week in preparation for the upcoming Virginia 500 on April 8.
The test was originally scheduled for last week, but bad
weather forced them to change their plans. The
ViagraŽ (sildenafil citrate) Racing team is testing
JR-55, which Mark has not raced yet this year. This car ran
four races last year, but Martinsville was not one of them.Mark won the spring race at Martinsville last year, so it is surprising that the team would test for a race they won recently. According to Mark, it should not be that surprising.
"We never really feel like we're as good there as we need to be there, "Mark said. "We want to get a head start since we still consider Martinsville one of our weakest tracks. Even though I have won there twice, it is never easy for me."
Mark won last year's race when he inherited the lead after the leaders who had not pitted earlier when Mark did came into the pits. He led the final 64 laps to win his only Winston Cup race of the 2000 season. His race there last fall was not as good. Mark finished 18th, one lap down to the leaders. Based on that performance, he and the team knew they had more work to do at the 0.526-mile facility.
"With the limited practice time we get at the track each weekend we knew there were a lot of things we would not have time to try there," Mark said. "It was important to use one of our tests at Martinsville to see if we can learn some things that we wouldn't have time to experiment with, like different set-ups with springs and shocks. If we can learn what will work for us at the test, then we can take the set-up and refine it once we get to the track for the race."
