The 2003 Sharpie 500 at Bristol

"It was clear to all of the 160,000 fans in attendance at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night that Mark and the Mark starts on the outside pole for the 2003 Sharpie 500

Mark starts on the outside pole for the 2003 Sharpie 500

Viagra® Racing Team had one of – if not the strongest – cars in the race. Mark started the race in second place, led 49 laps and was running the fastest lap times on the track before getting caught up in an accident on lap 347 that put an end to both Mark’s night and a strong bid for the victory.

"That's what happens at Bristol,” said Mark after the race. “We had a fast car and we had a good strategy. We had a good enough car to run forever on tires and we were looking pretty good."

"We had just pitted and came out close to the front, but we had to pit again and that put us in the back. That's really what happened. You've got all these cars out there, everybody is driving for their jobs, and there are just too many things that you can’t control, especially in the back."

"That's five out of the last six races that I've wrecked here, and I haven’t caused any of them, they were all wrecks that happened in front of me. There's nothing I can do about that. I wish there was, but I can't help it. We had a great car, but our finish just won’t show that."

Mark’s car was fast from the start and the veteran driver posted his best qualifying performance of the season, starting the race from the front row in second place. Mark’s car narrowly missed the pole by one-one thousandth of a second, and the veteran driver ran in second place for the first 64 laps of the race before caution was called and the No. 6 headed into the pits for four fresh tires. Some of the cars in the field only took two tires and Mark was running in seventh place when the field went green. By lap 89 Mark had moved into fourth place.

Mark was running in fifth place when caution number five was issued on lap 159. Mark came into the pits for four tires, fuel and to take wedge out of the car. The team posted an impressive 14.714-second pit stop, but made the first of two errors that would end up costing in the end. The team dropped the jack too soon and Mark was forced to return to the pits a lap later to have the lug nuts tightened. When all the stops had cycled through, Mark found himself in 28th place.

The veteran quickly put the mishap behind him and began working his way back to the front of the field. By lap 206 Mark had broken back inside the top 20. The day’s eighth caution was called on lap 222 with Mark running in 19th place. The No. 6 team opted to stay out and Mark was running in third place when the field went green six laps later. He moved into second place on lap 250, before taking over the lead on lap 262.

Mark pulled away from the field, leading the next 49 laps before coming into the pits for fuel after a caution on lap 306. Most of the cars stayed out and Mark was running in 19th position when the race returned to green on lap 313. By lap 329 Mark was in 18th place and running the fastest lap times on the track.

The day’s 14th caution on lap 338 offered the Viagra Racing Team the chance to come into the pits and take on enough fuel to finish the race. Mark was on fresher tires than the remainder of the field, who would have to put on tires. The No. 6 team fueled the car and came out ahead of the rest of the field. However the team made its second mistake of the night, as Mark left the pit box with the catch can still in the car. The can fell off a few feet outside of the pit box, but Mark and the team were forced to come back down pit road again for a stop and go penalty.

The team went ahead and put on four tires and added additional fuel, but Mark returned to the field in 26th place. Again, Mark started to work his way back up the field, but moments later the No. 4 car clipped Mark from behind, sending the No. 6 Ford Taurus into the wall and ending Mark’s run for the win.

The team returns to action next week at Darlington where Mark finished fourth in the spring.