The 2003 Tropicana 400

Mark and the Viagra (sildenafil citrate) Racing Team finished 14th in Mark Martin

Sunday’s Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mark and the No. 6 crew fought for position for much of the race, battling their way back up the field after running out of fuel on lap 62.

“We actually had a pretty good car down the stretch,” said Mark. “We ran out of gas before the first pit stop and that ultimately hurt us down the stretch, but the team hung in there and we fought for everything that we could get.

“We didn’t get the best finish in the world, but we earned it – I can tell you that much. In the end, we kept fighting and made a respectable finish out of what could have been much worse.”

Mark started the race 13th, but with the car too “loose” to effectively drive into the corner, the No. 6 Taurus fell all the way back to 22nd place by lap eight. By lap 44, Mark had moved the car back up to 17th position, before the car’s handling began to reverse itself becoming too tight to handle. Most of the field began to pit under the green flag on lap 59 and Mark had moved up to eighth position when he radioed that he was out of gas on lap 62.

Mark coasted into the pits for fuel and to make adjustments to help free the car’s handling, but Mark had trouble re-firing the car and in the end running out of fuel cost the team valuable track position. Mark was a lap down and running in 29th position when he returned to the field on lap 65. The veteran driver had worked his way up into 26th place when the day’s first caution was called on lap 81.

Mark came into the pits on lap 83 to make wedge and track bar adjustments and take on fuel and four fresh tires. The team responded with a 13.75 second pit stop that moved Mark up to 23rd position when the field went green on lap 85.

The car began to improve and the team used a caution on lap 127 to come into the pits for another round of adjustments and fresh tires. The team posted yet another quick stop, and the adjustments ultimately paid off. By lap 157, Mark moved into 19th position. Mark was posting his best lap times of the day as he worked his way to the front of his lap, patiently moving through the lapped traffic.

The No. 6 Taurus was running in 13th place when the day’s final caution was issued on lap 233. The crew opted to stay out on the track and Mark remained in 13th place, the first car one lap down, when the field restarted on lap 238.

After battling for position with teammate Matt Kenseth, Mark fell back to 14th place on the restart. Mark continued to fight for position for the remainder of the race, before ending the day with a 14th-place finish. The finish is Mark’s 13 top-20 finish in 18 starts this season.

Mark remains in 12th place in the Winston Cup point's race, just 28 points outside of 10th place.

The team returns to action next week in Loudon, New Hampshire.