Dura Lube 400

Mark gets sideways as Brett Bodine takes the air off his spoiler

nightmare at the rain-delayed race at Rockingham. Mark's Pfizer Taurus was too tight during the first third of the race. Mark came in for a pit stop and air pressure adjustment on lap 129 while in 15th place. Durng the stop, a lug nut jammed in the air gun while the left-rear tire was being changed. The resulting 25-second stop left Mark a lap down, in 25th place.

Mark got his lap back after 20 laps and a 15-second pit stop on lap 200 kept him on the lead lap. The car was too loose for Mark's liking, but he continued to move up through the field. After his next stop on lap 246, Mark radioed to the team that he thought a front wheel was loose. He came back into the pits on lap 267 for four new tires. The extra stop cost him two laps and dropped him back to 25th place. With about 100 laps to go,

Mark passed Steve Park to get one of his laps back. Mark finished the race in 20th place, one lap down. "I'm pretty disappointed with our results," he said. "We had a socket stick on one of our pit stops and then we lost two laps after I was sure a front wheel was loose. We were able to get one of the laps back, but once you get behind, it's really tough to make it up. The car ran pretty well, but we got ourselves in a situation early that we just couldn't fix. All we can do is get ready for the next race and put this one behind us."

MARK TO START 15TH AT VEGAS
Mark will start 15th in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Martin's qualifying lap averaged 170.794 mph. Pole-sitter Dale Jarrett posted a speed of 172.106 mph in his Ford Taurus.

MARK ALWAYS A FAVORITE AT ONE OF HIS FAVORITE TRACKS
When Mark races at Vegas, it's a good bet that he will be among the favorites to win. He won the inaugural event at the track in 1998 and has not finished out of the top 10 in any of his three starts. The 1.5-mile oval has been one of Mark's favorite tracks since it opened. "The race I won in 1998 is one of the most special to me," Mark said. "It was so important because we started that season with virtually a brand new team. We had moved the shop to Mooresville, N.C., after it had been based in Liberty, N.C., for 10 years. We also had all new people with the exception of Jimmy Fennig and our transporter driver. I know people thought we made a mistake by making all of those changes, and then to win the third race of the season proved we knew what we were doing. That was one of the biggest wins of my career because it justified all of the decisions we made that winter."

A Mark Martin sandwich

VEGAS IN 2000
Mark was a strong contender for the win last year -- leading at the halfway point of the race. But rain began to move into the area and Mark was passed by his teammate Jeff Burton on lap 136. Burton led the final 11 laps before rain forced the race to end. Mark settled for third place. "If we can run as well as we did last year, we should be contenders for the win," Mark said. "I can completely focus on the Winston Cup car this weekend, since I won't be running in the Busch race for the first time. We've had a lot of success at Vegas in the past three years and hopefully that will continue. We've got a brand new car to race this weekend that tested pretty well, so I think it will be a good weekend."

VEGAS HISTORY
In three career starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Mark has one win, two top fives and three top 10 finishes. He has won more than $576,000 in Winston Cup prize money at the track.