In this week's "A Look Back" we head back to the 2002 Coca-Cola Racing Family 600. As the series wrapped up its two week break - in Charlotte and got back to business, everyone in the garage, the grandstands and throughout the entire United States took a minute to show their deep appreciation for the troops on that Memorial Day Weekend, just eight months after the tragedies of September 11th.

The major news circulating around the garage heading into the Coca-Cola 600 weekend focused on Ricky Rudd. The veteran driver was slated to make his 656th consecutive career start, breaking the record previously held by Terry Labonte. Rudd entered the day 10th in the series standings and was looking to improve on that mark. NASCAR's new 'Ironman' broke the record in style, finishing the night in the fourth-spot.

Robby Gordon also made headlines that weekend as the driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet planned to pull double-duty, running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. After posting an impressive 8th-place finish in the Indy 500, Gordon hopped into a helicopter and made his way to the Lowe's Motor Speedway just in time for the command to start the engines.

Five drivers in the field and five lucky fans had the chance to win $1 million dollars at the end of the event thanks to the Winston No Bull 5 program. The top-5 finishers from the March race in Las Vegas qualified for the program and if they were able to come home with a victory, both the driver and the lucky fan would be given a check for $1 million.

Once the command was given and the flag dropped, rookie sensation Jimmie Johnson took his Lowe's Chevrolet out front and refused to give up the lead. The newest member of the Hendrick Motorsports stable led six times for 263 of the 400 laps at his sponsor?s home track.

However, all was lost when contact the leaders hit pit road for the final green-flag stop of the day. Making a costly rookie mistake, Johnson overshot his pit box and was forced to back up before receiving service. The most dominant car of the day was mired mid-pack and was forced to work his way through lapped traffic. Johnson was never ever to fully recover from the set-back and was forced to settle with a disappointing 7th-place finish.

While Johnson the rookie struggled, Mark Martin the veteran excelled and capitalized to take the lead. A quick stop by his Roush Racing crew put the No. 6 Viagra Ford out front, ahead of teammate Matt Kenseth.

Martin was able to hold off his hard-charging teammate and bring home his first victory in 73 events. Making the win even more special, Martin was one of the drivers eligible to win the Winston No Bull 5 $1 million prize. The victory earned him an extra $1 million and made Janet Hogan of Sterling, Va. an instant millionaire.

The veteran driver describes his 2002 victory one of biggest wins of his career. Talking with HardcoreRaceFans.com, Martin explained why this win meant so much to the driver with 35 career victories.

"I had gone through a spell where I was afraid that I may had seen my last Cup win," Martin pointed out. "It was really neat to pull it off. It was the first time for my crew chief, Ben Lesley, and many of the guys on the team to go to Victory Lane with a Cup car. That is what really made it special to me."

This weekend, Martin hopes to rekindle some of that winning spirit and honor all of the troops serving this country on Memorial Day with a win for the U.S. Army Chevrolet.

In an ironic twist of fate, if Martin is able to capture the win, it would be the first victory for the No. 8 team in 73 races and his first win in 74 events. Thursday, Martin was fifth fastest in opening practice and was able to qualify in the seventh spot for Sunday's event.

"Every win is big," Martin said. "But there are certain races that it's a big deal to win. I've never won a Daytona 500, but I've won a Southern 500 and a Coca-Cola 600 and those are special. If we could get another win this weekend for all the Soldiers, everyone at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and all of the fans it would mean a lot for sure."