1990 no pun intended marks a giant what if for Mark Martin. He made his Cup debut in 1981 for Bud Reeder and would race full time in 82. 1983 however couldn't race full time for instead it provided a part time effort for Jim Stacy, D.K Ulrich, Emanuel Zervakis, and Larry McClure. Afterwards he didn't race for 3 years. In 1986 Jerry Gunderman got Mark 5 races that season. The following year the Arkansas native ran in Xfinity full time and did pretty good with 3 victories, 5 top 5s, 13 top 10s, 6 poles and an 8th place points finish. That performance was enough for Jack Roush to hire this man for a full time Cup ride. Roush Racing was a new team so 1988 wasn't something to ride home about. However in 89 they did very well with them getting their first win in Cup and a championship capable 3rd place points finish. So a new decade looked up for Martin and the 6 team. It didn't start out well at Daytona with a disappointing 21st place run. Next up was Richmond though where they started 6th and ran good to start off but faded a little in the mid part of the race to the back of the top 10 for a small oil leak caused by a taped cowl. Once they removed the tape Martin was able to get his way back to contention behind Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt. A yellow came out late bringing the field to the pits for 1 final pitstop. Team manager and basically head strategist Steve Hmiel makes the call to put 2 tires on hoping to just get 5 free bonus points while they still could thinking they wouldn't win straight up. Wallace and Earnhardt were the dominant cars in the end and Martin had a long run car so crew chief Robin Pemberton said to the media that they had to take a gamble. Well it works out! They won! The 2 tire call got Mark Martin to lead the final 16 laps to win his 2nd carrier race for himself and for team owner Jack Roush! That has to feel so warm especially on a day where the temperature was borderline FREEZING. But just when you think things were warm hearted and jolly they instantly get cold. As the teams were in the process of preparing for post race inspection Richard Childress comes up with an official and was pointing out the engine of the 6 car so NASCAR runs them out to have a closer look at the motor and they did find something fishy. The NASCAR rulebook says you can only have a 2 inch carburetor spacer. Mark Martin's car had a 2 and 1/2 inch carburetor spacer bolted on the car. They got fined 40,000 dollars and penalized 46 points for their actions. A lot of people thought that was WAY TOO harsh comparing to getting a death sentence for shoplifting. The 46 points were equal to a 10th place finish which in this case was the last car on the lead lap. That was very controversial and as the years went by members of the Roush team Steve Hmiel, Robin Pemberton, and Mark Martin have given their sides of the story of what happened behind the scenes either on a interview shortly after or on podcasts almost 30 years later. Apparently when the 6 team was first founded like I said earlier there wasn't that competitive in 88. But Hmiel said on a podcast that in Daytona the previous race an incident happened in inspection. Back in the 90s NASCAR didn't have all the technology they do now to check every last thing so they just simply put a official to visually give the thumbs up or thumbs down. The 6 car initially got the thumbs down cause the roof was too low. It turns out Robin Pemberton and the crew lowered it trying to get every last advantage they can which everyone at some point will do trying to get RIGHT on the edge. So in response Jack Roush decides to hang out in the inspection room where all the cars go to which did not get appreciated by NASCAR, no penalty it was just frowned upon. Now back to Richmond when the crew was told of the penalty Jack Roush said to Steve Hmiel "Well, I figured at in my NASCAR career some time I'd get caught cheating but not for something as stupid this" Hmiel replied "What happened?"
