The 2005 Golden Corral 500

Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team posted a Mark battles in Atlanta in the pits too

strong fourth-place run in Sunday’s Golden Corral 500 for their first top-five of the season. The run moved Mark up four positions to fifth place in the Nextel Cup point standings.

“It was a great effort by this Viagra® Racing Team,” said Mark after the race. “We had a good car, but it just wasn’t quite good enough to win. It was top five for most of the day, but we just weren’t strong enough to pull anything out there at the end.

“Still it’s a solid run and a good finish and we’ll take it and move on to the next one,” added Mark. Pat (Tyson) and the whole Viagra® Team continue to do a great job and it’s an honor to work with these guys.”

Mark started 12th and moved his Viagra® Ford inside the top 10 on lap six, where he would run the remainder of the day with the exception of pitting cycles. By lap 52 Mark broke inside the top-five and he would be a top-five contender from that point on. Mark moved around the No. 25 car to take fourth place with only 12 laps to go in the race and he would hang on from there for the finish.

Mark moved up to third place on lap 185 and he was running the fastest lap times on the track by lap 196. He was able to lead a lap on pit road, earning five bonus points, after coming into the pits on the day’s fourth caution.

‘We were awfully good on the long runs,” added Mark. “We did good to come out where we did with that short of a run at the end. Our car was really good on long runs and gave up some on the short ones and we just couldn’t get a long run to end the race.

Indeed no car was stronger on the long run than the Viagra® Taurus. Mark posted his strongest run late in the race during a 40 lap green-flag run, when he climbed up the field from seventh to third place by lap 277. Mark was catching the leaders two-tenths a lap when the day’s sixth caution occurred just one lap later on lap 278. The team came down pit road for four tires and fuel on lap 281, and a 14.24-second stop sent Mark back out in third position. However, the car struggled on the restart and he quickly fell back to fifth, where he was running when caution was again called on lap 295.

The team came down pit road again, this time for four tires only (no fuel) and Mark went back out in fifth place when the field resumed green-flag racing on lap 299 with 26 laps remaining. Mark moved into fourth 14 laps later where he would finish the race.

“I had to work a lot today and so did all of my Viagra® team,” added Mark. “We had this Taurus pretty hooked up, but it wasn't good enough to pull it off there at the end. It was a good run and I'm awfully proud of all these guys. We’ll go after it again in Bristol.”

The finish was Mark’s first top-five of the season and his third top-10 in four races. Mark’s teammate Carl Edwards finished first for his first career Nextel Cup victory. He joined Mark and fellow Roush driver Greg Biffle (fourth), as Roush boasted three drivers in the top 10. In addition Roush leaves Atlanta owning four of the top-five points positions in the Nextel Cup top-10.

NASCAR takes next week off, before returning to action in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.