The 2004 Sylvania 300

Mark and the Viagra® (sildenafil citrate) Race Team ran to a Mark and Pat at Loudon

13th-place finish on Sunday in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Int’l Speedway. With both of Saturday’s practice sessions cancelled due to persistent rains, Mark and the team were never able to get a firm grasp on the correct setup for the car. However, Mark was able to bring home the solid finish and advance one spot in the Nextel Cup Race for the Championship. With nine races remaining to decide the NEXTEL Cup Champion, the team will shift its focus to next week’s race at Dover, where Mark collected his 34th career victory in the spring.

“We did what we needed to do today,” said Mark. “We got a solid finish out of it. We knew it wasn’t one of our strong tracks going into the race and we really just needed to get a solid finish here. The team worked really hard all day and we were able to fight our way to a decent finish and gain one place in the points. We’ll take that and move on to Dover.”

"We didn't run very good, but that's a good way to start if off,” added Mark. “I'm really satisfied with a 13th-place finish. It could have been a lot worse. We got a lot of green-flag racing today and that's kind of what we needed for our car. It could have been worse under other conditions. We dodged that bullet and now we can do some serious racing for a while."

Heavy rains set in Friday and forced the cancellation of qualifying and Mark started the race eighth based on his position in the points going into the race. By lap three Mark had dropped to 11th position, where he was running when the day’s first caution was called on lap 19. The team came into the pits for a two-tire only stop, taking on right sides and fuel and returned to the field in 14th (as part of the field opted not to pit) when the race returned to green.

Mark began to struggle with the car’s handling, becoming loose into the turn and out of the turn, while having trouble turning the car in the middle. The No. 6 Viagra® Ford was running in 17th position when the day’s second caution was issued on lap 36. The remainder of the field pitted and Mark moved up to fifth place when the field went back to green on lap 40. However the car continued to worsen and by lap 63 Mark had dropped to 12th place when the day’s third caution was issued. The team came into the pits for a chassis adjustment and four tires and fuel. Trouble with the left front tire hampered the stop and Mark returned to the field in 22nd place.

Mark then embarked on his best run of the day, powering his Viagra? Ford back Mark and Elliott Sadler at Loudon

through the field. By lap 86 the veteran had moved back inside the top 15, where he was running when the day’s fourth caution was called on lap 103. The team used a 14.62-second stop to make another chassis adjustment and take four tires and fuel and returned to the race in 17th place when green-flag racing resumed.

After another quick caution in which the team stayed out, Mark was running back in 15th place by lap 121. By lap 153 he had moved his Ford into 13th position, where he would run for the next 20 laps. The team posted their best stop of the day after a caution on lap 175. A 13.87-second stop for four tires and fuel put Mark back out in 12th.

Mark continued to struggle with the car’s ‘loose’ handling nature and dropped back to 14th place by lap 244 when the field started green-flag pit stops. Crew chief Pat Tryson brought Mark down pit road on lap 257 for the day’s only stop under green, to take on four tires and fuel. Once the field cycled through its stops, Mark was running in 15th position on lap 258. He had moved up to 13th when the day’s seventh and final caution was called on lap 275 for debris on the track. With only three cars behind them on the lead lap the team decided to come into the pits for the final time of the day to take on four fresh tires. Mark returned to the field in 13th position and was able to hold position for the final 20 laps of the race.

The team will return to action next week at Dover where they will look to make it a clean sweep in 2004. Mark has four wins at the Monster Mile, with the last coming in June. In addition, Mark has 17 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes at Dover.