Mark McFarland

Mark McFarland
Born	February 1, 1978 (1978-02-01) (age 33) Winchester, Virginia
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
2006 position	30th
Best finish	30th - 206 (Busch Series)
First race	1998 Gumout Long Life Formula 200 (New Hampshire)
Last race	2006 Kroger 200 (IRP)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
Statistics current as of April 29, 2006.

Mark McFarland (February 1, 1978) of Winchester, Virginia) Currently works as a crew chief for Matt DiBenedetto in the K&N Pro East Series. McFarland won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 2003.^[1]

Early career

At the age of eight, he began his racing career, racing go-karts. He earned a factory ride after his first year of racing. In 1994, his karting career ended with 10 National Championships and 14 State Championships to his name.

Mark's first LMSC win - 1996

At the end of 1995, he started racing late models at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia. He was rookie of the year in 1996, and finished third in points. In the 1997 season, he captured 9 wins, and 27 top 10 finishes, at several tracks throughout the south. He finished second at points at Old Dominion.

NASCAR weekly-series championship

In 2003, driving an asphalt Late Model Stock Car McFarland won 16 of his 18 starts at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia. This earned him the national championship of the NASCAR Weekly Series, as well as the track championship" Mark gives all the credit for his success to Jim Dean. " It was Jim's leadership that guided me to our championships.

NASCAR national-series career

1998 Carolina Shoe Chevy

In 1998, he ran select NASCAR Busch Series events, along with 15 late model races throughout the east coast. He qualified for several Busch Series events. In 1999, he did not run any NASCAR events, but finished fourth in points at Old Dominion, and set a new track and LMSC record of 15.222 (88.687 MPH), which still stands today. He continued to run late model and off and on Busch Series events through the 2003 season, when he won the national championship for LMSC in NASCAR.

In 2004, he raced first for Jim Harris in the Craftsman Truck Series in the Harris Trucking Dodge. Then about mid season, he was picked to be one of the 4 Hungry Driver drivers in Tommy Baldwin's #6 Busch Series Dodge's.

He then moved into the USAR Hooters Pro Cup series 1n 2005 driving the Winfuel #32 Chevy for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Ken Barlow hand picked Jefferson Hodges as the teams crew chief, "Jefferson did a fabulous job building and leading this new team with knowledge and a true craftsmanship"

Mark when he drove for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

In 2006, McFarland was hired to drive the number 88 United States Navy Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the NASCAR Busch Series. He got injured while running in the top 10 at the Milwaukee Mile and missed the next two races at Daytona International Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway. He had dislocated his shoulder and also injured some of the muscles around it. Following the Kroger 200 Mark was released from his driving duties of the #88 U.S. Navy Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. would drive the car in the next race at Watkins Glen International and Robby Gordon drove it in subsequent races at Michigan International Speedway and California Speedway. Shane Huffman, also from the Hooters Pro Cup series, drove the remaining races in the #88 and is slated for a full Busch Series schedule in the car for 2007.

Honors

• As part of the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Weekly Series in 2006, McFarland was named one of the series' All Time Top 25 drivers.^[2]

References

1. ^ Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. ISBN 0-9789261-0-2. pp. 143-147.
2. ^ Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. ISBN 0-9789261-0-2. pp. 163-170.

External links

• Mark McFarland Career Statistics

Persondata
Name	Macfarland, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 1, 1978
Place of birth	Winchester, Virginia
Date of death
Place of death