Not that he's blind to the contents.Mark knows better than anyone how bad this season has been, at least for a top driver such as himself. The list of low points is long, the winless streak stretches a little more every week, and the team sits outside the top 10 in points.
But Mark, often accused of languishing in depression, sees the light peeking through the clouds. He knows there's an end to the tough spell somewhere.
Listening to him talk about this season, his life and career, one gets the feeling Mark already has come out of this dry spell. He can find the good in this season that has left him 11th in points and without a win in his past 55 races.
He believes the worst is behind him. He believes the wins could come at any time, even in today's Old Dominion 500 at Marksville Speedway. If they don't, he's not giving up.
"Do not question my commitment or my will because it's the same as it's always been, and it will continue to be because that's me. I can't give you an answer for why we haven't won seven races like we did in '98. I couldn't tell you then why we were running so good. . . . Now we're working and working hard and have a great race team. There are no defects."
Looking over his season, Mark said he's been hurt by some articles. But he says he's probably to blame - he sometimes says things that can be misinterpreted without explaining them.
Now he's making a few things clear.
Mark is not retiring, moving on, slowing down or considering the end of his career. He is spending next season racing with Roush Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth. According to Mark, neither is considering leaving the Roush fold. They plan to figure out the problems that have caused each of the teams to struggle this season.
For Mark, racing is not about love for the sport or making money. It's about commitment, the kind that makes a man put his career before almost everything else.
"My commitment is that I believe when you have a broken bone, when you're sick as a dog or you have a death in the family, you still test, you still practice, you qualify and then you race," Mark said. "That being said, I have a long-term commitment, and the priority will never shift until that commitment goes away."
And that won't be anytime soon. Mark's contract runs through 2005 - he's not thinking that the end of that contract will be the end of his commitment to racing. When will Mark decide to walk away?
"I can't tell you when that day is, but I can tell you that it won't come for quite some time," Mark said.
Philosophically reviewing his sport, Mark said he doesn't love racing. He loves competing. He loves winning. But he wouldn't just go turn laps in a Winston Cup car for the fun of it. Not if he wasn't working toward something.
It's too hard and requires too much sacrifice. Mark only gets to see his son, Matt, race occasionally. He's given up personal time, driven through all kinds of pain, to get where he is. To him, that's a part of his profession.
Mark may not win today. He may never win again or he may be a future Winston Cup champion. But he plans to keep on trying for a long time. The rewards, in the long run, are worth it.
"Racing deals you all kinds of blows," Mark said. "You have to race when you're physically in pain, mentally in pain and emotionally in pain. The real winners race through all of that. It will also bring you the greatest high and the most joy of anything I've ever dealt with."