"It was that spacer Robin told me to make." Said Roush. So to get more into detail Mark Martin said on his podcast that in Robin's mind the spacer was legal because one of the manufacturers apparently had a disadvantage when it came down to carburetor spacers so NASCAR in an attempt to level out the playing field allowed all the manufacturers which were Chevrolet, Ford, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac to weld on as big of a spacer as they wanted. But like I mentioned before it was bolted on. The 6 team decides to appeal but while that is in the process the crew aim to bounce back at race the 3rd race out of 29 in Rockingham. While he did run well and at one point got up as high as 2nd the engine expired from a bad valve ending their race and to continue their pretty rough start the appeal the team did backfired. The $40,000 fine and 46 points penalty stayed. The reason for it was the fact that the illegal spacer was bolted on. NASCAR was allowing teams to add height to the intake manifold where you could weld as much height as you wanted. The morale is if the 2 and 1/2 inch spacer was WELDED on no harm no foul, it wouldn't be a problem but because it was BOLTED on while it gave no to if anything gave a microscopic advance was against the rules and there was nothing the team could do about it now. Mark Martin though took it well despite the disappointment of being 17th in points saying all he and Roush could do is move on with 26 races left in the season. In Atlanta he got back on track with a 5th place run. In Darlington he fell to top 10 early on but the crew was able to adjust on the car making it a a top 5 caliber car but when a big wreck occurred on the frontstretch seemed to hinder his race. Luckily he escaped with basically no damage cause he only just spun. With about 30 to go Mark drove his way up to 4th with the leaders in sight but gets Darlington stripe in 1 and 2. It looked like his chance for victory has vanished but a late yellow has bunched the field up for pitstops. The Folgers crew gained their man a spot and then Martin gained another out on track putting him in prime position to challenge Dale Earnhardt for the win after one last cause bunched the field up for a 3 lap shootout.

https://youtu.be/t3lcbjbd5iU

Wall Mark definitely tried but came up just short at beating Darlington but Dale Earnhardt aka the man in black wouldn't be denied at defeating the lady in black. Onwards to Bristol, Mark ran good ran in the top 5 most of the race and was once again racing with some of the best like Darrell Waltrip a 3 time champion was the main dominator in the race but in a race with a high attrition rate a clean car was pivotal to contend for the win. And that's what Martin did and after Waltrip had a flat tire he could focus on getting the win but he had company behind him to.

https://youtu.be/lguhdz53UJI

Thats the 2nd straight race now Mark Martin has come up just short of victory lane but however he now is tied for 3rd in points with Kyle Petty 121 points behind the Intimadator 6 races in. Race 7 at North Wilkesboro lead first 103 laps but
faded to 6th place at the finish. In Martinsville he finished 7th,
Talladega he got a 3rd and the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte he ran towards the front but fell back from taking 4 tires when a lot of his competitors took 2. Still he made his way back up to 3rd. This put him 3rd in points 68 behind Dale Earnhardt. At the monster mile aka Dover he got a 4th after leading 36 laps which got him up to 2nd in points after Dale Earnhardt had a engine faliure early on now 32 behind Morgan Shephard. Sonoma looked like it would be a rough day for the Arkansas native who pitted on lap 12 for a flat tire. But with strategy from Robin Pemberton and Steve Hmiel waited 31 laps to pit again to get back on cycle. Plus with 31 laps left in the race he could go the rest of the way without another pitstop. He made his way up to a 2nd place finish but there still was a win on the day, due to Shephard having an engine faliure with 4 laps to go Martin for the first time in his Cup career and for the first time in Roush history would lead the points! Yep, now they lead Shephard by 62 heading into unlucky race number 13. Pocono isn't nicknamed the "tricky triangle" for no reason, Mark Martin would struggle the whole race. Besides ironically having a flat tire forcing him to pit road with a caution coming out soon after propelling him to the lead for 4 laps was the highlight of his race as he finished 14th. Despite that he only lost 10 points to 2nd, Michigan would be something more to cheer about for the 6 team. They had the pole and dominated the first quarter of the race leading 59 laps and in fact for Ford it was their race to lose with Bill Elliott a former series champion running away with it but an engine faliure late put him on the sidelines. Meanwhile this looked like Mark's chance to claim win number 2 of 1990 but while racing with and eventually losing out to Geoffrey Bodine for 3rd allowed Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan to make just enough of a gap to claim the top 2 positions. While it might have a slight sting having a 94 point cushion definitely eased the pain as the NASCAR Cup season hits its halfway mark at Daytona. The 4th of July weekend morning race was both better and worse to some degree for Martin. He was gonna start 2nd but wrecked his primary car in a practice crash that actually injured 3 time champion Darrell Waltrip. Cause Martin's crew couldn't repair the car he would have to go to a backup and start at the rear but with the power of the draft he can easily get back up to the front right? Only one problem,

