The 2003 Subway 400

The Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team The Blue Crew at work

kept Mark in the front of the pack all day with several clutch pit stops that helped propel Mark to his seventh consecutive top-10 finish dating back to October of last season. The Viagra® Racing Team put Mark in the lead on three separate occasions, and gained Martin several positions in the pits during the course of the race.

"If we had had as good of a car today as we had pit stops, we would have ran away with the thing," said crew chief Ben Leslie. "The guys just did a wonderful job in the pits all day and we gained a lot on our stops."

"This was just an awesome team effort," said Mark. "The guys just did an outstanding job all day. "We had a great day, especially on short runs," added Mark. "We just got caught up in lapped traffic on the last restart and we wore the tires out a little and dropped back. If the race had continued going the way it was, with short runs, we would have definitely finished in the top three."

The team ran only one practice session the entire weekend, as rain cancelled both sessions on Saturday. Mark's car was fast off the truck and Mark reeled off the third fastest lap in qualifying on Friday and starting on the inside of the second row.

Once the green flag started, Mark wasted little time moving to the front, taking the lead by lap nine. Mark held the lead for the next 10 laps before dropping to second. By the 25th lap, the car starting to get loose and Mark had dropped back to fifth place when a competition caution was called.

The team reeled off the first off several impressive stops on the day, taking four tires and fuel while making wedge and air pressure adjustments in just over 15 seconds. The team gained a couple of stops and returned to the field in third place when the race went green on lap 54.

Mark was running in third when the day's second caution was called on lap 86. Martin came into the pits for four tires and fuel and after an excellent stop of 14.4 seconds, returned to the field in the lead when the race went green on lap 93.

Mark had dropped to fourth place on lap 106 when caution was called for the third time in the race. Another quick stop of 13.9 seconds, sent Martin back out in second place when the race went green again on lap 112.

The Blue Crew at work

After another caution on lap 121, Mark came into the pits running in second place. After another fast stop of 13.92 seconds Mark again returned to the field leading the race. Mark dropped back to second place on the next lap where he ran for the next 46 laps before the day's fourth caution on lap 172.

The No. 6 Viagra® Race Team came in for four tires, fuel and additional air pressure adjustments. After a 14 second stop, Mark again returned to the field in first, leading for the fourth time of the day.

By lap Martin had dropped to third. As the car started to loosen up, Martin fell to eighth place where he was running when the field began green-flag pitting on lap 253. The team posted another solid stop and Martin was running in third place once the field cycled through on lap 261.

Mark was running in fifth place when caution number five was issued on lap 174. Martin brought the Pfizer No. 6 Ford Taurus in for four tires and fuel and again the Viagraā Racing Team came through with a 14 second stop that gained Mark two place up to second when the race went green on lap 291.

The team would pit again on lap 299 for the seventh and final time on the day's final caution. Running in second place, a 14.32 second stop sent Mark back out into the race in fifth position, but second among the cars that pitted.

Mark got caught up in lapped traffic on the restart and quickly dropped to fifth place. Battling the traffic put wear on the tires of the No. 6 Pfizer Ford and Mark was never able to recover. By lap 384 the No. 6 Ford had dropped to eighth place. Mark was able to gain one more position back to seventh before the checkered flag dropped.

"We had a really fast car here," said Mark. "Probably better than the finish indicates, but it was still a good run. The highlight is the team's effort in the pits. They really did a wonderful job all day of getting me out in front of the pack."

Mark was one of three Roush Racing drivers that finished in the top-10, along with teammates Kurt Busch (2) and Matt Kenseth (3).

The Viagra® Racing Team will return to action next Sunday in Las Vegas.