Harrah's 500

The Viagra team had a little Mark Martin

something to celebrate this weekend after Mark posted his second top-10 finish of the year. Mark qualified eighth and finished ninth in the Harrah's 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The team had some trouble getting a handle on the car during the race, but their efforts -- and the efforts of their driver -- produced the top-10 result. "We could never get the handling right all day," Mark said. "We qualified well, but we were a little off during practice on Saturday. We had a pretty decent finish and a good day in the pits. The whole team worked really hard to help me get this top-10 finish. This team never gives up and that is why we all work so well together. They do all they can to give me a good car and I give everything I have to drive it as fast as I can."

OFF TO MARTINSVILLE:
After two days of testing at Martinsville last week, Mark is looking forward to a good run at the .526-mile short track. "There is never enough time at the track to try a bunch of really different setups," said Mark, who won at Martinsville last spring. "We spent two solid days on the track and ran a bunch of laps. We ran 335 laps on Tuesday and 338 laps on Wednesday, so I feel like we should be prepared for this weekend." Mark will drive JR-55, the same car he tested at Martinsville. It will be the car's debut in 2001, but it posted one top-five (Las Vegas) and one top-10 (Darlington) in 2000.

A GOOD RECORD, BUT NOT A FAVORITE TRACK:
"I've never been shy about saying that Martinsville is one of my least favorite tracks," Martin said. "It was a huge surprise to me that I won last year. We owe that win to smart pit strategy. Jimmy Fennig made the call to stay out when the leaders pitted and I was able to stay up front the remainder of the race." In 30 career starts at Martinsville, Mark has two wins, 10 top fives, 17 top 10s, and three poles.

BUILDING ON SUCCESS:
"We're coming off a good top-10 finish at Texas and I hope to improve on that at Martinsville," Martin said. "I would really be happy with another top 10 since this track is one of our weakest. If we can just keep finishing consistently up front, then climbing up through the points will come naturally. We gained five positions in the points after Texas, so with a little luck and a good car, we can do that again this weekend."