NASCAR Winston Cup Series Mountain Dew 500 Preview: #6, Mark Martin
28 August 1997
#6 Mark Martin, Valvoline/Cummins Ford Thunderbird
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Mountain Dew Southern 500 Advance
Darlington Raceway
MARK MARTIN NOTES & QUOTES: MOUNTAIN DEW SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON, SC - For the first time since 1990, Mark Martin is leading the
Winston Cup point standings. His second-place finish at Bristol, combined
with Jeff Gordon's 35th-place finish, helped him gain 112 points in just
one race and a 13-point advantage over Gordon. With only 10 races
remaining, Martin is in position to claim his first Winston Cup
championship.
"It's an awesome feeling to be back in the hunt," Martin said. "I hate to
get excited because there is a lot of racing yet this season and Gordon
proved at Bristol that anything can happen at any time. I've said it
before, but this team is the best it has ever been. We are at the top of
our game and we were lucky to come out of Bristol in one piece. Now it's
time to focus on Darlington, which is usually a good track for us."
The spring race was good and bad for the Valvoline/Cummins team. The team
experimented with the Roush chassis at Darlington in March and learned some
valuable lessons about the handling of the car. That race was turning point
for Martin. He earned eight top-five finishes in the next nine races. It
was also a disappointment since he should have had a top-five finish until
a loose rear wheel forced him to pit with 20 laps to go, resulting in a
24th-place finish.
"That was a disappointing finish for us," Martin said. "We had a top-five
car but didn't get a top-five finish. This time I feel confident we can get
the top-five finish we were owed from the spring, if not better."
Martin will also compete in Saturday's Busch race. He hopes to put his
Winn-Dixie Ford in victory lane and in the record books for breaking the
all-time Busch career wins record.
MARK MARTIN'S CAREER RECORD - DARLINGTON RACEWAY
Date Event S F Laps Reason Money Won
3/23/97 TranSouth 400 5 24 291 Running 21,135
3/24/96 TranSouth 400 16 6 293 Running 31,275
9/1/96 Mountain Dew 500 6 3 367 Running 45,430
3/26/95 TranSouth 400 12 37 157 Running 22,531
9/3/95 Mountain Dew 500 36 33 313 Handling 23,960
3/27/94 TranSouth 400 3 2 293 Running 47,835
9/4/94 Mountain Dew 500 6 25 342 Engine 20,975
3/28/93 TranSouth 500 6 2 367 Running 38,875
9/5/93 Mountain Dew 500 4 1 351 Running 67,765
3/29/92 TranSouth 500 14 3 367 Running 29,375
9/6/92 Heinz Southern 500 25 2 298 Running 41,355
4/7/91 TranSouth 500 12 4 366 Running 22,710
9/1/91 Heinz Southern 500 10 29 303 Engine 14,255
4/1/90 TranSouth 500 2 2 367 Running 34,460
9/2/90 Heinz Southern 500 10 6 367 Running 16,825
4/2/89 TranSouth 500 1 4 367 Running 18,810
9/3/89 Heinz Southern 500 3 2 367 Running 37,550
3/27/88 TranSouth 500 21 6 365 Running 7,025
9/4/88 Southern 500 7 19 358 Running 5,040
4/10/83 TranSouth 500 10 3 367 Running 17,530
9/5/83 Southern 500 27 17 351 Running 3,275
4/4/82 CRC Rebel 500 20 7 356 Running 5,700
9/6/82 Southern 500 19 22 310 Running 5,245
Races WINS TOP-5 Top-10 Poles Money Won
TranSouth 500 12 0 7 10 1 297,261
Mountain Dew 500 11 1 4 5 0 281,675
TOTAL 23 1 11 15 1 578,936
By Roush Racing Public Relations