https://youtu.be/BdY9KTFP80c

Yeah one con of starting in the back if if literally half the field wrecks in front the track gets BLOCKED. And I know its tough to see in that video about but he did get some nose damage BUT he was able to continue with compared to most of the wrecked cars with little damage even though he lost a lap. He did lose a lap but with massive attrition and even a spin halfway through the race Mark got an 11th place and also a lot of people close to him in points were in the wreck so he effectively net lost 31 points or in other words has a 63 point lead to the race winner 3 time champion Dale Earnhardt. Back at it to Pocono once again but with a 6th place finish this time to car number 6, at Talladega he was looking to run 2nd behind the dominant Earnhardt but with 15 to go Mark had to pit for fuel and finished 9th. That shrunk his lead all the way down to a single point over the race winner in the 3. Going to Watkins Glen Mark needed a step up in performance to keep the lead over a red hot Earnhardt known as the "Intimadator" and the "Man in Black". Mark had a top 5 car while Earnhardt looked just close to a race winning car but at lap 44 Dale got spun out by Rusty Wallace going for the lead in turn 1 sending back to the middle of the pack. 6 laps later the 6 would take the lead for 16 laps but needed to make another stop for fuel but pitted a couple laps early cause the car starting sputtering and running out of gas. He still looked to be in a great position to maybe win cause a lot of drivers ahead of him needed to pit. But JUST before the cycle finished he had a flat tire! Well that's a tough break but a caution comes out bunching the field up and Dale Earnhardt spins under yellow for a flat tire! This just gave a big chance for Martin to get more breathing room in the points which is exactly what happens as Mark CHARGED his way up to 5th with a little help from some last lap chaos now leading Earnhardt by 10 who finished 7th. I know it's not a lot but at least he gained points right? The Jack Roush crew now headed back to Michigan where they ran well previously. They ran good again but had to compete with Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Bill Elliott who all have won the last 4 championships so he is gonna have to beat the best in Ford's backyard. Mark got up to 2nd but didn't really show his strength till lap 124 when he got the lead from Rusty Wallace. From there on Mark never really looked back. Mark Martin wins at Michigan after leading 72 of the 200 laps including 70 of the last 77. It got better to in a max points day after Mark lead the most laps and the joy over the radio was obvious. Steve Hmiel said "I'll tell you what Mark that was a good day for all of us!" To that Mark replied "Man y'all are the best! Crew made a racecar that couldn't be beat today no way!" No controversy this time, it might have surprised a lot of people that the Folgers crew wasn't backing down. The underdogs were leading the points by 48. After the Bristol night race it grew to 61 after a 3rd place run by Martin and his rival Earnhardt who dominated the race finished 8th after having a flat tire late. Oh the 6 and the 3 were in a head to her fight for the top. They were the two players for the championship crown and with 9 races left in the season everyone realized that it was gonna between Arkansas native Mark Martin and 3 time champion from North Carolina Dale Earnhardt. Heading to Darlington the track too tough to tame drivers will have to be on their toes for a 367 lap race in a crown jewel event, the Southern 500. It started off really bad for Mark Martin who got spun out on lap 3 putting him to the rear. But at least for them it wasn't with 3 laps to go right? Anyway Earnhardt was leading some laps but he was fading back while Martin was charging forward. In fact Dale actually smacked the wall hard in turn 2, usually you'll probably get a Darlington strips cause that's just part of it and the nature of the track but the 3 hit the wall hard enough to damage the suspension on the car. He still continued on and eventually got the repairs he needed to stay on the lead lap. Things still looked up for Mark getting back to the top 10 now being 241 laps in looking to either gain points or salvage a lot of his lead to Earnhardt but the 6 got spun around again! Mark Martin who basically had to pass the whole field after a spin early on now has been spun