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| Pontiacs paced the field early in the race with Ward Burton and Bobby Labonte sharing the lead. Burton's win was Pontiac's first at Darlington since 1963 |
Mark started the day in fifth place based on Friday’s
qualifying speed of 171.172 mph. Mark spent the first 20
laps of the race avoiding the accidents which brought out
three caution flags. On lap 18, he pitted for adjustments to
help tighten up the car. Mark came into the pits in third
place, but ended up in 27th place when the car stalled leaving
the pits.
The Valvoline/Cummins Taurus began to push, but Mark still
moved toward the front of the field. By the next pit stop on
lap 57, the crew reversed their previous adjustment and
Mark returned to the track in 10th place. He continued to
run around 10th place for much of the race, despite the fact
the car still was not handling very well. With every new set
of tires, the car would be loose early in the run and then
push after about 30 laps. Mark did his best with the car
and brought home a ninth place finish for the day. Ward
Burton claimed his first victory since 1995, and four of the
five Roush Racing cars finished in the top 10.“That was a tough race for us,” Mark said. “We were in a hole early in the race after that first pit stop when the car stalled. The crew did a great job with pit stops and tried their best to help me get the car better. I’m pleased to end up with a top 10 finish and it was another good day for us in the championship battle.” Mark is currently second in the Winston Cup point standings, trailing Bobby Labonte by only nine points. This weekend the teams will be challenged by the half-mile oval of Bristol Motor Speedway. |
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