The EA Sports Thunder 500

"It just wasn't our day," said an exasperated Mark Mark bumps Johnson on the pace lap

moments after Sunday's EA Sports 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway. The simple statement did indeed best summarize the type of day Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team endured for almost three hours on Sunday.

Rain forced the cancellation of qualifying on Friday and Mark started the race on the front row from the second position. The car ran well during Saturday's final practice and hopes were high going into Sunday's race. During the field's pace laps Mark began to experience a problem with the car's steering. The problem lasted only a few seconds, but NASCAR required that Mark come into the pits to look at the problem.

"We are not really sure what happened," said Mark after the race. "I just had some type of problem with the steering before the race even went green. It just locked and then it unlocked. It was fine after that and not a problem during the race, but I had to come in and that got us a lap down early.

"It was some kind of hydraulic problem, I think. I never put it in that position again in that situation during the race. After the race I tried it and it did the same thing, so it's some kind of hydraulic flow problem in the power steering, I think."

"This is a really hard track to try to get a lap back and with no cautions during the race it would just be hard to do."

Mark was forced to enter the pits on the race's first lap and returned to the field in 43rd place and a half a lap down. Running all alone and outside the draft, Mark was eventually caught by the race leaders, going a lap down on lap 14.

Despite being a lap down, Mark was able to run amongst the race's leaders Mark is black-flagged on 1st lap

for most of the day. The Viagra® Racing Team spent the next several laps desperately in need of a caution that would never come. Markn continued to run with the field's leaders throughout the day; by lap 121 Mark was in 30th position and the first car one lap down. By lap 142, Mark was running 27th, just behind the race leader and teammate Kurt Busch. The team came in one lap later for their fourth pit stop of the day to take on right side tires and fuel. Mark returned to the field in 30th place, but a blown tire sent him back into the pits just two laps later. When Mark returned to the race, he was in 32nd position and two laps down.

"I think that we would have been okay if we hadn't have blown the tire later in the race," said Mark. "I guess you could just say that it wasn't our day today. We couldn't really have anything go wrong and it seemed like everything did."

"That's the kind of blow that really takes you out of these things and we can't afford for that to happen anymore. It was a great fight for the race team, but the flat cost us probably another 10 spots. We did all we could do under the circumstances and that's all we can do."

The veteran driver was able to hold position and his second place standing in the point race. Jimmy Johnson, who had entered the race leading the points fell to third place and Tony Stewart assumed the points lead, leading Mark by just 72 points heading into next weekend. Mark leads third place by 10 points, while only 147 points separates first and fifth place with only six races remaining.

Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® Racing Team return to action next week in Charlotte where Mark last won last May's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway.