Martin Closes Out Season with Solid 11th Place Run at Homestead
Mark Martin and the #6 Viagra® Racing Team
Homestead-Miami Speedway/November 21, 2004
Roush Racing

HOMESTEAD, FLA. – Mark Martin and the Viagra® Race Team concluded the 2004 season with a solid 11th place finish in the season’s final race at Homestead. The finish was good enough to move Martin past Dale Earnhardt Jr. for fourth place in the final Nextel Cup point standings. Martin had driven his No. 6 Ford into the top-five before taking the lead on lap 192, and looked poised for a top-five finish before a cut tire late in the race moved Martin to the back of the lead lap. The veteran was able to battle back through the field, coming up just short of a top-10 finish when the final checkered flag fell.

The ‘battle to the end’ finish seemed fitting for a team that had fought back time and time again during the course of the season. After starting the season in last place after Daytona, Martin came back to claim his 11th career top-five points finish and his second top-four in the past three seasons.

"It was a great effort by the Viagra® team,” said Martin. “We had a pretty good car. We put ourselves in a position to be a contender there and then we had a flat tire under caution, so I'm not gonna say it was bad luck. If it was bad luck, we would have had it under green. With the way things turned out, the best we could have done was fourth and we did that. I'm real proud and honored to work with these guys and I'm also honored just to be racing with these great young drivers out here. I'm gonna be watching them for a long time.

“As for Pat Tryson and this team I just can’t say enough,” added Martin. “They could have quit so many times, but they just kept plugging away. I look forward to coming back with this team next year and going after the championship again.”

Martin started the race 11th and struggled early with the car’s handling. By lap 21 Martin had dropped back to 16th place, before the car began to come around. Martin had moved back to 13th position by lap 48 when the day’s third caution was issued for debris on the front stretch. The team came into the pits for four tires and fuel and to make wedge and air pressure adjustments to free the car’s handling. After a stop of 14.07-seconds, Martin returned to the field in 11th place when the field went green.

The veteran broke into the top 10 for the first time of the day on lap 58 and moved all the way to eighth place by lap 69 before the car’s handling again became tight. Martin was back in ninth when caution number four was called on lap 92. Once again the team used the opportunity to come into the pits for four tires fuel and additional wedge and air pressure adjustments to again free up the car. A quick 13.80-second stop sent Martin back out in eighth place. By lap 110 he had powered the car into sixth place, where he was running when caution was called on lap 113. With the car still ‘too tight’ Martin again came down pit road for four fresh tires and adjustments. Some teams opted for two tires or fuel only and Martin restarted the race in 10th place.

Martin was still running in sixth and battling a ‘loose in and tight off’ Taurus when the team entered the pits under caution on lap 148 to again take four tires and make wedge and air pressure adjustments. The team turned in a stop of 13.47 seconds but dropped to 15th place when the majority of the teams either stayed out or took two tires only. Martin had moved to 14th place by the time caution number nine was called on lap 173. This time crew chief Pat Tryson opted for a fuel only stop. A few cars stayed out and Martin found himself in 15th position when the field went green on lap 177.

he car settled in and Martin embarked on his most successful run of the day. Turning the fastest times on the racetrack, Martin moved into 12th place in just one lap. By lap 180 he had moved back inside the top 10, taking over ninth place from teammate Carl Edwards. Martin radioed the team the ‘car was really good,’ as he moved inside the top five for the first time of the day on lap 189. A caution one lap later gave Martin the opportunity to stay out on the track and the No. 6 took the lead under caution on lap 192. Martin held the lead for the next seven laps and found himself just nine points out of first place in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, when the day’s 11th caution was called on lap 199. The team came into the pits one lap later. The Viagra® crew reeled off a 13.73-second stop, but Martin was on a different cycle than the majority of the field and returned in 18th place when green-flag racing resumed on lap 206.

Martin had moved up to 15th by the time caution was called on lap 223 for the 12th time of the day. The team was set to stay out and Martin moved up to ninth place. However the team noticed that the left-rear tire was going down and Martin had to come down pit road late under caution to replace the damaged tire. The stop dropped Martin back to 26th when the field went green and pretty much ended his bid for the 2004 Nextel Cup. Still, as they did all year, the No. 6 Viagra® Team refused to give up. By lap 240 Martin had moved his No. 6 Ford back inside the top-20.

Martin was up to 17th when caution number 13 was called on lap 252 with only 15 laps to go. The team decided to pit for fresh tires and Martin returned in 20th place when the field went green with 10 scheduled laps remaining. Martin broke back into the top 15 just before the day’s 14th and final caution was called on lap 264 with just three scheduled laps remaining. Two of the cars that had opted for different pit cycles ran out of gas under caution and Martin restarted the race in 13th place for the green-white checkered finale to the 2004 season. In an all Roush day, teammate Greg Biffle won the race while Roush’s Kurt Busch took home the Nextel Cup.

As always Martin refused to give up, taking two more positions in the three lap shootout and coming up just short of 10th as the team brought home the 11th place finish.

The finish put Martin in fourth place, 32 points ahead of fifth place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 107 points behind Busch. Busch and Martin joined fellow Roush teammate Matt Kenseth in the final Nextel Cup Top 10.

Martin finishes the year with one win, 10 top-five, 15 top-10, and 25 top-15 finishes in 36 races. In addition to the win, Martin finished second on five occasions, including three times during the final 10-race chase. The fourth-place finish marks Martin’s 14 top-10 points finish in the last 16 seasons.