around for a second time! At least there wasn't 40 cars on the same lap as him this time when he spun, had to restart just outside the top 10 though and drove the 6 all the way back up to 6th. Unfortunately though for him Earnhardt won the race and lead the most laps shrinking the lead between the 2 to 26. Not having a bad day is important in a championship fight especially in the eyes of fans from here on out. The home stretch begins now and at times the reason a driver lost the championship was cause something happened in these final 8 races which began at "The Action Track" Richmond. Martin and Earnhardt started 7th and 6th and early on it looked like Martin was as fast as he was in the first trip up this season being RIGHT up in 2nd as Earnhardt was mid top 10. But an unscheduled stop under green for a flat tire by Mark Martin trapped him a lap down when the caution came out. He has a fast car and the way things were back then from there being no free pass he could restart right beside the leader to try to get his lap back. It wasn't easy for a while to get it back. He just couldn't quite make the pass after a few laps. However when he finally got the jump he needed he was able to put some room between he and the new leader Dale Earnhardt out of all people just adding to the list of why a caution is needed, Martin was the fastest car on track so he can compete for the win but needs a good break and just past halfway he gets it with debris off another car into turn 1 bunching everyone up. Now Mark can get through traffic to get those points back and maybe do something about that Earnhardt guy who was leading and closing in on clinching 5 more points for leading the most laps but Mark is spinning around in turn 3! A big jammed up corner with a bunch of cars involved including the Folgers Ford Thunderbird owned by Jack Roush and driven by Mark Martin! Still nothing to panic just yet with only some cosmetic damage and toe being knocked out to worry about on a short track aero isn't a huge concern so 4 fresh tires and hes back at it again. With everything fixed he charged all the way back up through the field and right behind Dale Earnhardt! Now they are side by side for 2nd but the 3 won't give it up without a fight. Martin tried and tried and tried and FINALLY finished the job to get past his championship rival. It became the race for the lead when Rusty Wallace pitted as fuel became a concern. Jack Roush initially thought the 6 Folgers car didn't need another stop and can just cruise home to build on the lead they have in the points but apparently that's not the case with 25 laps to go Mark Martin pits for a splash and go! It isn't horrible though because most of the field needed a splash of fuel but only one problem, Dale Earnhardt is still leading but a late caution put Mark right behind the 3 but once the Intimidator got the lead it is a EXTREMELY difficult task to take it from him as Earnhardt claims his 8th win with Martin 2nd. The championship plot thickens with Martin only holding off Earnhardt by 16 with 7 races to go. These two are just in a league of their own but man it was gonna be hard to hold of Earnhardt as it looked like only a matter of time till Mark loses the lead. Earnhardt even had the nickname of "The Dominator" Dale had lots of wins, lead lots of laps, had lots of bonus points. To put this in perspective Earnhardt had 8 wins and no other driver had more than 2 like Mark Martin, Dale lead 1,716 laps at this point while the 6 lead 364, and to top it off the 3 had 125 bonus points while Martin had 65. Two did ways to lead thought as they both had 13 top 5s however Mark has 18 top 10s to Dale's 17. But it's like former champion and at the time was an ESPN commentator Benny Parsons said "I'll tell you what they both know they're in for a contest. Earnhardt knows that the championship is not gonna be a cakewalk. Mark Martin, Jack Roush his crew they know that Earnhardt is there and if they just sneeze they're gonna lose." Onwards to Dover, early on Earnhardt put his RCR Chevrolet in 1st being fast. Martin was not too shabby himself but the way that Dale was lapping cars he ALMOST lapped the 6! That was close though but past halfway things got tougher for Mark who pits with flat left rear! Now Martin is a lap down and oh boy does he need for the pitstops to cycle all the way around! Martin though despite being off cycle in the process was able to lead some laps getting his bonus points. That Folgers Ford was fast enough he actually UNLAPPED almost but nonetheless was able to get his lap back! Which was REALLY good with there only being 3 lead lap cars, Yep 3 Martin, Earnhardt and Bill Elliott who was on a league of his own and easily won on fuel mileage so it was all about 2nd. Lap after lap after lap after LAP Martin and Earnhardt ran side by side! But in the end it was Martin who eventually prevailed to 2nd and even extended his lead ever so slightly to 21. When Martinsville came along Martin got the pole almost guaranteeing 5 bonus points right off the start but couldn't hold the lead