The 2005 MBNA Racepoints 400

Mark and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team gambled late, taking two tires in a green-flag stop with only 20 laps Mark at Dover

to go in Sunday’s MBNA 400 at Dover International Speedway. The gamble paid off and Mark was able to power his Viagra® Ford to a third-place finish. The veteran came out of the pits fifth after the stop and was able to gain two positions in the race’s final 18 laps, passing Jimmy Johnson for third with only two laps to go in the 400 mile race. The finish propelled Mark up six places and back into the Nextel Cup top-10 at the mid-point of the series’ unofficial regular season.

“This was a great run for the Viagra® Team,” said Mark. “We had a good car all day, we just weren’t quite good enough to win it, but we were pretty strong.

“That was just good, old-school racing out there,” added Mark. “The best man won, and that's the way racing should be. I really enjoyed that race today. We had green-flag racing and plenty of it. The guys who had the best cars were able to go to the front and stay in the front and the guys who made the best adjustments in the last 200 laps or 150 laps really are the ones that won the race, because up until that point (Greg) Biffle was behind me. So those guys hit it on the money and we didn't down the stretch, but it was still a good run."

Mark came out of the pits fourth after the team’s fifth pit stop under caution on lap 207 and he would never run worse than sixth in the race’s remaining 90 laps. By lap 236 he had moved his No. 6 Ford Taurus to third, where he was running when the day’s seventh caution was called on lap 284. The team used another stop to remain in third when the field went green on lap 289. The car handled tighter after the stop and Mark fell to fifth by lap 292. The car’s handling eventually came in and Mark moved into fourth after passing Ryan Newman on lap 255. Four laps later he passed Kyle Busch for third.

Needing one more stop, the team opted for the two-tires with 19 laps to go, cutting the distance between Mark and the race leader. Mark came out in fifth and moved to fourth on lap 384. Three laps later he took over fourth with 13 laps to go, before overcoming Johnson for third with two laps to go.

“We took two tires there at the end and hit it just right,” said Mark. “The car was good on two tires and we came out fifth and were able to get to third there at the end. It was a good call by Pat (Tryson) and a good run by this Viagra® Team. We had a great car and it even looked like we could win there for a while, but it got a little bit away from us there, but it was a good run.”

Mark started the race 12th based on points after persistent rains forced the cancellation of Friday’s qualifying session. Running 14th, Mark and crew chief Pat Tryson opted for a two-tire stop after the day’s second caution and the move put Mark out in fourth place when the field went green on lap 39. Mark remained inside the top 10 for the next 103 laps when the day’s fifth caution was called on lap 136. The team came into the pits for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to tighten up the car’s handling on lap 142, and Mark came out in 11th, as some teams opted for two tire stops.

After the field resumed green-flag racing, Mark moved into 10th on lap 175 and he would not run outside the field’s top 10 for the remaining 225 laps of the race. The team used the stop on lap 208 to break into the top five and Mark would move on to the third-place finish, his 18th top-five in 38 races at Dover.

Mark joined Roush Racing teammates Greg Biffle (1st), Matt Kenseth (7th) and Kurt Busch (9th) in the top-10.

The finish is Mark’s third top-five of the season and his sixth top-10. Mark is currently just 18 points outside of fifth, as the team heads into Pocono where Mark has 17 career top-fives and 24 top-10’s and where he finished second last fall and has six career second-place finishes.