Sterling Marlin
Sterling Marlin (born 30 June 1957, Columbia, Tennessee) is an American NASCAR driver. He drives selected races in both the Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series for Phoenix Racing. His greatest achievements include winning the Daytona 500 in 1994 and 1995 and a third place in the Winston Cup in 1995 and 2001. Sterling Marlin is the son of Coo Coo Marlin.
Career
Early years
During his school years at the Spring Hill High School Marlin played basketball and American football, where he was also team captain in the latter sport in his senior year as quarterback and linebacker. His NASCAR debut was in 1976 in the Music City USA 420 on the Nashville Speedway USA, as he drove the Chevrolet with the number 14 for his injured father. Marlin went from position 30 in the race and finished it in 29th place, after he had problems as a result of a defective fuel pump in the early stages of the race. After more than a year's break Marlin graduated in the 1978 season two starts: At World 600 he was ninth and the Nashville 420, he finished at No. 25 in the 1979 season, he joined again in Nashville and was ranked 17th in the 1980 season was he in a total of five races in the Winston Cup at the start and scored two top-10 results, an eighth place at the Daytona 500 and a seventh place in Nashville. In this and the two following years, Marlin has been three consecutive times the distance champion on the Nashville Speedway USA.
1983-1990
His first full season drove Marlin in the 1983 season in the # 17 Chevrolet for Roger Hamby. He scored a top- 10 finish at the Mason - Dixon 500 at Dover International Speedway and finished 19th in the championship. In addition, he was awarded the title of Rookie of the Year. In the season 1984 Marlin went to 14 from a total of 30 races at the start. After a 15th place in the Daytona 500 for Hamby, he completed the remaining 13 races for Sadler Brothers Racing, in which he scored two finishes among the top 10. In 1985 there were only eight races, which took Marlin, seven for Salder Brothers Racing. Best result was a twelfth place at the Talladega 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. He finished the season with a 29th place at the Miller High Life 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Helen Rae Smith.
For the 1986 season Marlin moved to the number 1 for Hoss Ellington, in which he played a total of ten races. The second place in the Firecracker 400 was the best result to date in his career. In addition, he drove even the Winn -Dixie 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Busch Series. 1987 Marlin made her first since 1983 back for a full season, when he was hired by Billy Hagan as a driver of the Oldsmobile with the start number 44. He scored four top - five results and finished eleventh in the championship. In the following season, 1988, he finished seven of the first ten races in eighth place or better. At the end of the season, he finished tenth. Besides Marlin came also in the Busch Series and completed four races.
For the 1989 season, Marlin moved to the start number 94 and made his previous season high of 13 top-10 results in. Best result was a third place at the season finale, the Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the championship standings, he was number twelve. Like last year, he also appeared in 1989 in the Busch Series and completed two races. In the 1990 season Marlin scored ten rankings within the top 10 with a fourth place finish at the GM Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. In the championship standings, he slipped a further two places from the 14th Place. In the Busch Series, however, he won the All Pro 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway his first ever victory in one of the top divisions of NASCAR.
1991-1997
For season 1991 Marlin left the team around the start number 94 and joined the Ford with the number 22 for Junior Johnson. He started the season with a second place at the Daytona 500, which should at the same time the best result of the season remain. In addition, he won the Firecracker 400 in Daytona and the DieHard 500 at Talladega pole position. In the championship standings, Marlin improved to seventh place. In 1992, he went from a total of five races from pole position in the race and finished 13 within the top 10. Nevertheless Marlin left despite a tenth place in the championship the team to go into the number 8 of Stavola Brothers Racing. In the Busch Series in 1992 Marlin was also active in two races after 1991 was not started.
In the Winston Cup season 1993 Marlin could not build on the successes of previous years. In his new team, he scored only eight top - 10 finishes with a second place at the Pepsi 400 as the best result. Accordingly, it worsened in the championship in 15th place the same time he also drove eight races in the Busch Series for Fred Turner with a fifth place as best result.
At the season's start of the 1994 season, the Daytona 500, Marlin scored the first victory of his career in Winston Cup in the # 4 Morgan - McClure Motorsports for. It was the only victory of the season and with ten other rankings among the top 10 he improved in the championship by one place to 14th place in the Busch Series Marlin competed in nine races. Best result was a fourth place at the Fram filters 500K in Talladega.
In the season 1995 Marlin repeated his success at the Daytona 500 After Richard Petty (1972 & 1973) and Cale Yarborough (1983 & 1984), he is the third driver who twice won the Daytona 500. It was followed by two more victories at the TranSouth Financial 400 at Darlington Raceway and the Talladega DieHard 500. With 19 other rankings in the top 10 Marlin graduated from the best season of his career and finished it with a third place in the championship behind Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. His only race in the Busch Series ended Marlin ranked 36th in the Winston Cup in 1996, he repeated his victory in the Winston Select 500 at Talladega and he won the second race of the season in Daytona, the Pepsi 400 with slipped only eight other top - 10 finishes in the championship standings to eight from. In the Busch Series, he was able to achieve a placement within the top 5 in two races.
