It wasn't like winning the Daytona 500
but after laying on his back for seven weeks, it was still a major
accomplishment. Mark climbed back behind the wheel of his race car
Jan 21 for the first time since having major back surgery Nov 22.
Mark made three short runs during the morning practice at Daytona
International Speedway, then participated in a 45-minute drafting
session in the afternoon. What did it mean to him to be back in
a race car. "Not as much as bringing home the trophy would
but that's a start," Mark said. "It felt good to put the uniform on
and it felt good to get in the car. It felt so good to go fast
relative to what I've been doing lately, but not relative to the
competition yet. We're still working on that part.
"Three weeks ago as I was laying down 22 hours a day. I've come
a long way in three weeks and I have three more before all of
this starts and four until the Daytona 500, so I'm gonna be
strong and prepared. I'm planning on being bulletproof by the
time the 500 starts." Mark, who had lumbar fusion surgery
to repair damaged vertebrae in his back, and attended the
first Ford test session but watched as Rousch Racing teammate
Greg Biffle drove his No. 6 Ford. He was finally cleared to
race again after meeting with his doctor Jan 20. He says
he will probably not test again, however, until practice starts
at Daytona later this month. "I'm not gonna be doing any major testing
I'm gonna use this time to heal as much as possible and use the time
to get strong and not waste it on making laps when I don't
need to," he said. Mark said his doctors have been amazed
at how quickly he has recovered from a major operation. He attributes
it to his intense workout routines over the years.
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"They're standing around with their
mouths open right now, they can't believe it," Mark said. "I think
being in good physical condition has made a big difference
in the recovery time. We've cut it way short. "I didn't ask them
what the recovery (time) would be. I didn't want to know. It didn't
matter because I had to get the work done. I would have just
agonized over it a lot more if I had would have known how bad
it was gonna be and how serious an operation it really was.
They're amazed, but I'm just happy, I feel good and I'm so thankful."
Mark's practice laps were his first under NASCAR's new shock
rules, which has made the ride around Daytona and Talledega much
smoother. Many believe the old rules, which shook drivers
violently, contributed to the back problems Mark, Dale Earnhardt
and others have experienced. "It felt great," Mark said
of the new rules. "It's something we needed to do. It puts
everybody on an even playing field and the cars handle good.
That's what you need. You don't need that other stuff that
we were doing because it really didn't have to do
with anything. The neat thing now is people are practicing
their qualifying setup and if they want to go draft all they
have to do is open up the grille and go out and draft. They're
ready to go instead of doing something all winter long preparing
for two laps that really don't count for a lot anyway because
you're starting position is determined by your finish in the
125-mile qualifying race." Mark also gave favorable reviews
of the new 2000 Ford Taurus, which was redesigned. "I drove it
in Atlanta last fall and I knew it was gonna be a good car," he
said. "Our race team has been on that team developing the car
along the way and it's gonna be a good piece. I can't wait
to get started racing."
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