DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 10, 2008) – Mark Martin and the No. 8 U.S. Army team experienced an unidentified power steering issue, but still managed to post a solid 16th-place finish in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway.

“This was a really tough race,” said Martin. “But these guys on this U.S. Army team are just incredible. They don’t give up and got us so many positions on pit road. We were able to hang in there and bring home a respectable finish."

“You don’t always have the fastest car out there and everything doesn’t always go perfect," added Martin. "On those nights you just have to dig deep and give it all you have. That is what these guys did tonight and I’m incredibly proud to drive their car each week.”

The veteran driver, who started 27th, patiently bided his time early in the race as several cars continued to collide with the wall. In the end, Martin’s Chevrolet Impala SS was one of only a handful of cars that did not tag the wall and collect the famous Darlington Stripe.

With the help of quick pit work by the Army over-the-wall crew, Martin did run as high as 12th during the 367-lap, 501-mile race.

The No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team is now 15th in the Sprint Cup owner points standings, just 20 points outside of 12th and the cutoff point for the Chase.

In the driver standings, Martin is ranked 26th, despite only having competed in eight of 11 events. He is ahead of eight drivers who have competed in all 11 races this season.

The No. 8 team will take a week off from point racing for the Sprint All-Star Challenge Saturday night (May 17) at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte. The next points race is also at Lowe's -- the Coke 600 -- Sunday, May 25. Martin won the All-Star event in both 1998 and 2005 and won the Coke 600 in 2002.