In Winston Cup season 1997 Marlin remained winless. Best result was a third place at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona, so he slipped in the championship at No. 25. Also unsuccessful were his three starts in the Busch Series.
1998-2005
For the 1998 season, Marlin joined the Chevrolet with the start number 40 for Sabco Racing and won the right Gatorade 125, one of the qualifying race for Daytona 500 But only three weeks later, he failed to qualify for Prime Star 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the first time since 1986 that Marlin in a race could not attend. With six finishes in the top 10 but it was enough to end the season on a 13th place. In the Busch Series Marlin went in a total of five races at the start of which he finished two within the top 10. In 1999, he scored his first pole position since 1995. Despite five top-10 results, including two within the top 5, he deteriorated in the championship standings to 16th best result of his seven starts in the Busch Series was a fourth place during the Food City 250 in Bristol, to two other races, he failed to qualify.
Best result in Winston Cup of the 2000 season was a second place in the road race Save Mart / collar 350 on the Sears Point Raceway. With six other results within the top 10, it reached the end of the season to 19th place in the championship standings. In the Busch Series Marlin drove the Cheez -It 250 in Bristol for his second victory. Overall, he competed in four races, for two more, he could not qualify.
2001, the majority of Sabco Racing was acquired by the former CART team of Chip Ganassi and moved to manufacturer Dodge. Marlin won again Gatorate 125 qualifying race for the Daytona 500 at the Daytona 500 Three days later, he touched on the last corner of the race, Dale Earnhardt, the resulting frontal crashed into the perimeter wall and died of the consequences of the impact. In the days that followed was Marlin target of angry fans who blamed him for the death of Earnhardt and uttered death threats against him and his family. Only after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and an official investigation by NASCAR publicly acquitted him of a complicity, the situation calmed down. In the course of the season scoring Marlin at Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer at Michigan International Speedway, the first victory for Dodge to its return to Winston Cup and another victory at the UAW -GM Quality 500 in Charlotte. At the end of the season took place Marlin in the championship.
In the early phase of the 2002 Marlin won the UAW - DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. In addition, he led six laps before the end of the Daytona 500, when it was interrupted by a red flag. During this interruption Marlin got out and inspected his car. Since the right-front fender rubbed on the tire, he tried to pull something the fender. However, since all work is forbidden on the car during a race interruption, Marlin has been restored as a punishment for the restart at the end of the longest snake and thus gave away a possible victory. Marlin led the championship for a total of 25 weeks before he lost the lead after the Sylvania 300 at Mark Martin. In the Protection One 400 at Kansas Speedway, he withdrew a serious injury to the neck, so that he had to suspend the remaining seven races of the season and fell back in the championship standings to No. 18.
In the 2003 season, it was enough to not produce a result within the top 5, but with eleven top-10 results, including four sixth places, he repeated number 18 in the championship. Despite three fourth places and four other positions within the top 10 in the 2004 season Marlin deteriorated in the championship standings to 21 in the two races in the Busch Series, where he took part, Marlin could not achieve top 10 placement.
In the Nextel Cup of the 2005 season, it was also not good for marlin. Only a fifth place and four other placements within the top 10 made sure that he finished the season at No. 30. During the season, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Marlin would be replaced for the 2006 season by David Stremme. In the Busch Series Marlin never drove a total of 19 races, as many as up to that point in a season in his career. He scored three top - five finishes and two other results within the top 10.
Since 2006
Marlin then moved up to the 2006 season in the # 14 Chevrolet for MB2 Motorsports. The start number 14 was doing a tribute to his father, whose starting number was 14 and who had died in 2005. The only top-10 finish of the season scored Marlin at Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway and he finished the season ranked 34th It was also the last full season of Marlin.
In the 2007 season, Marlin joined the team Ginn Racing, for which he went 19. After the 19th race of the season, the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Ginn Racing announced on 17 July 2007 that Marlin will on the following replaces the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis by Regan Smith. For the Sharpie 500 in Bristol to Marlin did not qualify as a replacement for Kenny Wallace, as well as a replacement for Mike Wallace at the UAW Ford 500 Talladega. In the last two races of the season, he qualified in the # 09 for Phoenix Racing. Also for Phoenix Racing, he completed two races in the Busch Series with a 15th place as best result.
However, in the 2008 season he missed for Phoenix Racing to qualify for the Daytona 500, she made for the Aaron's 499 at Talladega and in the following week for the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond. Then he raced in the # 40 Chip Ganassi Racing the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington and the Coca- Cola 600 at Lowe 's Motor Speedway as a replacement for the injured Dario Franchitti. His fifth start of the season graduated from Marlin at Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.