The 2003 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400

With a new chemistry and an optimistic outlook Mark and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing team rolled into Mark trys his best everytime.

North Carolina for the next to the last race of the season. The race marked the debut of Pat Tryson as the new crew chief for the No. 6 team, and for a while it looked as if it would be a memorable start. Mark was running some of the fastest times on the track and after a late adjustment, felt the car was better than it had been all day. However, engine problems moments later would end the team’s day early.

"We made an adjustment there on that last pit stop and the car was really, really fast,” said Mark. “I really like the way things are going. I liked my car today and I like the way things are going with Pat (Tryson) and all these guys. I'm incredibly disappointed that we broke again, but I guess you'll have that in this business. We're headed in the right direction. Maybe all of this will be behind us next year."

Mark, who qualified 12th on Friday and was among the leaders in both of Saturday’s practice sessions, wasted little time once the green flag dropped on Sunday, powering into the top 10 on the first lap. By lap 14 Mark had moved all the way to fifth place, before the car started to become ‘loose off’ in the corner. Mark dropped back to 12th where he was running when the day’s first caution was issued on lap 75.

The team came in for four tires and to make air pressure and track bar adjustments in hopes of tightening the car’s handling. A quick stop of 14.68 seconds sent Mark out in 11th place when the field went green on lap 81. Two quick cautions on laps 84 and 92 saw Mark in 10th place when the team came into the pits under yellow to attempt to further tighten the handling with air pressure and track bar adjustments.

Most of the cars stayed out and Mark was in 17th place when the field when green on lap 98. The adjustments paid off and Mark moved up to 13th by lap 121 and into the top 10 on lap 145, where he was running when caution number six was called on lap 154. With the car handling well, but a little too tight the team came into the pits to make wedge and air pressure adjustments. A slower than usual stop cost the No. 6 team three places on the track and Mark returned to the field in 13th position when the field went green on lap 160.

Mark had worked his way up to 12th place by the race’s halfway point on lap 196. He moved to as high as 11th before the car once again got tight in the middle and loose off the corners. The team came into the pits on lap 232 for a green-flag stop while running 15th. Mark overshot the pit and had to back up into the stall on pit road. The team put on four fresh tires and made further adjustments. Mark quickly returned to the field, but lost the engine just moments later.

Roush Racing teammate and Mark protégé Matt Kenseth went on to finish fourth in the race and clinch the 2003 Winston Cup Championship, the first for car owner Jack Roush. The moment was memorable for Mark who helped bring Kenseth to Roush Racing and owns are part of Kenseth’s car. Ironically, Kenseth clinched the championship at the track where Mark and Roush teamed for the organization’s first Winston Cup victory in the fall of 1989.

"I've been wrong about a lot of things in my life, but I was right about Matt Kenseth,” said Mark after the race. “I'm really proud of that. I liked his style. I knew that he knew a lot about racecars because I knew where he came from and that he was winning races where he came from. I knew it was him and not his cars.”

“I wanted Roush Racing to have him. There was no spot for him at Roush Racing and I still insisted. They went to work and put him under contract and let him race in the Busch Series for a couple of years until the opportunity came up. Robbie Reiser and Matt Kenseth have won this championship because they've made more of the opportunity that they've had than anybody else."

The team concludes the 2003 season next week at Homestead, where Mark has finished inside the top four in three of four races.