 and 1999 so we'd be crazy not to bring it back. We've had it in the fab shop to update it a little bit, but I think it is still one of our best cars. I'm hoping we can unload it off the truck on Friday and have it be fast right from the start. I won from the pole in 1997 and 1998, and it sure would be nice to do that again. We still have yet to win a pole this year, but I think we have a really good chance at Dover."

MARK AND THE MONSTER GET ALONG

Mark has an impressive record at Dover's "Monster Mile." he has finished in the top five in 14 of 28 races, and finished in the top 10 in 60 percent of his starts. He did not win a race at Dover until 1997, but has won at least once each year since.

"I've always liked Dover," Mark said. "Not a lot of people say that, but I've always enjoyed racing there. I liked it better before it was concrete, but it has been better the last few years. Maybe I liked the concrete more after I finally won there. It isn't that we were terrible and finally won there. I think we've always been good, but we've had some bad breaks in the past that kept us from that first win for so long. I'm looking forward to the race this weekend. We're only 33 points out of fifth place, so with another good weekend, we can climb back up to where this team deserves to be."


Congratulations, Jeff Burton, for the win at the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup DuraLube 300 in Loudon, NH