The NAPA 500

Mark and the Viagra® Racing Team ran to their 19th top-10 finish of the 2002 season, with an impressive 8th-place Mark relaxes in the pit stall during the rain delay

Mark relaxes in the pit stall during the rain delay

finish in Sunday's NAPA 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The finish moved Mark into second place in the Winston Cup Championship Race. Mark is currently 146 points behind first place Tony Stewart.

"This was a great run," said Mark moments after the race. "'I'm really surprised at how well the car ran once we started to race. It says a lot about how hard this team works and I'm very proud of the Viagra® Racing Team today. "We didn't do anything to it (the car), it just ran a lot better on the long run."

Mark and the team struggled with the car for most of the weekend, but started third - based on the point standings - after qualifying was rained out on Friday evening. The beginning of the race was no different, as Mark found himself back in ninth place by only the fifth lap.

With the car running extremely loose, the Viagra® Ford Taurus had fallen back to 14th place when the day's second caution was called on lap 17 for rain. The team came in to tighten up the car, making air pressure and track bar adjustments, while taking on four tires and fuel. A problem with one of the lug nuts resulted in a slower stop, and the team returned to the field in 18th place.

The rain refused to let up and moments later the field was red flagged. The race would not resume until two hours later. The field ran 20 laps under caution, until the race went green once again on lap 46 with Mark in 14th position. Mark would run near that position for the next several laps of the race, as the car began to become more neutral.

The car started to come in on lap 109, as the veteran driver moved the Viagra® Ford Taurus from 16th to 13th in just two laps. By lap 113 Mark has moved to 12th place, and he was running 11th when the day's third caution was issued on lap 138. The team came in for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. A 15 second stop sent Mark back out in 10th place as the field went green on lap 144.

Mark and Ben

With the car set up for the long run, Mark quickly lost two places back to 12th position, but started his run back up the field when he passed teammate Matt Kenseth for 11th on lap 167. The Viagra® Ford broke into the top 10 on lap 171 and took over ninth place on lap 178.

The team would use a pair of back to back fast pits stops to maintain the top 10 position. They took four tires and made air pressure and wedge adjustments in only 14.39 seconds on lap 205 to move into eighth place. The team then reeled off a 14.19 second stop on lap 233 to help maintain the position.

Caution was issued for rain on lap 241 and the race was called after 248 laps, with Mark finishing 8th. Teammate Kurt Busch won the race, as Roush Racing had three teams finish in the field's top-10.

"We could have finished better than eighth if we would have gotten the rest of it in the bag because we were coming a little at a time," said Mark. "But I'm thrilled. We didn't have anything like that in practice. We were a 30th-place car -- probably, realistically, 20th -- I was just hoping to run in the teens with it, but on those long greens I just passed some great cars. I gave up a lot to start with, but at the end of the runs I was as good as the leader. We've got some work to do, but we're staying in this thing."

"I'm real proud of this team," added Mark. "They've just dug in and done what it takes to win the championship. Whether we win or not, it doesn't matter to me because the effort has been spectacular by this team."

The team will return to the track next week in Rockingham, N.C. where they posted a disappointing 21st place finish in the spring.