It just was not the day for Mark and the
No. 6 Scotts F-150 Racing Team. Mark started 16th after Saturday morning's
qualifying session and sported the field's fastest truck early on in the
race. However a mishap on pit road combined with a pair of accidents would
not only deliver damage to Mark's F-150, but it would effectively put an
end to Mark's bid for his fifth Craftsman Truck Series win of the season.
Still, Mark was able to battle back through the field, fighting his way
back on the lead lap and to a 10th-place finish.
"Well, that was just one of those days," said Mark after the race. "We
had a really fast truck and once again Mike Beam and these guys on the
Scotts Team gave us a truck that was very capable of running up front and
winning the race.
"We just had that trouble on pit road and then got caught up in a couple of
accidents, and that really killed any chance of us getting up front,"
added Mark. "Still, the team did a really good job and we were able to
fight back to a solid top-10 finish."
Mark started 16th and while displaying the fastest truck in the race,
quickly moved up the field, running as high as third before having to
come back into the pits after exiting pit road with the jack under the
truck during a green flag stop.
The penalty moved Mark to the back of the lead lap, where a few laps later
he was spun out going into the turn on lap 68. Mark rebounded from the
spin, but was caught up in a five-truck accident just six laps later on
lap 74. Mark's No. 6 Scotts Ford sustained heavy damage to the front,
and Mark went a lap down as the crew worked feverishly to repair the
damage on pit road.
Mark was able to race his way back into the lucky dog position, before
eventually earning his way back onto the lead lap and to the top-10 finish.
The finish was Mark's eighth top-10 in nine truck races in 2006. With the
run, the No. 6 Scotts Team is now 182 points behind first in the Craftsman
Truck Series Owner's Point standings and 58 out of second.
Mark will return to action in the truck series on October 7, 2006 at
Talladega Superspeedway.
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