forced to settle for mediocrity -- it’s simply the nature
of the game. Not everyone can be a contender. Some drivers,
however, refuse to simply “ride around.”Mark is one such individual. For years, Mark and Jimmy Fennig served as the model for a successful driver/crew chief relationship, having fostered a rock-solid bond that helped produce a number of wins and poles, not to mention a run at the 1998 Winston Cup championship after a seven-win season.
However, the three subsequent seasons have produced just three victories. Mark failed to win a single race in 2001. And despite 15 top-10 finishes, three top fives and two poles, he finished outside the top-10 in points for the first time since 1988.
Refusing to be merely average, change was inevitable at Roush Racing.
"Some people think that I race to just run in circles out on the track," Mark said. "But that is just not the case at all. I race and live to run good out there on the track. Just being out there is not what does it for me. It's running the best you can and competing."
Therefore, last month team owner Jack Roush decided it was time for a change, and flip-flopped crew chiefs between Mark and youngster Kurt Busch, which left Fennig to direct Kurt Busch’s No. 97 Ford team and Ben Leslie to lead Mark’s troops.
"I'm real excited about the upcoming season and the opportunity to have and work with a fresh group," Mark said. "I think that the new lineup brings new ideas to the table and makes it really exciting and challenging. Changes like that have been real good for us in the past.”
Roush successfully tried a similar fix in 1997. The result? Mark’s aforementioned career-year in 1998. After the 1997 season, Mark and the No. 6 team brought in an almost entirely different lineup within the team and went on to score 22 top-five finishes during the 1998 season.
"I'm excited to be working with the people I'm working with and I'm excited about getting competitive again," Mark said. "We basically did it in '98 and it worked really well for us."
In Mark’s mind, his prospects almost have to improve from last year.
"In my entire racing career I've never had a year where I was not competitive," Mark said. "But last season there were times when we just were not (competitive). I've run races for 25 years and it's just hard to say why that happens."
One thing is for sure, last season’s nightmare is over, and Mark is committed to a return to prominence.
"I'm not much for setting goals on wins, points or position," Mark said. "My goal and the goal of this team is to do all we can do, give all we can give and put all the effort we have into winning.
"I'm a competitor. I want to win every pole, every race, every practice, you name it, but that's just not going to always happen. You can't control a flat tire here or a part going bad there. There are so many things out there that you can't control.
"I'm committed to this season and I'm looking forward to the process that goes into making us competitive. And that starts long before the first race in February. I am concentrating on trying to win races in 2002.”
