Friday, when he takes aim at extending his own
International Race of Champions series record with a
fifth championship, he plans to lighten up."This is going to be a fun race," Mark said. "I worked like crazy to do everything I had to do in order to win my fifth championship last year, but I still lost by one point."
Like this year, the final event of the four-race 1999 IROC championship took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Mark did all he could do, leading the last 32 of 40 laps on the 2.5-mile oval, winning the race and earning the maximum of 26 points.
But Dale Earnhardt, himself a three-time IROC champion, did just what he had to do, finishing eighth in last year's finale and winning the title by one point.
The seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion goes into Friday's 100-mile race holding a 12-point, 57-45, edge over runner-up Mark. Fellow NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte are tied with 43 points, and are the only other drivers among the 12 entries in the all-star race with a realistic chance to take the title if Earnhardt should falter.
"It's a race and anything can happen, but I like where I am," said Earnhardt, who will start last with the field lined up in reverse order of the point standings. "Last year, we cut it kind of close. I hope we can run a little stronger this time. It's tough with these cars being so close."
The drivers from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the Indy Racing League are competing in identically prepared Pontiac Trans-Am race cars.
Mark, who has never finished better than second in the
NASCAR Winston Cup Series points race, isn't overly
confident of catching Earnhardt on Friday."I've learned over the years that you just can't win everything and you just have to accept the results," Mark said. "This year, it will be a little harder for him to win, but there is a lot more competition behind both of us.
"Tony and Bobby have been good in every race we've run this year, so I don't expect that to change at Indy."
Mark, who has nine IROC victories, has not won yet this year, but he does have an impressive record at Indy. He has won both of the IROC races since the series arrived at the historic track in 1998.
In fact, his only IROC win last year came at Indy, so he is hoping he can repeat that success.
"It gets harder to win these races every year," said Mark, whose last title came in 1998. "If Earnhardt wins the championship again this year it will give him four titles also.
"I'm not quite ready to share that record yet. I'd really like to get my fifth title so I have a little cushion between us."
Mark will start alongside Earnhardt in the last row, with Stewart and Labonte just ahead of them. Up front will be IRL drivers Mark Dismore and Greg Ray, followed by NASCAR's Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and IRL driver Eddie Cheever Jr.
