ViagraŽ (sildenafil citrate) racing team, especially
by the standards that Mark and his team have grown
accustomed.However, despite the fact that the No. 6 team was not able to achieve the same level of success as in the past, there were still plenty of highlights along the way - including an array of milestones and accomplishments that only continue to build to the legacy that Mark has built during his 19 year tenure on the Winston Cup circuit.
Not without their moments in 2001, Mark and the No. 6 ViagraŽ team finished the season with 15 top-10 finishes, three top-five finishes and two poles. In fact, Mark's poles at the Food City 500 in Bristol and the Pontiac Excitement 400 in Richmond, were the 40th and 41st of his distinguished racing career. Mark also earned the 293rd top-10 finish of his career with a ninth-place finish at Loudon in the final race of the season. His fifth-place finish at Pocono in June was his 187th career top-five finish.
Mark and the No. 6 ViagraŽ Ford Taurus led at least one lap in 19 Winston Cup races during the 2001 season and a total of 195 laps on the year. He led a total of 54 laps en route to a sixth place finish at the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 in Las Vegas in March and for 35 laps where he finished seventh at the Old Dominion 500 in Marksville. Eleven races into 2001, Mark was the only driver on the circuit that had led a lap during every race of the season.
Mark and the No. 6 team ended the season with top-10 finishes in five of the last nine races, including closing out the season with the ninth-place finish at the New Hampshire 300. Despite a run of bad luck and misfortune that saw Mark only 27th in the points standings in late March, the No. 6 team battled back with seven top-10 finishes in the next 13 races to move all the way to 12th in the standings by July 15th. Mark's ninth top-10 finish of the season, a seventh place run at the Pennsylvania 500, moved him up to 11th place heading into August.
Mark would go on to record six more top-10 finishes, including a string of four top 10's from late September into late October. However, another string of hard luck in early November would prevent Mark from finishing in the top 10 of the points standings for what would have been his 13th straight year. Mark's 12th-place finish in the driver standings marked the first time since 1988 the veteran driver hasn't finished in the top 10.
Mark and the ViagraŽ racing team have since taken
steps to move the No. 6 ViagraŽ Ford Taurus back to
the front of the pack and up the point's standings.
In early December it was announced that Mark's No. 6
crew would be switched for the upcoming 2002 season
with the 97 crew of Kurt Busch. The move hopes to
provide the No. 6 team with a shot of youth and
adrenaline, while at the same time providing Busch
with a more veteran lineup.The move pairs Mark with crew chief Ben Leslie, who worked with Mark's No. 6 car as a mechanic in 1997 and on Mark's Busch Series team for three seasons. Last season, in his first full year as a crew chief, Leslie helped guide Kurt Busch to three top-five finishes, six top 10s and one pole.
Mark and Leslie will look to drive the No. 6 ViagraŽ Ford Taurus back in to victory lane and atop the points standings in 2002.