and in fact early says he has spongy brakes! Short tracks can be tough on the brakes but we aren't 10 laps in the race and Martin already has a brake problem?! This could be a LOOONG day, However the spotter said it looked like the right front was smoking so at least they have a lead on where to start, now all the Roush team needs a caution to have a look to see what they can do. Lap 38 gave them that opportunity so during pitstops the crew looked at the right front caliber and the smoke reported earlier almost indicated a leak. When the team looked at the right front nothing leaked, turns out it was caused by an o ring leak inside the caliber but it fixed itself. What a stroke of luck even in an unlucky situation, everything is fine! So now they have the whole race to get out to the front but now there is another problem! Mark Martin's motor sounds like its lacking power! This could be terminal to with the race still being young having to go hundreds of more laps on 7 cylinders will drop him like a rock! Another caution though came out to his aid so Mark now once again pits to see if it is a fixable problem. It is! A spark plug wire got knocked off and the team replaced in enough time for Martin to stay on the lead lap! Dang this is an eventful day for Martin and Earnhardt is just hanging out at the front. Now there are problems for Dale Earnhardt! Dale Earnhardt for a flat tire and is now a lap down! Just when things were all going wrong for Martin trouble has struck to his championship foe! Yet again another caution came out but this time to help Earnhardt. There is still a long way to go in this 500 lap race. At lap 152 Dale Earnhardt restarted along side and got ahead of the race leader to get his lap back, now one more yellow and Earnhardt is back in the game, at least if he didn't jump the restart! It looked PERFECT for the 3 but too perfect and now the Intimidator is a lap down once again. It wouldn't be so easy for Earnhardt to get his lap back though he has definitely driven hard to get to the leader to unlap. He finally caught the leader and was racing hard to pass out on the track. However when a car spun out right in front of them Earnhardt was able to time it just right when the leader slowed the 3 was back on the lead lap. So Mark now had his championship rival back on the same lap as him. They both pushed their way up to the front but Mark in the last run wanted the lead especially to claim those55 bonus points he hasn't gotten throughout the rest of the race which he does claim 14 laps but it wasn't the last 14 laps sadly for him but a 3rd place run isn't horrible at all especially with everything that happened from the early spongy brakes and a bad spark plug wire right? The 6 is still on top of the table once again by 16 cause Earnhardt finished 2nd. Returning to North Wilkesboro Mark was able to start on the front row like he did last time to quickly get them bonus points and ran decently but one problem, Dale Earnhardt was in another zip code as Martin was kinda struggling. The crew makes a big gamble under yellow halfway through to remove a right front spring rubber this meant however he'd have to start at the back of the pack and with close quarters things could quickly go wrong. Throughout the next few laps and some timely cautions bringing him closer and Closer and CLOSER to the rear of the 3 and was in striking range but especially in a long run is when Mark was a little faster than Dale. On the last restart with 40 Martin had a great restart and drove it into turns 1 and 2 and makes a little contact! The 2 championship contenders are side by side for the lead going into 3 and Martin gets by Dale Earnhardt who gave a tap to the back of the Folgers Ford but that would be the last time Earnhardt would see Martin who drove off to claim his 3rd victory of 1990 Mark Martin wins at North Wilkesboro! Just like that when it looked all but certain that Martin was gonna lose his point lead he actually maintained it still being at 16 with 4 races to go. Onwards to Charlotte both of the championship contenders missed their setups early on. Still there was a long way to go in the race only a third of the way through but Dale Earnhardt got hit by Ernie Irvan on pit road during pitstops. Back then there was no speed limit on pit road. Yeah, very dangerous. When Alan Kulwicki got loose after being ran into the grass he hit Ernie into the 3 on pit road. Still though Dale was going ok, even though the car wasn't handling good usually they can make it better as the race went on. Usually he wouldn't have a damaged rear end housing which caused him to spin and hit the wall. But here is the thing, the crew doesn't quite realize what was going on. All Earnhardt was saying that the car was weirdly loose. But it is clear that the 3 needs to just make the most out of a bad day and not lose a lap in the pits. Dale floored it to get off the pit lane in front of the pace car which he did but the wheels have fallen off Dale's race. No I'm serious LITERALLY the left side wheels have fallen off when Earnhardt