The 2004 Ford 400

Mark and the Viagra Race Team concluded the 2004 season with a solid 11th place Mark leads the way at the 2004 Ford 400

finish in the season’s final race at Homestead. The finish was good enough to move Mark past Dale Earnhardt Jr. for fourth place in the final Nextel Cup point standings. Mark had driven his No. 6 Ford into the top-five before taking the lead on lap 192, and looked poised for a top-five finish before a cut tire late in the race moved Mark to the back of the lead lap. The veteran was able to battle back through the field, coming up just short of a top-10 finish when the final checkered flag fell.

The ‘battle to the end’ finish seemed fitting for a team that had fought back time and time again during the course of the season. After starting the season in last place after Daytona, Mark came back to claim his 11th career top-five points finish and his second top-four in the past three seasons.

"It was a great effort by the Viagra team,” said Mark. “We had a pretty good car. We put ourselves in a position to be a contender there and then we had a flat tire under caution, so I'm not gonna say it was bad luck. If it was bad luck, we would have had it under green. With the way things turned out, the best we could have done was fourth and we did that. I'm real proud and honored to work with these guys and I'm also honored just to be racing with these great young drivers out here. I'm gonna be watching them for a long time.

“As for Pat Tryson and this team I just can’t say enough,” added Mark. “They could have quit so many times, but they just kept plugging away. I look forward to coming back with this team next year and going after the championship again.”

Mark started the race 11th and struggled early with the car’s handling. By lap 21 Mark had dropped back to 16th place, before the car began to come around. Mark had moved back to 13th position by lap 48 when the day’s third caution was issued for debris on the front stretch. The team came into the pits for four tires and fuel and to make wedge and air pressure adjustments to free the car’s handling. After a stop of 14.07-seconds, Mark returned to the field in 11th place when the field went green.

The veteran broke into the top 10 for the first time of the day on lap 58 and moved all the way to eighth place by lap 69 before the car’s handling again became tight. Mark was back in ninth when caution number four was called on lap 92. Once again the team used the opportunity to come into the pits for four tires fuel and additional wedge and air pressure adjustments to again free up the car. A quick 13.80-second stop sent Mark back out in eighth place. By lap 110 he had powered the car into sixth place, where he was running when caution was called on lap 113. With the car still ‘too tight’ Mark again came down pit road for four fresh tires and adjustments. Some teams opted for two tires or fuel only and Mark restarted the race in 10th place.

Mark was still running in sixth and battling a ‘loose in and tight off’ Taurus when the team entered the pits under caution on lap 148 to again take four tires and make wedge and air pressure adjustments. The team turned in a stop of 13.47 seconds but dropped to 15th place when the majority of the teams either stayed out or took two tires only. Mark had moved to 14th place by the time caution number nine was called on lap 173. This time crew chief Pat Tryson opted for a fuel only stop. A few cars stayed out and Mark found himself in 15th position when the field went green on lap 177.

The car settled in and Mark embarked on his most successful run of the day. The Blue Crew gets Mark track position

Turning the fastest times on the racetrack, Mark moved into 12th place in just one lap. By lap 180 he had moved back inside the top 10, taking over ninth place from teammate Carl Edwards. Mark radioed the team the ‘car was really good,’ as he moved inside the top five for the first time of the day on lap 189. A caution one lap later gave Mark the opportunity to stay out on the track and the No. 6 took the lead under caution on lap 192. Mark held the lead for the next seven laps and found himself just nine points out of first place in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, when the day’s 11th caution was called on lap 199. The team came into the pits one lap later. The Viagra crew reeled off a 13.73-second stop, but Mark was on a different cycle than the majority of the field and returned in 18th place when green-flag racing resumed on lap 206.

Mark had moved up to 15th by the time caution was called on lap 223 for the 12th time of the day. The team was set to stay out and Mark moved up to ninth place. However the team noticed that the left-rear tire was going down and Mark had to come down pit road late under caution to replace the damaged tire. The stop dropped Mark back to 26th when the field went green and pretty much ended his bid for the 2004 Nextel Cup. Still, as they did all year, the No. 6 Viagra Team refused to give up. By lap 240 Mark had moved his No. 6 Ford back inside the top-20. Mark was up to 17th when caution number 13 was called on lap 252 with only 15 laps to go. The team decided to pit for fresh tires and Mark returned in 20th place when the field went green with 10 scheduled laps remaining. Mark broke back into the top 15 just before the day’s 14th and final caution was called on lap 264 with just three scheduled laps remaining. Two of the cars that had opted for different pit cycles ran out of gas under caution and Mark restarted the race in 13th place for the green-white checkered finale to the 2004 season. In an all Roush day, teammate Greg Biffle won the race while Roush’s Kurt Busch took home the Nextel Cup.

As always Mark refused to give up, taking two more positions in the three lap shootout and coming up just short of 10th as the team brought home the 11th place finish.

The finish put Mark in fourth place, 32 points ahead of fifth place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 107 points behind Busch. Busch and Mark joined fellow Roush teammate Matt Kenseth in the final Nextel Cup Top 10.

Mark finishes the year with one win, 10 top-five, 15 top-10, and 25 top-15 finishes in 36 races. In addition to the win, Mark finished second on five occasions, including three times during the final 10-race chase. The fourth-place finish marks Mark’s 14 top-10 points finish in the last 16 seasons.

"The team fought hard all year,” said Mark. “We came out 43rd in points leaving Daytona with our hearts broken and battled our way all the way back to fourth. I'm proud of them for that. The guys did a great job. I'm proud of them and I look forward to next year. I'm going try to keep all of these guys together and we're going to make a real effort to be in first place at the end of this deal next year."