The Golden Corral 500

"We had a really good car today” said Mark after Sunday’s Golden Corral 500 Mark battling back

at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “The car was loose early and we badly needed to be able to come into the pits and make adjustments, but those long green-flag runs really hurt us and we ended up going a lap down.”

“Once we adjusted the car it got a lot better and we were the first car on our lap for most of the race, but we never were able to get a caution at the right time that would have allowed us back on the lead lap. We were in the lucky dog spot forever at the end there and didn't get the caution. We seem to get them when we're not in the right spot, but that's OK. If we had caught that break, then we would have finished a lot better, but it was another solid run.”

Mark’s car was fast right off the truck on Friday morning, but the car’s handling became looser and Mark had to run a more conservative lap in qualifying, and the team had to settle for a 27th-place start. However, Mark wasted little time on Sunday as the checkered flag drop, powering the No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Ford Taurus inside the top 20 by lap 17.

Mark had moved into 15th place by lap 55, but the car’s handling became even looser and Mark went a lap down to race leader Tony Stewart on lap 104. The team came down pit road on lap 118 for its second stop of the day to take on four tires, fuel and attempt to tighten the car’s handling with a wedge adjustment. However, the crew had a problem in the pits fueling the car and valuable time was lost on pit road. After the stop Mark returned to the field in 21st place and would have to fight his way back through traffic.

Knowing the first car to be one lap down will receive its lap back upon caution, Mark battled his way through the field. An excellent pit stop of 13.78 seconds under caution on lap 151 gave the team a bit of pit road redemption, while moving Mark up to 17th place when the field returned to green.

Mark ran lap times as fast or faster than the leader and he worked his way to the front of his lap, overtaking the No. 40 car of Sterling Marlin to take the ‘lucky dog’ position on lap 167. Mark ran in 15th place – the first car a lap down – for the next 46 laps, until loose handling conditions forced him to lose the position to the No. 0 car on lap 205.

Caution was called for only the third time of the day on lap 245, with Mark running as the second car one lap down. Another 14-second stop helped Mark move back to the front of the lap, where he would run for the remainder of the race. Despite being one of the fastest cars on the track for several runs, and passing several of the lead-lap cars, Mark would be unable to gain the lap back. On the day, Mark ran 122 laps in the ‘lucky dog’ position, but the team was stuck waiting for a caution that would never come, as they were forced to settle for a 14th-place finish, the first car one lap down.

“We had a top 10 car today,” added Mark. “I just didn't get my lap back. I was real close and I would have if a caution had come out in the last 75 laps. If that would have happened, then we could have gone right up into the top 10.”

"But I tell you what, we have a great race team and had a better car than our finish showed today. We had a great effort and a reasonable finish.”

“We are just going to keep chipping away at it,” said Mark. “We're running good and working well together as a team. Pat is doing a heck of a job and we’ll get better and put together some solid finishes that will get us in that top 10 after 26. Then it’s an all new deal and we’ll make a run at it down the road."

The run moved Mark up three places to 17th in the Nextel Cup point standings, only 32 points outside of the top 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. went on to win the race.

Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® Racing Team return to action next week at Darlington Raceway.