drove off! It was all a miscommunication/mistake by the team and Dale and now his car is just stuck on the apron of the track with no left side wheels and the wrecker comes to pick the car up to take it to the garage! Just when you think you've seen it all something always happens to prove you wrong. In this case Earnhardt's crew is running out to the car under yellow to put tires on the car because if the safety workers drag the car with no wheels it'll cause damage to the suspension and any other parts under the car which could be more time spent trying to get the car repaired. Despite putting tires on and saying out of the garage Earnhardt's car is still damaged and will lose multiple laps in the pits. With as close as the championship race has been this could be HUGE for Mark Martin even with an ill handling car he could get some breathing room between he and the Intimidator and anytime you can get more breathing room on a driver with nicknames like that and "The man in black" it's always a good thing. Things would get a little bit harder for Mark who lost a cylinder with 100 laps left in the race. It wasn't a spark plug wire this time, there was nothing the crew could do but hey a 14th place finish is better than Earnhardt who finished 25th. With 3 races to go Mark now holds a 49 point lead to the 3. The last time he had a point lead of more than 26 was after the Bristol night race. Still can't take this point lead for granted cause that 3 team can dominate a race at any moment. But heading to the Rock aka Rockingham that didn't happen, however there is only one problem. Mark didn't have the greatest of days either. Keep in mind they didn't just completely miss the setup like they did at Charlotte but compared to their usual standards its a disappointment. Mark got an 11th while Dale got one spot better. Believe it or not this actually set up some clinching scenarios for Mark Martin, if Martin finishes or averages 3rd or better in Phoenix and Atlanta he automatically is the champion. In fact if Earnhardt finishes 40th in Phoenix while Mark wins the race and leads the most laps Martin has the championship sealed up. Wouldn't guarantee that Earnhardt would finish 40th unless absolute disaster completely struck early on. Early on what  happened were the 2 championship contenders running better, they at one point were even embarrassed by their finishes in recent weeks. They also seem like they have a magnet towards each other, when one runs good so does the other, one misses the setup well the other does to, and just when one has some kind of problem so does the other one. Dale though was running strong and eventually got the lead while Mark was up to 4th but was stuck behind traffic. He was faster then some of his competitors but couldn't get past. Phoenix was a newer track at the time it was the 3rd race ran. Martin though did begin to struggle with his car saying while he was trying so hard to gain track position that he was loose. It doesn't help when he burns his rear tires up like knew. Panic slightly started to set while the 6 car started to fall into the top 10 while Earnhardt was just leading and leading. While the 3 crew was known for improving the car as the race went on the 6 team could do it to. It also helps when Mark was able to pick his way through traffic and get back up to 4th with 16 to go. Should he stay there and finish 2nd in Atlanta the championship will be his but he fell back to 6th after avoiding a wreck but then a surprising call by Robin Pemberton and Steve Hmiel to bring Mark Martin into the pits for tires! So late in the race it was a shocking move but Robin fully believes it'll be the call to perhaps win the race, he believes Mark who will restart 12th could pass 3 cars a lap knowing especially on fresh tires that Martin could take off. He could only get to 10th in 1 lap JUST as the caution came out. Man that is not what Mark needed to make that strategy work with fewer green laps to make anything happen but when the race got restarted for the last time Martin couldn't improve from 10th and too add the salt to the wounds guess who won the race and lead the most laps to get maximum points? If you thought is was Dale Earnhardt then you are correct. That has BIG points implications there now putting Martin 6 points behind Dale in 2nd, yep for the first time since leaving the first Dover race Martin wasn't the point leader. Just when things were looking SLIGHTLY comfortable spot is now looking to enter a pure head to head duel. However before we get to the championship race we have to start at the Atlanta test session. NASCAR mandated that each team could run up to 7 test sessions on NASCAR circuits. Martin saved up 3 for Atlanta while Dale saved up 2 for the same venue. They both were just gonna bring every car they had and decide which one to use. Even though Earnhardt has 1 less test he is still gonna be there to see what his rival had. It was all hands on deck and early on Dale put down a fast lap in his RCR chevy and the Jack Roush crew were trying to match it and so far