The 2002 MBNA Platinum 400

Bidding for his second straight victory, Mark led 77 of the first 125 laps of Sunday's MBNA Platinum 400 Mark at Dover

before getting caught up in an accident involving lapped traffic on lap 125. Mark - who started the race 13th - quickly moved his way up the field, taking the lead on the 48th lap of race. Mark ran in first place for the next 74 laps, before his bid for victory was cut short by an accident.

Mark had worked his way up to third by lap 29, before passing the No. 9 car on lap 41 to take second place. The day's second caution occurred just two laps later and Mark entered the pits to take on four tires and fuel. An excellent stop of 14.80 seconds sent Mark back out in first place. It marked the 10th time in the last 11 races at Dover that Mark has led the event and the 22nd time in 30 races at Dover that the veteran driver has led the field.

Mark began to pull away after the field went green on lap 51 and the No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Ford Taurus would not only lead but distance itself from the rest of the pack for the next 77 laps, as Mark began to maneuver through lapped traffic.

The No. 12 car of Ryan Newman got tangled up with the No. 1 car of Steve Park on lap 125 and Mark was unable to avoid Park who was rolling down the track in turn two. The Viagra Racing team worked feverishly on the car, pitting five times under caution before returning to the field in 28th position, but on the lead lap.

Nose job at Dover

Despite the car 'pushing badly' Mark was able to stay on the lead lap until lap 152, when he was finally passed by the leaders. Mark stayed out in the race for the next several laps, but with the car severely damaged and difficult to drive, the No. 6 Viagra® Ford Taurus fell three laps down by lap 203.

The team continued to work on the car, coming back into the pits to replace the front nose, on lap 218. Mark returned to the track but lost water pressure and had to go to the garage on lap 241, running in 37th place.

The Viagra® racing team continued to work on the car and returned to the race on lap 305, running in 39th place and hoping to gain a couple more positions. However, eventually the damage would prove too much in the end. Despite returning to the field a couple of more times, Mark and the No. 6 team would eventually retire to the garage with 283 laps of 400 completed, going home with a disappointing 41st place finish.

Mark into Park

Still Mark remained optimistic after the race. "The guys built me a really good car for this race and if they can keep building cars like that we can win a lot of races," said Mark. "It's disappointing to get caught up in an accident with a car that good, but we'll have a lot more chances this season. "I'm very proud of the Viagra® Racing team, they fought the entire day and never gave up. We'll just have to move on to Pocono and see what we can do next week. I'm still really excited about what this team can do and they put me in a great car today. We just got caught up in something we didn't have any control over and that will happen from time to time."

The finish drops Mark to sixth in the point standings, just nine points out of fifth place. Mark and the No. 6 Viagra® Racing team will return to action next week in Long Pond, Pa. for the Pocono 500.