Sterling Marlin may not be without a Nextel Cup ride for long. Late Tuesday a team source at Morgan-McClure Racing which currently fields the no. 4 Chevy with veteran Ward Burton said that officials there are in discussions with Marlin for a possible second team. Marlin scored six of his ten career wins at Morgan-McClure while driving the No. 4 from 1994-1997.
Sterling wants to keep driving some. He just likes driving. The money is good. But he doesn't need it.
More than one driver has stayed out there too long. Richard Petty did. Darrell Waltrip did. More recently, Kenny Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Ward Burton and Ricky Rudd are.
I have a lot more respect for people like Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and Terry Labonte who know when to say when. Bill Elliott is in a class by himself. He has proven to have an uncanny ability to drive anyone's car and help them out. See his recent renaissance in the Wood Brothers/JTG Racing car.
If Sterling goes to MMM, I'll give him a chance to pull off a miracle this year before giving up on him.
I do not like the way things at Ginn went down. However, all you had to do was look at Ginn's business record to know that he might do something like what he did.
Given Ginn may merge with DEI, might MMM merge with Haas? Burton plus Marlin = two car team + Haas = four car team (franchise for 2009)?
Wouldn't it be sweet to see Sterling back in the 4 with Kodak on the side? Damn, I'm starting to dream again already.
And oh yeah, wasn't Ward going to pay Sterling back or something? How might this work out?
One more thought. 1997? Ten years have gone by already?
"FORT WORTH, Texas – It really is tough to get past two primary conflicting threads leading into today’s Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 12 Nextel Cup races here have been won by 12 different drivers, but none is among the active drivers at Hendrick Motorsports, the sport’s hottest team."
"Considered together, it’s quite a remarkable thing. Since this 1.5-mile oval opened in 1997, only 38 drivers have won Cup races. Gordon has won 56 times, Johnson 26 and Kyle Busch four. Terry Labonte did win here in a Hendrick-owned Chevrolet in 1999, but he’s no longer driving. “It’s just a very, very tricky place to get the right combination of aerodynamics, horsepower, mechanical grip, and set-up and get comfortable as a driver with the speeds we carry here,” said Gordon, who will start from the pole today after qualifying was rained out on Friday. Gordon finished in the top five each year from 2001 to 2004 when the track had only one race per season, but his best finish since was a ninth last fall."
"Hendrick Motorsports will try today to become the first team since Petty Enterprises in 1971 to win five straight races. Johnson starts third, Busch fifth and Casey Mears 33rd. “The guys building the cars have just done a fantastic job finding a little bit in all these different areas,” said Gordon, who is leading the points despite having not won yet this season. “The cars are just so much more comfortable to drive and the speed comes is when that comfort is there. If there’s any time we've had a chance of a Hendrick car winning here or ourselves winning here, it's this year.”"
"Johnson hasn’t won here, but he hasn’t exactly smelled up the place, either. His worst Texas finish in seven tries is 11th and he’s had three top fives in the past four races. On the other hand, he’s led only three laps here in career."
Waltrip started slow that year but he whittled away at Bobby Allison's early lead. With six races to go Waltrip took over the lead in one of the best championship races ever. Waltrip would eventually defeat Allison by 53 points. Darrell won 12 races that year. Count them 12. The man can say boogity boogity boogity if he wants. He earned the right.
Although Buick had previously only won two NASCAR races (both in 1955), 1981 began a period of complete dominance. Twelve models were eligible for 1981, but aerodynamics and rules favored the Regal. Darrell and just about everyone were driving the newly designed Buick. Buick's roster also included Richard and Kyle Petty, Harry Gant, Bobby Allison, Terry Labonte, Tim Richmond and many others.
DW's 1981 Championship season is now recognized as one of the most impressive runs in NASCAR history, as he fought back from a 341-point deficit in the final 17 races to capture the Cup.
"The Darrell Waltrip years were some of the finest in Mountain Dew's racing history," said Ralph Santana, vice president of sports, media and interactive, Pepsi-Cola North America."
The 25 Greatest Daytona 500 Drivers Of All-Time by Ron Thornton
The countdown continues as we near the 49th edition of the Great American Race. With the anticipation building, combined with my (moparornocar) love for history, statistics, and possibly for causing trouble, I thought I would take a crack at coming up with a list to honor the 25 greatest Daytona 500 drivers of all-time.
How successful was I in coming up with a method of making such a determination that most, though understandably not all, might agree with? Well, the 25 best I came up with represent 38 Daytona 500 victories and include 20 of the 50 best drivers as decided during NASCAR's 50th anniversary celebrations nine years ago. As for the five not on that 1998 chart, they managed to combine for six wins and 38 Top Ten finishes when it came to competing in the February spectacle.
David Pearson
10. DAVID PEARSON - 110 Points 1 Win (1976) 3 Top Threes (1966, 70, 76) 6 Top Fives (1966, 68, 70-71, 75-76) 10 Top Tens (1962, 66, 68-71, 75-76, 83-84)
9. JEFF GORDON - 113 Points 3 Wins (1997, 99, 2005) 5 Top Fives (1993-94, 97, 99, 2005) 7 Top Tens (1993-94, 97, 99, 2002, 04-05)
8. TERRY LABONTE - 118 Points 4 Top Threes (1986, 90, 94, 97) 6 Top Fives (1982, 86, 88, 90, 94, 97) 12 Top Tens (1980, 82-83, 86, 88-90, 92, 94-95, 97, 2000)
7. BENNY PARSONS - 130 Points 1 Win (1975) 5 Top Threes (1975-78, 87) 8 Top Fives (1972, 75-78, 80, 86-87) 9 Top Tens (1969, 72, 75-78, 80, 86-87)
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David Pearson
Bill Elliott
