Electing to take part in the open testing session on Thursday afternoon at the historic one mile oval, Crew Chief Mike Chaffee and his team focused on a long run setup that would keep speed in the car for Justin on old tires. The car clicked off consistent speeds lap after lap as the tires wore down, and Marks turned the fourth fastest time of the Friday’s qualifying session with a lap time of 24.805 seconds.
The green flag dropped shortly after 1:30 PM on Saturday afternoon and Marks cruised through the first 50 laps of the event in second position. A caution flag on lap 51 gave the Win-Tron Racing crew the chance they needed to bring their driver down pit road and make some adjustments to the No. 32 Construct Corps Charger. After four fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, the pit crew finished their work quick enough to help Justin gain three spots in pit road. Restarting third just a few laps later gave Marks the track position he needed and he pulled into the lead easily on lap 62.
Setting the pace for the next 25 laps, Marks seemed to have set the cruise control in the Construct Corps machine, until he began reporting around lap 90 the tight condition in the middle of the corners had returned. He began to fall back through the top ten to save his equipment until he could make another pit stop for more adjustments, but discovered a much more serious problem than the handling was developing.
Just past halfway Marks radioed to his Win-Tron crew that something was amiss in the engine. After switching ignition boxes and assuring Crew Chief Mike Chaffee that all of the gauges had normal readings, Marks continued making laps around the track until the next caution flag just before lap 150. The crew took a peek under the hood but found nothing they could fix on pit road, sending Justin back onto the track for the remaining 50 laps of battle. The looming problem in the power plant of the No. 32 would ultimately cause Marks to fall back to a 16th place finish.
Leading those laps gave Marks five bonus points that ultimately pushed him ahead of Dakoda Armstrong for the sixth spot in the championship point standings. Though the final outcome of the 2010 season was bittersweet for the Win-Tron team as the championship title they were hoping for didn’t come, driver and crew were still pleased with their performance and championship contention.
“Even though we didn’t end up with the championship title, I still think we showed what this team is really made of,” Co-Owner of Win-Tron Racing Nate Thiesse commented. “These guys pulled together week after week, worked extra hours in the shop to get the car ready and never complained. Our performance on the track really showed the dedication Win-Tron Racing has, and we’re very pleased with the job Justin Marks did behind the wheel for us all year long.”
- Win-Tron Racing Press Release
