The 2003 MBNA America 400

Mark and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team had a fast car for Mark at Dover

Sunday’s MBNA American 400 at Dover International Raceway, but once again the No. 6 team would fall victim to bad luck. The bad news in Sunday’s race was that Mark would finish 22nd and two laps down. The encouraging factor to be taken from the race was that Mark had one of - if not the – fastest cars on the track for much of the day.

Mark was loose early, cutting a tire and dropping all the way to 35th place before having to come into the pits to change tires. By the time the No. 6 car returned to the track Mark was running in last place at 43rd. Mark and the team would have their work cut out for them at that point, but in the end they would answer the challenge.

“We had a good car today,” said crew chief Ben Leslie. “We just had a bad break that went against us early. I believe that the right front tire was going down early and that hurt the car’s performance. By the time we realized it and came into the pits, we were in last place and three laps down. Still, in the end we had one of the fastest cars on the track for a lot of the day.”

“This was a solid effort by the Viagra® Team,” said Mark. “We got down early, but we didn’t give up. The car was fast and the guys had a great effort in the pits and we were able to make something out of nothing. At one point we were last, but we didn’t give up.”

Mark started the race 16th on points, after Friday’s qualifying was cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Isabel. Several teams had complained about debris on the track for several laps early, and Mark was one of a hand full of drivers to cut a tire early, despite the fact that caution was never issued. After coming in to change the tire on lap 42, the No. 6 Viagra® Ford was running in the back of the field.

In addition, NASCAR’s most recent rule of no racing back to the caution, would make it that much more difficult for Mark to work his way up the field. The team used a caution on lap 79 to come into the pits, take four tires and add a spring rubber to tighten the car’s handling. When the field went green Mark was running in 37th place.

The team made additional wedge adjustments under caution on lap 167 and returned to the field in 35th place. By lap 227 Mark had moved all the way up to 28th place and was the fastest car on the track. After a caution on lap 235, the team came into the pits for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. A quick stop of 14.80 helped Mark return to the field in 26th place, the first car on his lap, when the race went green.

Mark continued to run the fastest times on the track for much of the race. A 14.40-second pit stop under caution on lap 290 helped move the No. 6 Ford Taurus into 24th place. Mark would continue to run fast lap times, while passing several car on the lead lap and moving up two more positions before the race’s end. Another quick stop of 14.830 seconds helped advance Mark to 23rd on the team’s final stop on lap 367.

“We were really fast there in the end,” said Mark. “The car would get loose on old tires, but it was pretty good once I got a handle on it. The guys did a wonderful job today. They gave me a fast car and they did a great job in the pits.“