I always liked Sterling Marlin back when I watched nascar. Saw an article about him In either “Circle Track” or another magazine. He’s a civil War buff as well, and he does metal detectors as a hobby. On his own land and some neighbors he has accumulated quite the collection of artifacts relating to the Civil War and early settlement of Tennessee.
He always gave me the impression of what you see on the surface is the same guy you know after spending some time with them. Earnhardt was something different on the track or at home. I’ve seen him shun reporters and refuse interviews while the race was going on, and actually insulting some fans in the garage area from people who rooted for him. He was all racing, but for a scheduled interview on TV has was always a class act. Darrell Waltrip said after he died, “Dale would race you just as hard for a popsicle as he would for a million dollars!” Reon
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Another interesting video. I was pretty lukewarm towards nascar by the time Dale was killed, and I haven’t watched a race since then. I pretty much turned it off completely after his death, so the news of a broken left lap belt in his car is new to me. I stated in other threads, that his death was shocking to me because I had seen so many other, much more violent wrecks where the driver got out cussing at some other driver.
The contact between Marlin and Earnhardt was hard racing. Marlin’s guilt over it was news to me, but somewhat understandable. I read recently that he still watches that race every week, and still regrets the contact and Dales death.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Dale Jr. interviewed Sterling on his podcast about a year ago. It was a good interview but Sterling is in bad shape. I forget why, maybe Parkinsons. It was sad to see.
Yeah, whatever it was I read said he had Parkinson’s disease. Too bad. He was always a class act in my opinion. I’d love to sit down with him and have a pot of coffee. With his stories about racing and our shared interests in the Civil War, I know it’d be time well spent!
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Marlin received a schit ton of grief for bumping SR, including many death threats. But after I & I hope others settled down, reviewed the footage & thought about it, a different perspective was there. Dale was playing a dangerous, maybe stupid game. He FAFO. No blame on Marlin.
I’ll start by stating that although I disliked Dale on the track, I respected him and thought he was a class act. The two car in front were both DEI cars, Dale was running third, but Marlin had the fastest car there. If he got around Earnhardt with a couple laps left, he would have won. I didn’t like Earnhardt, but I respected him because he always raced to win. Dirty at times. You sure didn’t want him behind you in the closing laps! But that day he was clearly blocking the fastest car on the track. With Daytona being a restricter plate race, the best Sterling could have done on the last lap was third. It’s damn shame. When Dale died, so did my interest in racing. I gave it up, and rediscovered Sunday afternoons outside. When the Steelers hid in the tunnel instead of going out for the Anthem, those Sunday afternoons I could spend on shooting or maybe just going for a ride. To hell with professional sports.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
I’ll start by stating that although I disliked Dale on the track, I respected him and thought he was a class act. The two car in front were both DEI cars, Dale was running third, but Marlin had the fastest car there. If he got around Earnhardt with a couple laps left, he would have won. I didn’t like Earnhardt, but I respected him because he always raced to win. Dirty at times. You sure didn’t want him behind you in the closing laps! But that day he was clearly blocking the fastest car on the track. With Daytona being a restricter plate race, the best Sterling could have done on the last lap was third. It’s damn shame. When Dale died, so did my interest in racing. I gave it up, and rediscovered Sunday afternoons outside. When the Steelers hid in the tunnel instead of going out for the Anthem, those Sunday afternoons I could spend on shooting or maybe just going for a ride. To hell with professional sports.
I feel much the same about NASCAR and the Steelers. What a shame to have those boys stay in the tunnel. As for NASCAR, I gave it up when they discontinued the North Wilkesboro race. Lots of fans did the same. I had a good conversation about it with Humpy Wheeler, several years ago. Two of my neighbors work for race teams, and they are well aware that the sport has big issues.
The thing about Sterling is that at the end of the day he was nothing but a farmer - a farmer who really liked racing cars and was darn good at it!
He came up out of the Nashville Speedway as did DW - those guys all have really modest demeanors that wear well with the fans. I do a lot in aviation and DW has a jet - as Sterling also did - you never here aviation folks say anything but good things about DW either.
The thing about Sterling is that at the end of the day he was nothing but a farmer - a farmer who really liked racing cars and was darn good at it!
He came up out of the Nashville Speedway as did DW - those guys all have really modest demeanors that wear well with the fans. I do a lot in aviation and DW has a jet - as Sterling also did - you never here aviation folks say anything but good things about DW either.
Yep. Sort of cut out Harry Giant’s mould. Harry was a house framer, I believe. He was very approachable and great with fans. Mr. September!
Coo Coo's boy, shakin' like a leaf, piss runnin' down his leg, that fateful day at Daytona... "maybe it was Rusty or one them other guys that wrecked him"
