The 2004 Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington

Mark’s No. 6 Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Ford was the fastest car on the racetrack as the final laps winded down Starting grid at Southern 500 2004 Darlington

Starting grid at Southern 500 2004 Darlington

on Sunday’s Southern 500. The veteran picked up five spots in the final 14 laps to run to an impressive second-place finish in Darlington Raceway’s final fall Nextel Cup event.

After running the majority of the race in the top two, Mark found himself in sixth place when the field went green on lap 349 after the ninth and final caution of the afternoon. Mark spent the next three laps battling past persistent lapped traffic, before he began to mount his move back to the front with only 14 laps remaining. Mark broke back inside the top five, passing teammate Carl Edwards on lap 355.

Four laps later he moved by points leader and Roush teammate Kurt Busch for fourth. Mark used the next three laps working his way around the No. 9 car and he found himself in third place with just five laps to go on lap 362. Mark would move back into second place – moving by the No. 42 car – with only one lap remaining, as he closed in on the leader and eventual winner Jimmie Johnson as the checkered flag fell. The race was Mark’s second top-two finish in the past three races.

“Pat Tryson is a great cheerleader besides some other things, too,” said Mark after the race. “He's pretty incredible. This Viagra? team gave me a great car tonight. We just hit it on that last set of tires. The car was incredibly quick and I'm just proud of this Viagra? team. This Taurus was fast. We hit it right at the end. I wish we would have had five more laps."

Mark started the race fifth based on the Nextel Cup point standings after persistent rains forced the cancellation of Friday’s qualifying session. The No. 6 team had one of the top cars all weekend and with the exception of pitting sequences, Mark never ran outside of the field’s top six all day.

Mark passed the No. 16 car of Greg Biffle for second place on lap 64 and eventually took the lead for the first time of the day on lap 66. Mark gave the lead up on lap 79 and was running in second place when the day’s first caution was issued on lap 81. Two laps later the team came into the pits for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The first of several excellent stops of the day, a 13.61-second stop, sent Mark back out in first place when the field went green on lap 87.

Mark eventually gave the lead up nine laps later and fell back to third place, before regrouping to take the lead back from the No. 48 car on lap 113. The veteran had dropped back to second when the day’s second caution was called on lap 120. A 13.56-second stop to take on four tires and fuel helped the team hold second place as the field went green on lap 124. The team pitted again under caution 22 laps later again taking on four tires and fuel in yet another 13.50-second stop that sent Mark out in third place on lap 150.

Mark was still running in second when the day’s fourth caution came out on lap 195. The team again came into the pits for four tires, fuel, and wedge and air pressure adjustments. Another stellar stop of 13.86 seconds again helped Mark hang on to second place as the field resumed green-flag racing with just over 200 laps down. Fearing his right front tire was going down, Mark dropped back to fourth where he was running when caution was called on lap 248. The team used a 13.25-second stop to gain four positions and return Mark’s Viagra® Ford back out in the lead when the field went green on lap 253.

Mark dropped back to second where he was running when the team came into pit under caution on lap 304. The team used another quick stop of 13.68 seconds to hold on to second, but Mark dropped back to third where he was running when caution number seven was called on lap 330. A problem with the left rear tire in the pits forced the team’s only slow stop of the day and Mark lost two positions back to fifth when the field resumed green-flag racing on lap 340, with 27 laps remaining in the event.

A quick caution just six laps later brought the team into the pits for the Blue Crew awesome at Southern 500 2004 Darlington

Blue Crew awesome at Southern 500 2004 Darlington

ninth and final time. This time the No. 6 team bounced back with its fastest stop of the day, a 12.83-second stop that sent the No. 6 Ford back out in sixth place despite the fact that two cars had stayed out and opted not to pit. The field went green on lap 349 and 18 laps later, after his frantic run to the front, Mark maneuvered his Ford to the second-place finish.

"What a tremendous team I have here with this Viagra® team,” said Mark. “They hit it right that last run there. I just wish we would have had just a few more laps, but it was a great run for us, a great team effort. They were incredible all day on pit road and the car was just a pleasure to drive. It was a great race. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out, but man it was fast that last 10 laps. I would have liked to have a had a few more."

Mark remains in fifth-place in the Nextel Cup standings, but he trimmed 20 points off the lead. After starting the season in 43rd place leaving Daytona, Mark moves into the last race of the season as one of four cars with a chance of winning the Nextel Cup Championship trailing first place by only 82 points. Mark trails fourth place by only 10 points.

The run was Mark’s 10th top-five finish and 15th top 10 finish of the season. It also marked the fifth second- place finish for Mark this season.

The team returns to action next weekend for the 36th and final race of the 2004 season. Mark and the No. 6 Team spent last week testing Homestead and Mark likes his chances at the 1.5-mile track where he has three top-five finishes in five career races.

"It feels good to run like this, it’s why I love racing,” added Mark. “I knew that we could come and contend to win this one and we did. I also know that we can go down to Homestead and contend to win as well. We tested real fast down there last week, so we hope that we will be strong there and finish this thing on a strong note. Still, there is no doubt that no matter what happens, I’ll remember 2004 for the great effort of this team. They just don’t give up.”