The 2005 Food City 500

Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team went into Looks Like Talladega

Sunday’s Food City 500 knowing they had their work cut out for them, but they were ready for the challenge. Despite struggling with the car for most of the day on Friday and turning a disappointing qualifying lap, Mark and crew chief Pat Tryson worked with the car for much of the race before finding the handle and mounting a solid march for the top 10, before being taken out of contention by a multi-car accident on lap 330.

“I don’t really know what happened,” said Mark just moments after exiting his mangled No. 6 Ford Taurus. “All I really know is that they started crashing in front of me and I hit them and then they started crashing behind me. It seemed like a pretty big wreck to me.”

Mark started back in 34th and patiently fought his way up the field. The team stayed out after the day’s ninth caution on lap 324 and looked to be in its best position of the day after restarting in 11th position. Just seconds later optimism turned to disappointment as Mark had nowhere to go when the No. 32 car of Bobby Hamilton Jr. got into the back of the No. 49 car. The contact caused a chain reaction that would see 14 cars caught up in its wrath.

“I just had nowhere to go,” said Mark. “We were completely blocked in and trapped with cars all around us.”

True to form the team refused to give up, working feverishly to repair Mark severely damaged Ford. The effort allowed Mark to go back out on the track, where he ran the final 70 laps without the benefit of power steering. The effort paid off, resulting in Mark gaining three valuable positions up to 31st place – 94 laps down.

“The guys just did a great job getting the car back in good enough shape to go back out on the track,” said Mark. “Every point counts in these things and this team always refuses to give up. It was a tough day, but again a great effort by everyone on this Viagra® Racing Team.”

Mark started the day in 34th place. He broke into the top 20 after staying Mark Leads The Way

out during the day’s third caution on lap 48. The team stayed out again under caution 16 laps later and Mark moved up to second place – his top position of the day – when the field restarted on lap 74. Mark was quickly hung out on the top-side of the track, as a freight train of cars were able to pass him on the bottom, dropping the No. 6 Viagra® Ford to 24th position by lap 24.

Mark had moved back up to 20th place when the team came into pit on lap 185, under the seventh caution of the day. A solid 13.75-second stop to take on tour tires and fuel put Mark back out in 17th position when the field resumed green-flag racing on lap 191. By the half-way mark on lap 250, Mark had positioned himself solidly in 15th place.

Another solid pit stop under caution on lap 301 positioned Mark in 14th place and allowed him to stay out on the next caution and move up to 11th, before getting caught up in the accident on lap 332.

Despite the finish, Mark remains in the Nextel Cup top 10, in tenth place only two points out of eighth place and 230 out of first. The ‘Salute’ Tour heads to another short track next weekend, as Mark and the team return to action at Martinsville where Mark boasts two career victories.