Pepsi 400 - 2000

A fifth-place start, a fourth-place finish and a generally undamaged race car resulted in a good weekend for Mark at Daytona.

Mark Martin

Mark's Ford Taurus was tight early in the race, as he ran in sixth place for the first 50 laps or so. On lap 54, Mark's team made an air pressure adjustment and raised the track bar, returning him to the race in fifth place. More adjustments on lap 85 and lap 106 gave Mark the setup he needed for the final run to the finish. Because eight cars took only two tires on the final pit stop, Mark rejoined the race in 13th place. Another caution only five laps later moved Mark to seventh as several teams stopped again under the yellow flag. During the restart on lap 121, Ricky Rudd and Mark teamed up and Mark moved to third. A little more shuffling went on in the closing laps, but Mark held on to post a fourth-place finish, his third straight Top Five, and Roush teammate Jeff Burton went to Victory Lane.

"It was nice to finally move up at the end of one of these races rather than lose spots," Mark said. "The car was great and the guys did an awesome job tonight. I'm really happy for Jeff, and I'm thrilled with a fourth-place finish for us. Jeff and I worked together quite a bit tonight and it paid off for both of us. I was able to stay out of trouble and it helped us in the points again."

NEXT UP, NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Mark is optimistic that this could be the weekend he posts his first Winston Cup victory at New Hampshire International Speedway. In 10 starts at the 1.058-mile oval, Mark has won two poles, posted six top fives and eight top 10s.

"I feel pretty good about this weekend," Mark said. "New Hampshire has never been one of my better tracks, but we've learned a lot since the last time we were there. In fact, I think we learn more every time we go there. Jeff Burton has helped us some since he has obviously gotten that track figured out. This time we're taking the same car we ran at Bristol earlier this year and we tested it in Lakeland, Fla., last week. We're still working on some of the things we tried in the last 40 laps of the Michigan race last month, and I think we've learned enough to be more competitive than ever at Loudon."

BACK ON TRACK:

After a string of disappointing finishes, Mark and the Valvoline/Cummins team have rebounded with three consecutive top five finishes: Pocono, Sears Point and Daytona. Mark is now only three points behind Ricky Rudd for the sixth-place position in the Winston Cup points race.

"We may not be contenders for the title right now," Mark said, "But there is still a lot of racing left to do this season. We are just at the halfway point, and our goal is to win as many races as we can. Every person on this team is putting everything they have into it. They have the same determination as me, and that is what pulls a team together and makes them successful. Sometimes it's a good thing to be disappointed with second place."


Congratulations, Jeff Burton, for the win at the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Pepsi 400 in Daytona, Florida.