The 2006 Pepsi 400

The No. 6 AAA Pit crew turned in one of its strongest outings of the season Mark Chases Tony Stewart At Daytona

as Mark exhibited his mastery of the draft and the No. 6 team appeared to be closing in on a solid top-10 finish in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, when Mark’s AAA Ford Fusion was caught up in an accident with only six laps remaining in the race.

Mark was running just outside the top 10 and making a forward surge when Roush teammate Greg Biffle made contact with the No. 18 car, sending Biffle’s car down the track and into Mark, where the two made contact before each went spinning toward the inside barrier of the backstretch. The incident ended Mark’s chances at a top-10 finish and the team was forced to settle for 33rd in a race where they had run the majority of the night inside the top-15.

“That’s just a shame,” said Mark after the race. “We might not have had the winning car, but we had a top-10 car and we had a top-10 effort on pit road tonight. The guys did a great job and we were able to weather an awful lot of rough water, but in the end someone messed us up again.

“That’s how it is when you plate race,” added Mark. “There is just only so much you can control.”

The AAA over the wall crew was the highlight of the night, turning in six stops in 13.86 seconds or less and gaining Mark several positions in the pits. Mark started the race 24th and wasted little time moving forward. He gained six positions in just the first lap of the race and he needed only six laps to break into the top 10 for the first time of the evening.

Mark would spend the rest of the night working his way in and out of the draft while running the bulk of the laps inside the top-10. Mark’s Fusion handled tight for most of the race, and the team made several adjustments on pit road in an effort to loosen up the car’s handling.

The team reeled off a 13.86-second stop under green on lap 45 that helped Mark to second position – his highest place of the race - when the field cycled through on lap 52. Mark battled leader and race winner Tony Stewart for the next several laps, but he was unable to take the lead and was eventually shuffled back to sixth place.

He was running in eighth position when the race’s fourth caution was issued on lap 147 with only 13 laps remaining. Mark and crew chief Pat Tryson opted to come in for four fresh tires and fuel while several cars stayed out on the track. Mark returned in 12th position when the race went green with just 10 laps remaining. In most cases cautions breed cautions and this time would be no exception. Moments later, Biffle made the contact with the No. 18 car causing a chain reaction that would effectively end the evening for Mark, Biffle and teammate Carl Edwards.

“We needed that last caution like we needed a hole in our head,” said Mark. “We had a good run going, I just don’t think it’s possible for us to get through one of these things without getting into something. Pat Tryson and the team did a great job and they had a great night in the pits. We got through a few of the wrecks, but we just couldn’t get through that last one. We’ll just have to regroup and come back strong next week in Chicago.”

The finish dropped Mark to sixth in the Nextel Cup points race. He is currently 129 points ahead of 10th position and 324 behind the leader. Mark trails fifth place by 25 points and third by only 57. The team will return to action next week at Chicagoland Speedway.