The 2006 Nextel Challenge

Mark won last season’s Nextel All-Star Challenge in grand fashion, taking the checkered flag in one of the more NEXTEL Challenge 2006

memorable night’s in Lowe’s Motor Speedway history. Saturday night his bid for consecutive victories in the all-star event came to a crashing halt on lap 48 with Mark again battling for the lead. Mark had restarted second after a 10-car inversion after the race’s first segment. He took the lead on lap 41 and was battling Kasey Kahne for the lead, when Kahne lost control of his No. 9 car, drifted up the track and into Mark, causing a massive multi-car accident that would put an end to Mark’s night and bid for victory.

“It looks like it got away from Kasey there,” said Mark. “I came here to race and that’s what I was doing. I had me a great AAA Fusion and the fans are getting a great show. It’s an honor to be driving this stuff. I had another car that could contend for it. I got a little help with the inversion there and overcoming our start. If I had to do it over again, I’d have to do exactly what I did. I was in the wrong place and got collected.”

The Nextel All-Star Challenge is a 90-lap event, divided into three segments, with the first segment consisting of 40 laps, the second 30 laps and the final a 20-lap dash to the checkered flag. Qualifying consist of a two-lap run and a pit stop, and after a lug nut penalty during the session, Mark started the event in 16th position of 20 cars, after persistent rains delayed the race’s start. Mark’s car started out ‘loose’, as he and the team attempted to get a handle on the newly repaved surface at Lowe’s.

The car’s handling began to turn around and Mark had driven to 13th position by the time the team came in for a mandatory four-tire pit stop on lap 18. A quick stop of 13.5-seconds advanced Mark four positions to ninth once the field had cycled through on lap 29. Mark was still running in ninth when the evening’s second caution was issued on lap 33 after Kurt Busch lost the engine on his No. 2 car. The rains began to pick up forced a 20-minute delay in the race. Once the rain subsided, Mark restarted in ninth and held on to the position for the final six laps of the segment.

The field’s top-10 was inverted and Mark restarted in second, taking the lead just one lap into the segment. Moment’s later his No. 6 AAA Fusion would be slammed into the wall, taking on severe damage on both sides, as seven of the field’s 20 cars were caught up in the accident.

Mark and the team will return to action again next weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600, where Mark won in 2002.