Mark Martin and the Cheez-It/CARQUEST team finished sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 5.

The third consecutive top-10 propelled the team from 27th to 18th in the standings.

"The Cheez-It/CARQUEST Chevrolet was really good today," Mark said. "I was worried after yesterday's practice that we may have a 20th-place car. But the guys, like every other Sunday, gave me a great race car. They worked really hard and Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) made all the right changes to get us in the top 10 today. That last run, we were the loosest we'd been all day, I'm not sure if it was the tires or what. I really wanted that top-five, but just couldn't get there."

The Sprint Cup race on Sunday, April 5 at Texas Motor Speedway featured this season's debut of the Cheez-It hood on the No. 5 Chevy.

Mark started the 334-lap race from the 23rd position. When the green-flag waved, the Chevy's handling was loose and Mark dropped to 29th place. It was the lowest position the team would be all day.

Thirty-five laps into the green-flag run, Mark radioed to Alan that the car's handling had neutralized. Within 15 laps, he had moved into 19th place.

The team performed its first pit stop under green-flag conditions on lap 53. With four fresh tires and fuel, Mark remained 19th. The car's handling improved the more laps it ran, and Mark claimed 17th place just before the first caution flag was waved. With the yellow flag out, Mark came down pit road and the team again changed all four tires and added fuel. He remained 17th when the green flag waved.

The team stayed on track as long as possible before making their third pit stop on lap 156 under green-flag conditions. Remaining on track was valuable, as Mark was able to lead a lap and gain five bonus points. During the pit stop, the caution flag waved for a one-car accident, but Mark was able to beat the leaders off of pit road and remain in ninth place on the lead lap.

Mark remained inside the top 10 for the following 67-lap, green-flag run. The team was forced to make another green-flag pit stop on lap 214. This time, the No. 5 Chevy received tires, fuel and a small wedge adjustment. Mark rejoined the field in 10th place.

Just six laps later, however, the caution flag waved again. With only seven laps of wear on the Chevy's tires, Alan made the call for Martin to stay on the track. The majority of the field pitted, and Mark moved into second place behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon.

On lap 252, Mark pitted for the fifth time. The car's handling was exactly as he wanted, and he asked the team to not make any adjustments. Mark rejoined the field in sixth place, behind three cars that had opted for right side tires only.

Twenty laps into the green-flag run, the No. 5 Chevy's handling again improved and its speeds increased. Mark took over fourth place just before reporting to the team that the Chevy's handling had again neutralized, meaning that the car was nearly perfect.

The team began planning for a quick, possible fuel-only pit stop in the final 20 laps of the race. A caution, however, on lap 303, changed the strategy and set up a sprint to the finish. With four fresh tires and fuel, Mark rejoined the field in fifth place.

Mark fell to sixth on the restart, but was reeling his competition back in throughout the closing five laps. The team did not have the long run it needed, however, and Mark scored the sixth-place finish.

Gordon went on to win the 500-mile event, posting his first win since 2007.

"I am so happy for Jeff, Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and all of those guys on the (No.) 24 team," Mark said. "I couldn't wait to get to Victory Lane and congratulate them."

While the Sprint Cup Series has next weekend off in honor of the Easter holiday, Mark will spend Thursday and Friday hosting his fans at his Batesville, Ark., dealership and museum for the fifth-annual Mark Martin Fan Appreciation Days.

The team will travel April 18 to Phoenix International Raceway for its next event. The race will air live at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.