Sterling marlin
status | not active | ||||||||
NASCAR Cup Series statistics | |||||||||
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Best placement | 3rd - (1995, 2001) | ||||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics | |||||||||
Best placement | 29.- (2015) | ||||||||
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics | |||||||||
Best placement | 65th - (2009) | ||||||||
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Data status: July 2, 2016 |
Sterling Marlin (born June 30, 1957 in Columbia , Tennessee ) is a retired American NASCAR racing driver. His greatest successes include winning the Daytona 500 in 1994 and 1995 and 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 Spring Hill High School, Marlin played basketball and American football , and he was also a team captain in the latter sport in his senior year as a quarterback and linebacker . He made his NASCAR debut in 1976 at the Music City USA 420 at Nashville Speedway USA , driving the # 14 Chevrolet for his injured father. Marlin started the race from 30th on the grid and finished 29th after experiencing problems early in the race due to a defective fuel pump . After a break of more than a year, Marlin made two starts in the 1978 season: At the World 600 he was ninth and the Nashville 420 he finished 25th. In the 1979 season, he again competed in Nashville and finished 17th. The 1980 season went he competed in a total of five races in the Winston Cup and achieved two top 10 results, an eighth place at the Daytona 500 and a seventh place in Nashville. This year and the following two years, Marlin was the course champion three times in a row at Nashville Speedway USA.
1983-1990
Marlin drove his first full season in the 1983 season in the number 17 Chevrolet for Roger Hamby. He finished in the top 10 at the Mason-Dixon 500 at Dover International Speedway and finished 19th in the championship. He was also awarded the title of Rookie of the Year . In the 1984 season, Marlin competed in 14 of a total of 30 races. After a 15th place in the Daytona 500 for Hamby, he completed the remaining 13 races for Sadler Brothers Racing , in which he achieved two placements in the top 10. In 1985 there were only eight races to which Marlin competed, including seven for Salder Brothers Racing. The best result was a twelfth place in the Talladega 500 on the Talladega Superspeedway . He finished the season in 29th place in the Miller High Life 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Helen Rae Smith.
For the 1986 season Marlin switched to the number 1 from Hoss Ellington, in which he completed a total of ten races. Second place in the Firecracker 400 was the best result of his career to date. He also drove the Winn-Dixie 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Busch Series . 1987 Marlin made his first since 1983 back for a full season, when he by Billy Hagan as a driver of the Oldsmobile was committed with the number 44th 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 or better. At the end of the season, he finished tenth. Marlin also competed in the Busch Series and completed four races.
For the 1989 season, Marlin switched to starting number 94 and set his previous season best of 13 top 10 results. The best result was a third place in the season finale, the Atlanta Journal 500 , at the Atlanta Motor Speedway . In the championship standings, he finished twelfth. As in the previous year, he also competed in the Busch Series in 1989 and completed two races. In the 1990 season, Marlin scored ten finishes 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 two places to 14th place. In the Busch Series, on the other hand, he took his very first win in one of NASCAR's top divisions in the All Pro 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
1991-1997
For the 1991 season, Marlin left the team around the starting number 94 and switched to the Ford with starting number 22 for Junior Johnson. He started the season with a second place at the Daytona 500, which was also the best result of the season. He also took pole position at the Firecracker 400 in Daytona and the DieHard 500 in Talladega . In the championship standings, Marlin improved to seventh place. In 1992 he started the race from first place in a total of five races and finished 13 within the top 10. Nevertheless, despite a tenth place in the championship standings , Marlin left the team to switch to the number 8 of Stavola Brothers Racing . In 1992, Marlin was also active in two races in the Busch Series after he had not started in 1991.
In the Winston Cup season 1993 Marlin could not build on the successes of previous years. In his new team, he got just eight top 10 finishes with a second place in the Pepsi 400 as the best result. Accordingly, he deteriorated to 15th place in the championship. He also drove eight races in the Busch Series for Fred Turner with fifth place as the best result.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/SterlingMarlin1997Pocono.jpg/220px-SterlingMarlin1997Pocono.jpg)
At the start of the 1994 season, the Daytona 500, Marlin scored the first win of his career in the Winston Cup in starting number 4 for Morgan-McClure Motorsports . It was the only victory this season and with ten further placements in the top 10, he moved up one place in the championship to 14. In the Busch Series, Marlin competed in a total of nine races. The best result was fourth place at the Fram Filter 500K in Talladega.
In the 1995 season, Marlin repeated his success at the Daytona 500. After Richard Petty (1972 & 1973) and Cale Yarborough (1983 & 1984), he is the third driver to win the Daytona 500 twice in a row. This was followed by two more wins at the TranSouth Financial 400 at Darlington Raceway and the DieHard 500 in Talladega. With 19 more placements within the top 10 Marlin completed 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 finished Marlin in 36th place. In 1996 he repeated his win in the Winston Cup in Talladega at the Winston Select 500 and won the second race of the season in Daytona, the Pepsi 400 . With just eight other top 10 placements, he slipped to eighth place in the championship standings. In the Busch Series he was able to achieve a placement within the top 5 in two races.
