The weather on 9/11 was a bit warm during practice, but temps cooled down and things heated up as the night went on. The #20 was good initially, but as temperatures dropped, the car seemed to run better and better.
By the time the heat race came around, the car was better, but not quite where Mark wanted it. After 10 laps of really close racing (with the exception of the #32 who was way out in front), Team SAR manged a respectable 5th place finish. It wasn't quite cool enough, and there just weren't enough laps to work around the close competition.
By the time the feature started, the sun was down, and it was much cooler. Mark was anxious to get racing, expecting the car to keep getting better. And it did... to a point. Due to the inverted starting order, the #20 started the feature close to the front, and really made the most of it. A couple of faster cars slipped by inside at the start, but as the race went on, the car really came in. It would turn in well, and was really pulling off the corner strong. Mark was running strong in the 8th position with two laps to go, and was looking at taking the 7th spot away, when the substitute driver for the 12 car went below the line entering turn 3, slammed into the left rear quarter of the #20 car, and caused a multi-car wreck that ruined the night for Team SAR and several other teams.
A survey of the damage showed that the left front suspension needed to be rebuilt, and the rear hubs were slid over. What looked to be a great night of racing, turned out to be pretty disappointing. Not to mention there was a lot of work to be done before the next race - only a week away...