they couldn't. Then came lunch, a perfect time to fully debrief on everything that went right and what can be improved in the Folgers car. When lunch is over Earnhardt and his crew were gone. Yeah they were happy with what they had in their cars so they just packed up their stuff and went home. Some people today think they were playing a mind trick but that wasn't the case, Earnhardt who has been in championship battles before like his whole team relied on experience and when they hit the nail on the head they packed their stuff and went home. Meanwhile still testing away Martin couldn't get faster than his personal best time. This might seem a little weird but Mark was offered to drive a different car, by Robert Yates. Usually Davey Allison drives that car but he wasn't in it only for a few minutes so Robert offered it to Martin. Why? Because he wanted to help Ford as much as he could, Martin was the only Ford in championship contention and Ford was in a tight battle with Chevrolet for the manufacturer championship so when every point mattered so the fellow Ford owner wanted to contribute as much as he could. Mark instantly went faster so the decision was made and Jack Roush allowed it for Mark Martin to race that car AND the engine made by Robert Yates. Yates had a strong motor so that would help out their chances to but it was somewhat controversial with the championship on the line to tell Robin Pemberton and Steve Hmiel that their car won't be used in the championship race with some unknowns about a new car they didn't make. But they felt like it was their best chance to seal up the championship. A good run isn't gonna do it with 6 points separating Mark from Dale who is a 6 time winner at Atlanta instantly the mentality is to win Win WIN! The race began with Mark in 11th and Dale 6th but they tried to get up to the front. They seemed evenly matched early on in the 328 lap event. Green flag pitstops were the order of the day as the caution came out while they were happening. This flipped flop the order around a little bit, 75 laps in Mark would restart 6th and Earnhardt was 17th. One important factor was the 3 lead and got 5 bonus points during the pitstops making it more difficult on Martin. What made it more difficult is if there are any mechanical failures and Mark's car was smoking! Out of all times for smoke to come from the Folger's machine this is the worst time but turns out nothing was wrong. It was just the tire bouncing off the fender. Not the first slight scare off the weekend, when Mark qualified the car an electrical wire was burning and the Roush crew found a wire they NEVER knew existed and replaced it. Yeah that was something the Yates team used but Roush didn't that nearly went catastrophic. The race made harder especially for the championship hopes of the 6 when Earnhardt got past him, if Mark can see that 3 car in front he knows he can't win the championship. 110 laps in Martin was going backwards in 11th while Dale was moving forwards in 10th. Green fever was at Atlanta with multiple sets of green flag stops, while Mark did slowly improve it wasn't to the extent of Earnhardt. That Roush team just won't quit though on that championship even though it got further away from them with each passing lap it seemed like. Lap 253the championship seemed like it was gone for good when Mark's ignition dies but he got it back running so that's at least the 3rd scare for the 6 bunch. Even though Mark was running in 5th he was a lap down while Earnhardt was on the lead lap in 3rd. At this rate though it wasn't gonnna happen but the way this year is anything can happen like in the 500 Earnhardt dominated and had a flat tire that cost him the race. Even with a late caution coming out Martin finished 6th while Earnhardt finished 3rd meaning Dale Earnhardt would win his 4th championship by 26 points over Mark Martin. After coming so close but yet so fat in 3 seasons to go from a midfield team to a championship threat was just gut wrenching. After all of that people even the team themselves wonder; what if the valve would have lasted in Rockingham? What if the team didn't pit Mark late in Phoenix? What if they never got that penalty after winning Richmond?-actually speaking of that some conspiracy theorists I think I mentioned it earlier on but they think NASCAR was playing favorites to Richard Childress. They WEREN'T, it was the SECOND race of the season and nobody including the team didn't know it would make a difference in the title battle. Mark himself said it to, regardless if it was a too harsh penalty, regardless if that made a difference in performance, and even though technically if that penalty never happened he would have won the championship they didn't they had the whole rest of the season to make up for those points so Mark believes that lingering on it isn't gonna do anything so the best thing to do was to move on. Still for Roush and his team who thought so highly of Mark who didn't even win a championship throughout his whole carrier and for fans alike still ask What might have been?