NASCAR Winston Cup Series UAW-GM Quality 500 Report: #6, Mark Martin

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7 October 1997


 #6 Mark Martin, Valvoline/Cummins Ford Thunderbird
 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
 UAW-GM Quality 500 Race Report
 Charlotte Motor Speedway
 October 5, 1997

              MARK MARTIN RACE RECAP: UAW-GM QUALITY 500

 
CONCORD, NC - After five long days at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Mark
Martin and the Valvoline/Cummins Ford team were ready to race. Martin
qualified third for the UAW-GM Quality 500 with a speed of 183.673
mph.

"I'm really pleased with that lap," Martin said. "This team has got my
Valvoline/Cummins Ford working great. We've been good in practice all
day and it will feel good to start up front."

Sunday brought sunny skies and warm temperatures to start the 334-lap
race.  It did not get off to a great start since several cars spun on
the front stretch as they took the green flag, but after a few clean
up laps the field was ready to race. Martin received his five bonus
points for leading the race on lap 67 just before his first pit
stop. The car was a little loose so the team lowered the track bar on
the first stop and still had a 17.1-second stop.  Martin took the lead
again on lap 103 and led until lap 117 when he was passed by eventual
winner Dale Jarrett on a restart. Martin was fast enough to race with
the leaders all day and he was pleased with the handling of the
car. He received a bad set of tires on his third pit stop which slowed
him down a bit. The team made a few minor adjustments to air pressure
and the track bar throughout the day, but overall Martin was happy
with his car and his fourth-place finish.

"We had a good car and we probably could have had a shot at it under
different circumstances," Martin said. "We fell way behind on a set of
tires that didn't work for us and we ran fourth. I'm proud of this
whole team, we gave it what we had."

Martin gained 10 points over Jeff Gordon in the Winston Cup
championship battle. He remains in second place, trailing Gordon by
125 points. This Sunday the teams head to Talladega Superspeedway
where Martin won in May and hopes to repeat his good fortune."

By Roush Racing Public Relations