2000 Global Crossing

Mark finally could smile.

Labonte starts the Glen

Mark, one of the best drivers never to win the NASCAR Winston Cup championship, finished second to Steve Park in Sunday's Global Crossing at Watkins Glen International. Considering what Mark has been through lately, that was a triumph.

"We've had a very tough summer," said Mark, who has finished second three times and third four times in the Winston Cup standings. "We got off to the best start we've ever gotten off to with the Valvoline team this year." But after taking the points lead with a sixth-place finish in the Diehard 500 at Talladega in mid-April, Mark fall off the pace.

Last week, he crashed on the 15th lap in the Brickyard 400 and finished last for the second straight race. Engine failure on the sixth lap of the Pennsylvania 500 three weeks ago relegated him to 43rd.

"It's just been one of those years where the things we couldn't control were really bad," said Mark.

Mark and Park

He's now ninth in points, 469 behind leader Bobby Labonte and only 20 ahead of Jeff Gordon.

Mark challenged Park over the final two laps on the 11-turn Watkins Glen course, at one point pulling right up to Park's rear bumper. But Mark never got the opportunity to pass for the lead.

"I was going to try to pass him anywhere I could," said Mark, who won three straight races at Watkins Glen (1993-95).

"We were putting pressure on him pretty hard there at the end. When we really turned it up and put the pressure on him, he withstood the pressure and never made a slip, and I never got alongside of him."

LOOKING TO IMPROVE AT MICHIGAN:
Coming off a much-needed second-place finish at Watkins Glen on Sunday, Mark and his Roush Racing team are hoping to improve on a 40th-place finish at Michigan in June.

Mark's car was loose throughout the race, and since there were no cautions for more than 100 laps, he was unable to pit for adjustments. By halfway, he was a lap down and an extra pit stop for a loose wheel put him another lap behind.

"Once we lost two laps, Jimmy Fennig and I decided to try something drastic during the rain delay," Mar said. "The changes we made helped the car and we were able to incorporate what we learned at a lot of other tracks this season. There was nothing we could do to salvage that race, so we tried some things to help us down the road. It has enhanced our flat-track performance, and it should make us even better on the banked tracks like Michigan. We were typically good there before, but I think this can help us even more."

In 29 career starts at Michigan, Mark has four wins, 12 top-five finishes and 20 top-10 finishes. "I've always considered Michigan one of my favorite tracks," Mark said. "It is nice and wide with plenty of room to pass. We've had a lot of good luck there in the past and I think we can be contenders this time."

MARK HOPES TO WIN FINAL BUSCH RACE AT MICHIGAN:
After a two-month break from the Busch Series, Mark and his Winn-Dixie team return to action Saturday at Michigan Speedway. It will be Mark's final BGN race at the two-mile oval. In seven career starts, he has two wins and has finished outside the top 10 only once, when he finished 11th in 1997.

"Michigan has always been a good track for me in the Winston Cup car so it makes sense that it would also be good for me in the Busch car," Mark said. "It would be very special for me to win my last Busch race at Michigan. Not only because it will be my last race there, but also because it would be in front of Jack Roush's hometown crowd. A lot of people in Livonia, Mich., work hard to support our teams and it's great when they can enjoy a win with us. I've had a lot of success in the Busch Series there, and I'd like to get one more before it ends." In 2000 BGN competition, Mark has won four races and finished in the top five in all eight of his starts. He is the record holder for career BGN wins with 44.

BGN RACING: TO COMPETE OR NOT COMPETE?:
Mark recently addressed the subject of Winston Cup drivers participating in Busch Grand National Events:

"I've never really considered myself to fall into the category of a Winston Cup driver that just runs certain big-money Busch races," Mark said. "I've run half of the Busch schedule for years, including 14 races this year. I think having the Winston Cup drivers compete has added a lot to the popularity of the Busch Series, but I also think that the Busch Series may be at a point where they really don't need us anymore."

Roush Racing's Matt Kenseth offered this viewpoint: "I've been on both sides of it because I was a Busch regular for almost three years, and now I'm running just a partial schedule," he said. "When I ran Busch and Mark, Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon came to run with us, you knew we were running with the very best. I liked the challenge, but I also knew my chances of winning weren't as good. Now I hope the Busch regulars just look at me as another competitor, a guy they want to outrun."


Congratulations, Steve Park, for the win at the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Crossing at the Glen in Watkins Glen NY.