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NASCAR Winston Cup Jiffy Lube 300 Race Report -- #6, Mark Martin

16 July 1997

 #6 Mark Martin, Valvoline Ford Thunderbird
 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
 Jiffy Lube 300 Race Report
 New Hampshire International Speedway
 July 13, 1997



LOUDON, NH - The mild temperatures in New Hampshire were a
welcome change from the unbearable heat of Daytona one week
ago. New Hampshire International Speedway is a flat,
one-mile oval which is difficult to pass on, which makes
qualifying, well, important. Mark Martin and the
Valvoline/Cummins team ran well in practice, but qualified
16th with a speed of 128.255 mph.

"I was a little disappointed with that, but it was all we
had," Martin said.  "That was all we had today, but we'll
have more on Sunday."

Martin's car was good early in the race, as he moved into
the top-10 in the first 70 laps. A 17.75 second stop on lap
86 put Martin out in 7th place after taking four tires,
while several teams took only two. The second four-tire stop
on lap 176 gave Martin two positions, moving him from eighth
to sixth. the third stop, under yellow on lap 195, put him
out eighth since the crew made an adjustment to lower the
track bar to tighten up the car. With 50 laps to go, and
Martin running ninth, the Valvoline/Cummins team knew they
would have to pit one more time for fuel. The final stop
came on lap 286 with a three second stop for fuel
only. Martin came out of the pits seventh. He was able to
move up to a fifth place finish.

Martin is now third in points heading into Pocono this
weekend.

By Roush Racing Public Relations