Winston Cup teams begin gearing up for a month of
testing at the famed Daytona International Speedway
in January. Mark will be driving for one of those teams, as
Ford is scheduled to test there on Jan. 8-9th.Mark will be approaching Daytona with a fresh and positive outlook for the 2001 season. Following dismal finishes of 31st and 17th at that track in 1999, the Batesville, Arkansas-driver fared much better in 2000 -- chalking up two top-five finishes.
With renewed confidence in his restrictor plate program, Mark hopes to get his newly adorned Pfizer Ford Taurus up to speed quickly.
"I am very optimistic about the test next week," Mark said. "We made huge gains in our superspeedway program last year, so I am sure we will be able to take what we learned and improve on that."
Mark drove the same Roush Racing chassis in both Daytona races last year, in addition to both events at Talladega Superspeedway -- earning 6th and 7th place finishes there. This being the first time that Mark has survived all four restrictor plate races in one season, the team has opted to bring that same lucky car to next week's test session.
"We are going to test JR-59 which is what we ran at Daytona and Talladega last year as well as a new car we have built this winter," Mark said. "We made some trips to the wind tunnel last month and we were pleased with the numbers we saw. We're hoping to make the new car as strong as JR-59 so we can run the best car in the Daytona 500 and save the other one for the Budweiser Shootout since we are in that race now."
This February 18th will mark the 17th Daytona 500 start of
his career for Mark. Last year's 5th place finish was one
of only three top-fives that he has scored in the
"Super Bowl" of stock car racing, but it was the first
time in years that he felt he had a good chance at winning.
If not for a drafting-deal-gone-sour with eventual race
winner Dale Jarrett, Mark feels he could have won that
prestigious event."If I am in the same position this year I won't believe what anybody promises me," Mark said. "I learned a very important lesson last year. The only person on the track who wants me to win the race is me. Teammates can help throughout the race, but when it comes down to the end, they want to win just as badly as I do. I'll remember that this year when I have the checkered flag in my sights."
