his racecar, spending every moment at the track worried about swaybars and trackbars
and downforce. But there is one big difference in Mark these days. He's smiling.
Not the forced, tight-lipped smiles of the past, but a big toothy grin that is
followed by — hold onto your hats — a laugh or two.For the first time in a long time, Mark is happy. He's happy on the track and off, at home and in the garage. For the rest of us, this may take some getting used to.
You can't blame Mark for his constant scowl last season. The man labeled "Mr. Consistency" during the 1990s was anything but. After getting caught up in "the big one" at Daytona, the 20-year veteran couldn't get out of his own way for nearly five months. In the season's first eleven races, he posted three top 10s, but those were overshadowed by four DNFs and seven finishes of 20th or worse. By the time he finished 39th at Martksville in April, he had bottomed out at 26th in points and was already out of contention for the Winston Cup title.
For the first time in his amazing career, the media vultures were circling overhead.
Mark said some very honest things when asked about the immediate success of NASCAR's new young breed of drivers. With drivers like teammates Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth in mind, Martk said that drivers in their 40s "aren't what drivers are in their 20s" and that as a race fan he gets excited watching the young guns. The next week in a national newspaper, those quotes were not presented quite that way.
"The words surfaced that I had lost my will to win," says the owner of 32 victories, fourth among active drivers. "I will never get over that. There are certain scars that never heal, and that was a scar that will leave me bitter as long as I think about racing."
His face reddens as he remembers. "I have been more honest and more realistic than almost anyone in this garage, and for that, I got blasted and taken advantage of. When you run well, you get away with anything. You can say anything. But now I have learned that when you don't run well, you have to guard yourself."
And that's exactly what Mark did for the remainder of 2001. He only talked to the reporters that he trusted and ignored everyone else. The strategy seemed to work. Very quietly over the second half of the season, the number six car started posting top 10s once again. A late fall slide dropped Martk to a final points rank of 12th, the first time he had not finished in the top 10 since 1988.
During the off-season, car owner Jack Roush started shuffling his deck of cards, swapping out Mark's entire crew with the crew of Kurt Busch. Most saw the move as a signal that Roush was moving his veteran team over to further develop the sophomore Busch. What it became was a shot in the arm for both the youngster and the old man.
"(Former crew chief) Jimmy Fennig and I are real close. It was a difficult
time for us both. But there were a lot of issues. Mainly, you can't keep
doing things the same way and expect the same results."Over came youngster Ben Leslie with a fresh perspective. The results were immediate — and that smile of confidence that had been missing soon reappeared.
"It's so much fun!" He sits up in his seat like he has just discovered something. "I'll be racing, and Ben will say 'Concentrate!' and I love it. That doesn't offend me at all. What he means is 'Dadgummit, let's do it now ...let's go!'"
The pep talks are working. Mark has already posted as many top fives as the entire 2001 season (three) and twice as many top tens as he had at this point one year ago (six). Ten races into the season, the 43-year old is sixth in points and just 80 points out of second. Who sits second? Busch, with Mark's rejuvenated former crew.
"I think it was the best thing to happen to Kurt," Mark says. "It was the best thing to happen to Jimmy and to (car chief) Shawn Parker. I think I've helped Ben an awful lot. When I go into the garage, it is like sticking my finger in an electrical socket. I mean, these guys are pumped. And so am I."
And with that, he just looks into the camera and smiles. Competition beware, he kicked your butts when he was unhappy. Just imagine what he might do now.