"The team fought hard all year,” said Martin. “We came out 43rd in points leaving Daytona with our hearts broken and battled our way all the way back to fourth. I'm proud of them for that. The guys did a great job. I'm proud of them and I look forward to next year. I'm going try to keep all of these guys together and we're going to make a real effort to be in first place at the end of this deal next year."

DRIVER: Mark Martin (4th)
RACE WINNINGS 2004: $3,948,497
SPECIAL AWARDS: --
POINT FUND PAYOUT - NASCAR/NEXTEL: $1,523,087
CAREER BONUS: $7,420
TOTAL: $5,479,004
CAREER TOTAL: $46,135,779

---

TOTAL WINNINGS 2004 NEXTEL SEASON: $4,032,452 (Includes Bud Shootout, All-Star & Busch Series 2004)
TOTAL POINTS: 6399
BEHIND LEADER: -107
PLUS/MINUS: +1
POSITION IN STANDINGS: 4
STARTS: 36
WINS: 1
TOP 5: 10
TOP 10: 15
POLES: 0

Mark Martin No. 9 Pennzoil 2004 Busch Team Race Schedule In Gold.

DATE	RACE & TRACK	START	FINISH	STATUS	LAPS COMPLETED	WINNINGS
February 7	Bud Shootout Daytona International Speedway	7	4	Running	70/70	$53,000
February 12	Gatorade Twin 125 (2) Daytona International Speedway	10	4	Running	50/50	---
February 16	Hershey Kisses 300 Daytona International Speedway	---	---	DNQ	---	---
February 15	Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway	8	43	Engine Failure	7/200	$216,997
February 22	Subway 400 North Carolina Speedway	21	12	Running	391/393	$72,960
March 7	UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway	27	5	Running	267/267	$127,875
March 14	Golden Corral 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway	28	14	Running	324/325	$70,550
March 21	Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 Darlington Raceway	20	7	Running	293/293	$72,345
March 28	Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway	21	23	Running	499/500	$81,045
April 4	Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Texas Motor Speedway	28	17	Running	332/334	$100,425
April 18	Advance Auto Parts 500 Martinsville Speedway	19	34	Running	469/500	$65,200
April 25	Aaron's 499 Talladega Superspeedway	6	6	Running	188/188	$108,380
May 2	Auto Club 500 California Speedway	26	11	Running	250/250	$90,450
May 15	Chevy American Revolution 400 Richmond International Raceway	12	7	Running	400/400	$76,825
May 22	NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge Lowe's Motor Speedway	4	10	Running	90/90	$85,400
May 30	Coca-Cola 600 Lowe's Motor Speedway	18	36	Ignition failure	387/400	$76,425
June 6	MBNA 400 "A Salute to Heroes" Dover International Speedway	7	1	Running	400/400	$271,900
June 13	Pocono 500 Pocono Raceway	4	36	Engine failure	112/200	$60,065
June 20	DHL 400 Michigan International Speedway	15	34	Transmission problems Running	182/200	$66,285
June 27	Dodge/Save Mart 350 Infineon Raceway	4	8	Running	110/110	$89,315
July 3	Pepsi 400 Daytona International Speedway	21	6	Running	160/160	$108,375
July 11	Tropicana 400 Chicagoland Speedway	18	24	Running Engine failure	265/267	$79,850
July 25	Siemens 300 New Hampshire International Speedway	26	14	Running	300/300	$76,800
August 1	Pennsylvania 500 Pocono Raceway	21	2	Running	200/200	$132,895
August 8	Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway	16	25	Running	161/161	$134,380
August 15	Sirius at the Glen Watkins Glen International	15	3	Running	90/90	$98,910
August 21	Cabela's 250 Michigan International Speedway	43	2	Running	125/125	$31,600
August 22	GFS Marketplace 400 Michigan International Speedway	13	2	Running	200/200	$115,680
August 28	Sharpie 500 Bristol Motor Speedway	7	13	Running	499/500	$91,440
September 5	Pop Secret 500 California Speedway	11	3	Running	250/250	$144,450
September 10	Emerson Radio 250 Richmond International Raceway	13	12	Running	250/250	$13,975
September 11	Chevy Rock and Roll 400 Richmond International Raceway	2	5	Running	400/400	$84,055
September 19	Sylvania 300 New Hampshire International Speedway	8	13	Running	300/300	$78,425
September 25	Stacker 200 presented by YJ Stinger Dover International Speedway	17	8	Running	200/200	$15,380
September 26	MBNA 400 Dover International Speedway	12	2	Running	400/400	$138,560
October 3	EA Sports 500 Talladega Superspeedway	17	15	Running	188/188	$79,035
October 10	Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods Kansas Speedway	18	20	Running	267/267	$72,800
October 16	UAW-GM Quality 500 Lowe's Motor Speedway	12	13	Running	334/334	$74,500
October 24	Subway 500 Martinsville Speedway	23	12	Running	500/500	$70,550
October 30	Aaron's 312 Atlanta Motor Speedway	24	6	Running	208/208	$17,325
October 31	Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway	7	2	Running	325/325	$238,500
November 6	Bashas' Supermarkets 200 Phoenix International Raceway	19	6	Running	205/205	$22,775
November 7	Checker Auto Parts 500 Phoenix International Raceway	22	15	Running	315/315	$67,975
November 14	Mountain Dew Southern 500 Darlington Raceway	5	2	Running	367/367	$190,825
November 21	Ford 400 Homestead Miami Speedway	11	11	Running	271/271	$67,950