The 2006 Pocono 500

Mark and the No. 6 AAA Racing Team ran to a 17th-place finish Sunday at the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. Mark and crew chief Pat Tryson had maneuvered up the field and were sitting in eighth place when the race restarted for the final time with only six laps to go on lap 194. However Mark’s car had become uncontrollably loose over the previous long run and he struggled to keep the No. 6 Ford Fusion in the top 20 for the final six laps, eventually hanging on to the 17th-place finish as the checkered flag fell.

“We gambled and stayed out there at the end and it just didn’t work out,” said Mark. “The car was just too loose at the end of the run and we just were not able to do anything with it. We were off most of the day and it was a tough day for the No. 6 AAA Team. We’ll just have to regroup and bounce back when we go to Michigan next week.”

Mark was running in 13th position when the day’s seventh and final caution was issued on lap 189, when Jeff Gordon crashed into the wall in turn one, causing the race to be stopped for several minutes as track workers and NASCAR officials worked to repair extensive damage to the wall. Mark and the team opted to stay out for track position and restarted in eighth position for the final run. However, the team would not get the result they hoped for and would be forced to settle for 17th.

Mark qualified 20th on Friday and despite struggling with a loose race car for most of the race, he steadily moved up the field, breaking into the top 15 on lap 15. Mark had worked his Ford into 14th place when the day’s third caution was called on lap 50. The team came into the pits for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to help adjust the car’s handling. The AAA crew delivered a 14.30-second stop and Mark returned in 12th place. The stop allowed Mark to stay out under caution on lap 62, advancing him into the top 10 when the field went green on lap 66.

Caution number five was called three laps later and the team came back down pit road for two tires and fuel. The move dropped Mark back to 24th when he returned to the field and he would struggle with the car, falling back to 26th place by lap 79, before regrouping to move back up inside the top 20 on lap 88.

The field would cycle through two green flag stops, with Mark and the team advancing to 16th by the time caution number six was waved on lap 140. Makn again stayed out and restarted in 12th place on lap 145. The race would again embark on a long green-flag run with the field again cycling through a set of stops under green and Mark was still running in 12th with 25 laps remaining in the 200 lap race. Gordon would spin into the wall with 11 to go, setting up the final unfavorable scenario for Mark and the crew.

Mark’s finish was enough to hang on to third in the Nextel Cup point standings. He is currently 238 points behind first place, and ironically 238 points ahead of 10th. The team returns to action next week at Michigan International Speedway, where Mark has four wins, 15 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.