The 2004 Sharpie 500 at Bristol

"In a race where simply surviving is considered a key to success, Mark and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team did just that in Saturday Mark at Bristol 2004

night’s Sharpie 500. Bristol Motor Speedway is known for a propensity to tear up a lot of good racecars and Mark was able to survive for 500 laps on Saturday, thus preserving his chances of breaking into the Nextel Cup Top 10 before the cut-off period in just two races. Mark is currently tied for 12th place, 35 points outside of 10th and only 44 points behind seventh with two races remaining at California and Richmond.

" We kept fighting tonight,” said Mark. “We had a pretty good race car and I was really proud of it. We ran better than I thought we were going to and I'm proud of the team and the whole deal. It was a good run for us. We did the best we could and recovered well from getting a lap down because we had such a great car. I've got a great race team. We're going to keep fighting. If we make it, we make it. If we don't, we don't."

Despite the 13th place finish, Mark had one of the fastest cars on the racetrack, starting seventh and powering his way up to as high as second place, before a costly miscue on pit road dropped Mark to as low as 28th and three laps down. Mark, who was pitted on the backstretch, came in for a green flag stop on lap 224 while running in second place. Under green flag conditions the cars are allowed to leave the pits just past the backstretch, while under caution the cars are required to go all the way back around the front stretch before exiting pit road. After a miscommunication between Mark and the pits, Mark unnecessarily drove his Viagra® Ford back around the front stretch pit road under green. The miscue cost the team valuable time and Mark returned to the field in 28th place; two laps down.

“I messed up and cost us a lap there,” said Mark. “Pat (Tryson) told me to go straight out of the race track but I was either concentrating too much or not enough I guess. I had never done a green flag stop here. I know it happened last time. I know he said it on the radio, I just wasn't listening."

True to form, Mark and the team did the only they could do – battle back. By lap 254 Mark was running in 20th position – one lap down. The team took two tires (right sides) under caution on lap 360 to move up to 14th position. Mark would move up to 13th position after the day’s final caution on lap 387, where he would run for the remaining 100 laps of the race. The rebound kept Mark firmly entrenched in the race for the top-10.

Mark had started the race seventh after a solid qualifying effort on Friday. It took the veteran only 18 laps around the .533-mile short track to move his Viagra? Ford into the field’s top five. Mark was up to fourth place when the day’s third caution brought the No. 6 Team into the pits for the first time of the evening for four tires and fuel. As a few other teams opted for different pit strategies Mark returned to the field in 10th position.

Mark was initially shuffled back to 12th place, before quickly rebounding and moving all the way back to sixth place when the day’s fourth caution was called on lap 83. After another quick caution, the field embarked on a long green-flag run that would see Mark advance four more positions to second. On lap 165 Mark moved past pole-sitter Jeff Gordon to break back into the top five. Mark moved past the No. 40 car on lap 190 to take fourth. Mark moved into second place on lap 216, where he would run until coming down pit road under green eight laps later.

The team returns to action next week at the California Motor Speedway where Mark has one win and three top-10s in eight races. Mark finished 11th at Fontana in May. This will mark the first year that the NASCAR Cup series has held two races in Fontana.

With the race for 10th place at a fever pitch, Mark is currently in 12th place tied with Jeremy Mayfield with 2883 points. Mark holds the tiebreaker over Mayfield with wins, top fives and top 10’s accumulated in 2004. Mark is currently 35 points behind 10th place Ryan Newman, 36 points behind ninth place Bobby Labonte and 40 points behind eighth place Kevin Harvick. Mark is nine points behind 11th place Kasey Kahne. Mark is currently 10 points ahead of 15th place in a race where only 50 points separates eighth and 15th places.