MARK PLOURDE  #8

Birth Date December 13, 1982 Birth Place Las Vegas, Nevada Height 6-1 Weight 228 lbs Rookie Year 1995

Team Name MP Racing Racing Series Champ Car Engine Cosworth Chassis Panoz DP01 Tires Bridgestone

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2008 Champ Car World Series champion
1997 - 2002 CART champion 
1994 Atlantic Series champion 
Won Dayton Indy Lights championship in 1992 

2010- MP Racing team owner/driver Mark Plourde returns with a new sponsor and car number in 2010. Mark will pilot the #8 Lexington LXN2 Energy Systems/Gulfstream Champ Car DP01 during this year's season in search of another Champ Car title. His outstanding efforts in 2009 showed alot of promise towards his rapid pace racing career. MP Racing also switched General Managers this off season and has hired veteran motorsports manager Douglas Murray to run the day to day operations of MP Racing for 2010 and beyond.

2008- 2009 Season
Did far more than just extend his winning record. Mark won two races and managed to score several top five finishes along with four podium finishes to win the series championship for the first time since 2002. Mark earned his team's first pole since opening his own team. Finished in the top ten in 12 of 14 races this season. 

2004 - 2008
Mark continued to build his young race team from season to season. As both and owner and a driver it was hard but he kept working at it. In 2005 Ploude finished 10 of 15 races in the top ten with four top five showins. in 2006 Mark ran alot better and ended the season on a high note again with a fifth-place run in Mexico City, boosting him from 10th to eighth in the final standings.

2003
After working for Pat Patrick's team in 2002. Pat Patrick wanted to retire from motorsports after spending nearly 35 years in racing. Mark purchased assets from Mr. Patrick and went on to form his own Champ Car team called MP Racing. Mark went through some growing pains this year while trying to find the right stuff to once again win in Champ Car. By the end of 2003 him as well as the MP Racing team were putting up solid results. The team ended the year in strong fashion, starting eighth and finishing sixth in the last two races. In the championship Mark came from 14th place to finish sixth overall. Ended the season strongly, finishing fourth in Miami and 2nd in Surfers Paradise. .

2002
Mark Plourde moved from Target Racing to Pat Patrick's team Patrick Racing and posted a dominating year. He won the first three races of the 2002 season along with posting third at Milwaukee and a 2nd at Nazareth and added four fifth-place efforts as well (Australia, Japan, Cleveland, Monterey) Mark would go on to win his 6th Champ Car World Series championship.  1st in the Champ Car World Series championship with 377 points.

2001
Mark's final season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing. He strung together six points-paying results in his final seven events of the season, highlighted by a victory at Monterrey Mexico. that was his first win since the 2000 season. Finished the year with four podium finishes, including 2nd place efforts at Rio de Janeiro & Australia ... Scored championship points in 17 of 20 events that year. Finished 5th in the Champ Car World Series championship that season.

1999 & 2000
Mark Scored points in 14 of 20 starts, topped by back-to-back podium finishes of third at Chicago Speedway and Vancouver ... Won the race from pole position at Michigan Speedway, Finished third in Toronto and showed no signs of slowing down. He once again drove for Target Racing. 

1998
once again with Target Racing Mark won the championship which now placed him among the top three drivers in the CART Series. for the third consecutive season drove for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Mark this season Earned victories at Nazareth, Milwaukee and in the season finale at Fontana en route to  another championship ru. 

1997
Mark won his first of what would be six CART series championships. Plourde enjoyed a solid season with a victory at Laguna Seca and nine top-five finishes, including podium performances at Vancouver and Fontana (seconds) and Homestead and Milwaukee (thirds).

1996
Registered four victories and four poles en route to the first series championship of his career ... Second season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing was characterized by a torrid start and season-long run of consistency ... Opened the season at Homestead with his first career victory en route to winning four of the first six events. Followed with his first career pole and road-course win at Australia. Made it two in a row with a victory at Long Beach. Mark began to show his promise and his worth in racing. 

1995
Arrived at Target Chip Ganassi Racing and had a stellar rookie season with the team. At the age of 13 Mark was the youngest driver ever in CART compeition to race. Finished eighth in the series championship and was voted the series' Most Improved Driver by his peers ... After one podium visit in his first three seasons, he responded with four, including career-best runner-up finishes at Detroit and Portland ... Nearly had his first career triumph at Portland. Finished third at Road America and Cleveland ... Also had a strong season qualifying with 12 top-10 starts in 17 events. Started on the outside pole two times  (Toronto, Vancouver), which established a new career-best for starting position.