He has won three in a row here. He is always a contender on
the road course. The Mark fans will have something to cheer
for. So what happened?
There was no domination. There was no coming to the
front, no challenge for the lead. Gee, there was
nothing. Was he even on camera? He really was in the
race, wasn't he?Mark Martin in the Viagra #6 Ford Taurus has not shined this year for his fans. At first it seemed like a Roush thing. But Jeff Burton has found something. He's getting to the front. Not like he use to mind you, but he's getting there. Mark isn't. What is going on?
Is it a car problem? Maybe it's the new tire compound slowing up progress? An ape, and not a monkey on his back? What? The fans want to know! He is breaking my heart on Sunday's and killing my fantasy league scores!
The GM cars got some extra nose. The Dodge contenders just got some extra inches out front. Do the Fords need help? With Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd both in Fords fighting for the point lead, could that actually be it? I remember in the not so distant past, when Jeff Gordon was dominating the series, it didn't stop the other Chevy teams from going to NASCAR for some help in the aero-department. I think Jack should be camping out on their doorstep.
I heard that Mark wasn't running the Busch Grand National series to focus on his Winston Cup ride. Well? He isn't running the IROC series either. So where is all this concentrating?
Mark started out the season finishing in the 33rd position in the Daytona 500. His first top 10 came at Las Vegas, the third race of the season. A team noted for usually having a rough first half to come back with a strong second half of the season, there was still time. The #6 team's first top 5 came at Talladega of all places, the 9th race. That was a long wait.
With the 22nd race in the books, Mark has had only 3 top 5 finishes. With only 9 top 10's and no wins it's a wonder that Mark is in the 12th spot. Does that mean there are a lot of other drivers having worse luck?
At the conclusion of the Watkins Glen race last season
Mark and his team managed 9 top 5 finishes.
With a win at Martinsville and 12 finishes in the top
10, the team sat 9th in points. And 2000 wasn't a
good season either.5 finishes versus Jeff Gordon's 2, 30th or worse. In all of last season the 6 team had 7 finishes worse than 30th. His average finish last season was just a tad over 13th place, already this season he is averaging about 17th. And that's on a good day.
Mark is renowned for letting a faster competitor pass him on the track only to pass them later. Well, he is still letting them pass; there just isn't the march back to the front. Has this team in just 2 short years fallen from a point contender week in and week out to a driver relegated to being happy with a top 20?
No interviews this season. It's like he is missing in action. But there really hasn't been much to interview Mark about. He did win the pole at Richmond in May, but finished 15th. He was leading laps early in the season, but honestly, most of those bonus points came from green flag pitstops. Thank god for good fuel mileage. 80 bonus points gained leading at least one lap. All of last season the team only received 95 bonus points. If you were to take away the bonus points Mark's team would be in the exact same spot, but his teammates Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth would be all over his bumper. Going into Michigan should be a good thing. Mark and his team run strong there. Can you remember the time this team came back from 2 laps down after a tire went down, to cross the finish line first for the win? Is this the same team? Are they capable of such a great run again? Haven't seen it yet and there is only 14 races left before the season winds up.
What about a team change? Could that help Mark
finally win that championship? With so many kettles on
the boil at the Roush camp, between the truck series
and the Grand National series as well as 3 other
Winston Cup teams, maybe it's Jack Roush who needs
to concentrate on his Winston Cup efforts. Or is he
concentrating on another team in his stable? Mark
would be an asset to any team he drove for.
Jack should keep that in mind.Are the glory days gone for Mark and his #6 team? Did his chances for the Winston Cup championship title go by? Will he be a contender again? Just look at Ricky Rudd. He gave up his owner's hat and dismal standings for a run at the title. He is back in the game. He is a contender again. Looks like it's possible to fall back, just as long as you do what you got to, to get back to the front and stay there.
May the force be with Mark! Your fans are behind you; it's the rest of the field you need behind you as well.
