The 2004 Pepsi 400

Mark and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Race Team scored their second top-10 finish in as many weeks with a strong sixth-place Mark at the 2004 Pepsi 400

run in a rain delayed Pepsi 400 at the Daytona International Speedway on late Saturday night. The finish was the end result of Mark’s keen ability to work his way through the draft, a fast racecar and solid work on pit road. “We certainly had a chance today,” said Mark. “I know we finished sixth and that's nothing to brag about, but we just missed it by one lick. We didn't have any partners out there. Pat Tryson and the Viagra® team had that car really hooked up and we were strolling, but when it came time to go race for the win, the No. 20 and the No. 18 were going to stick together. The No. 48 and No. 24 stuck together and the No. 8 wasn't going to mess with me, so I was just there all by myself. The No. 97 was ahead of me and I needed somebody to be behind me and there wasn't anybody.

“Still, we had a great car and the type of car capable of coming here and winning and we haven’t always been able to say that in the past here. I’m very proud of Pat and this team and what we’ve been able to do this year.”

Mark was running in 14th place when green flag pitting started on lap 104 of the race. With the car handling tight, the team came in for a green flag stop on lap 110 to take on four tires, fuel and make a wedge adjustment to help the car’s handling. The No. 6 crew posted its best stop of the night at 13.80 seconds and Mark came out of the pits in 12th place. Once everything had cycled through, Mark was able to move all the way up to fifth position by lap 133.

The forward movement enabled Mark to pit with the race leaders on lap 138 for what would be the final stop of the night. Once again the Viagra? Team came through with a solid stop, taking on four tires and fuel in 14.11 seconds. Mark came out of the pits in 23 place, as various cars were on different cycles. Mark teamed up with a pack of cars that consisted of the No. 48, No. 8 and No. 18 cars, and the four cars worked together to move their way through the field and ultimately to the front.

Mark reached his top spot of the day at fourth on lap 147, but found himself a lap later without anyone to work with and he was quickly shuffled back to seventh place. Two laps later Mark was able to move the Viagra® Ford back into sixth and he would hold position for the remaining 10 laps of the race to take home the solid sixth-place finish.

“This is the kind of car I had in February too,” said Mark. “That's why I was so upset - not only about the points but I thought I might have had a chance to be a contender in the 500. I’m glad we were able to come back tonight and have the type of showing here that this team deserved.”

The start of the race was delayed over two hours due to heavy rains and thunderstorms in the area. Mark started the race in 21st position once the command was given to start the engines around 9:30 pm. After nine caution laps around the track the field went green and the race was underway. The action on the track early on was as tumultuous as the weather, with cars racing three and four wide all around the track.

Mark was still running in 21st place after the team’s first pit stop under caution on lap 19, but the veteran started to make a move to the front just a few laps later. By lap 40 Mark had drafted his way all the way into 12th position. The team broke into the top 10 for the first time on lap 51, and depending on the line of cars in the draft, Mark would run between 10 and 14th for the next 50 laps until the team made their final move on lap 110.

“I really think if it hadn't rained and the weather hadn't have gotten like it did, it would have been better for us,” added Mark. “We got a little tight tonight. If it would have been as tight as it was yesterday without the rain cooling the asphalt down we would have been better yet."

The solid run moved Mark up another spot to 14th in the Nextel Cup point standings, 157 points outside of the top 10 and only 45 points behind 11th. Mark has now posted two straight top-10 runs in two weeks and gained 49 points on 10th place in the last two outings. Mark is currently five points behind 14th place.

The team returns to action next weekend at Chicagoland Speedway for the Tropicana 400.