In the 1997 Winston Cup season, Marlin remained without a win. The best result was a third place at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona, so that it slipped to 25th place in the championship. His three starts in the Busch Series were also unsuccessful.
1998-2005
For the 1998 season, Marlin switched to the number 40 Chevrolet for SABCO Racing and directly won the Gatorade 125 , one of the qualifying races for the Daytona 500. But just three weeks later he missed qualifying for the Primestar 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway . It was the first time since 1986 that Marlin was unable to participate in a race. With six placements within the top 10, it was enough to finish 13th at the end of the season. In the Busch Series, Marlin started in a total of five races, two of which he finished within the top 10. In 1999 he achieved his first pole position since 1995. Despite five top 10 results, including two within the top 5, he deteriorated to 16th place in the championship standings. The best result of his seven starts in the Busch Series was a fourth place at the Food City 250 in Bristol, for two other races he missed the qualification.
The best result in the Winston Cup of the 2000 season was a second place in the Save Mart / Collar 350 road race at Sears Point Raceway . With six more results within the top 10, it reached 19th place in the championship standings at the end of the season. In the Busch Series, Marlin clinched his second win at the Cheez-It 250 in Bristol. He started in four races in total, but could not qualify for two more.
In 2001 the majority of SABCO Racing was taken over by the then CART team from Chip Ganassi and switched to the manufacturer Dodge . Marlin again won a Gatorade 125 qualifying race for the Daytona 500. Three days later at the Daytona 500 he touched Dale Earnhardt in the last corner of the race , who hit Dale Earnhardt head-on and died as a result of the impact. In the following days, Marlin was the target of angry fans who blamed him for the death of Earnhardt and who threatened him and his family with death. Only after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and an official NASCAR investigation publicly acquitted him of complicity did the situation calm down. During the season, Marlin took Dodge's first win at the Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer at Michigan International Speedway after Dodge's return to the Winston Cup and another win at the UAW-GM Quality 500 in Charlotte. At the end of the season, Marlin finished third in the championship.
In the early stages of the 2002 season, Marlin won the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway . He was also leading six laps before the end of the Daytona 500 when it was interrupted by a red flag. During this break, Marlin got out and inspected his car. Since the front right fender rubbed against the tire, he tried to pull the fender out a little. However, since any work on the car is prohibited during a break in the race, Marlin was put back at the end of the longest line as a punishment for the restart and thus gave away a possible victory. Marlin led the championship standings for a total of 25 weeks before losing the lead after the Sylvania 300 to Mark Martin . At the Protection One 400 at Kansas Speedway , he suffered a serious neck injury, so he had to skip the remaining seven races of the season and fell back to 18th place in the championship standings.
In the 2003 season there was no result within the top 5, but with eleven top 10 results, including four sixth places, he repeated 18th place in the championship. Despite three fourth places and four more placements within the top 10 in the 2004 season, Marlin deteriorated to 21st place in the championship standings. In the two races of the Busch Series in which he participated, Marlin could not achieve a top 10 placement.
In the Nextel Cup of the 2005 season also it did not go well for Marlin. Only a fifth place and four other placements within the top 10 ensured that he ended the season in 30th place. During the season, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Marlin would be replaced by David Stremme for the 2006 season . In the Busch Series, Marlin drove a total of 19 races, more than ever before in a season in his career. He got three top five finishes and two other results within the top 10.
2006-2010
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/MarlinWaltrip2006.jpg/220px-MarlinWaltrip2006.jpg)
Marlin then moved to the 2006 season in the Chevrolet with the starting number 14 for MB2 Motorsports . The starting number 14 was a tribute to his father, whose starting number was 14 and who had died in 2005. The only top 10 finish of the season was for Marlin at the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway and he finished the season 34th. It was also Marlin's last full season.
In the 2007 season, Marlin moved to the Ginn Racing team , for which he drove 19. After the 19th race of the season, the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway , Ginn Racing announced on July 17, 2007 that Marlin at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis would be replaced by Regan Smith on the following . For the Sharpie 500 in Bristol, Marlin could not qualify as a replacement for Kenny Wallace , as well as a replacement for Mike Wallace at the UAW Ford 500 in Talladega. In the last two races of the season he qualified for Phoenix Racing in the number 09. Also for Phoenix Racing, he completed two races in the Busch Series with a 15th place as the best result.
In the 2008 season he missed qualifying for the Daytona 500 for Phoenix Racing , but made it for the Aaron's 499 in Talladega and the following week for the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 in Richmond. He then started in the number 40 for Chip Ganassi Racing at the Dodge Avenger 500 in Darlington and at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway as a replacement for the injured Dario Franchitti . Marlin made his fifth start of the season at the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona.
On March 18, 2010, Marlin announced his resignation.
Web links
- Driver statistics on racing-reference.info
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Marlin, Sterling |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American NASCAR racing driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 30, 1957 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Columbia , Tennessee |