Martin Finishes 10th Despite Pit Road Mishap and a Pair of Accidents

It just was not the day for Mark Martin and the No. 6 Scotts F-150 Racing Team. Martin started 16th after Saturday morning's qualifying session and sported the field's fastest truck early on in the race. However a mishap on pit road combined with a pair of accidents would not only deliver damage to Martin's F-150, but it would effectively put an end to Martin's bid for his fifth Craftsman Truck Series win of the season. Still, Martin was able to battle back through the field, fighting his way back on the lead lap and to a 10th-place finish.

"Well, that was just one of those days," said Martin after the race. "We had a really fast truck and once again Mike Beam and these guys on the Scotts Team gave us a truck that was very capable of running up front and winning the race.

"We just had that trouble on pit road and then got caught up in a couple of accidents, and that really killed any chance of us getting up front," added Martin. "Still, the team did a really good job and we were able to fight back to a solid top-10 finish."

Martin started 16th and while displaying the fastest truck in the race, quickly moved up the field, running as high as third before having to come back into the pits after exiting pit road with the jack under the truck during a green flag stop.

The penalty moved Martin to the back of the lead lap, where a few laps later he was spun out going into the turn on lap 68. Martin rebounded from the spin, but was caught up in a five-truck accident just six laps later on lap 74. Martin's No. 6 Scotts Ford sustained heavy damage to the front, and Martin went a lap down as the crew worked feverishly to repair the damage on pit road.

Martin was able to race his way back into the lucky dog position, before eventually earning his way back onto the lead lap and to the top-10 finish.

The finish was Martin's eighth top-10 in nine truck races in 2006. With the run, the No. 6 Scotts Team is now 182 points behind first in the Craftsman Truck Series Owner's Point standings and 58 out of second.

Martin will return to action in the truck series on October 7, 2006 at Talladega Superspeedway.