Sterling Marlin - NASCAR Driver
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Sterling Marlin - Bio
Sterling Marlin may be NASCAR's most diverse athlete. Before getting into racing, Marlin was a standout football and basketball player at Columbia High in Tennessee. Still, there was little doubt about which career path he would take. "I was always in the shop working with the guys on my dad's (Coo Coo's) cars," Sterling said. "I started doing that when I was 12 or 13 years old. By the time I was 15, I was changing tires for him, and then when I turned 16 I was serving as my dad's crew chief and I also started driving. Being a race car driver is something I always wanted to do, and fortunately, since the mid-1980s I have been able to land some good rides and keep racing."Marlin won three consecutive track championships at Nashville Raceway from 1980-82. He actually made his Cup debut four years prior, after his father, Coo Coo, suffered a broken shoulder.
He is perhaps best known as only the third driver in Cup history to win back-to-back Daytona 500s, joining Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to earn that distinction after winning in 1994 and 1995. In 2001, Marlin also scored Dodge's first victory in its return to Cup racing after a two-decade absence as he won at Michigan International Speedway in August.
He came closest to winning the NASCAR championship in 2002. Marlin scored victories at Las Vegas and Darlington and held the Cup points lead for 25 weeks. However, a late-season crash at Kansas ended his season. Still, he scored 14 top-10 finishes and six top-10 qualifying efforts in 29 starts. He started from the Bud Pole twice -- at Pocono in June and Darlington in early September.
Sterling Marlin - Statistics
| Year | Top 5 | Top 10 | Laps Led | Earnings | Races | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | N/A | $264,583 | 4 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | N/A | $2,064,801 | 23 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 | 1 | N/A | $3,212,975 | 36 | 0 |
| 2005 | 4 | 10 | N/A | $4,432,084 | 54 | 0 |
| 2004 | 3 | 7 | 201 | $3,927,084 | 38 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 | 11 | 237 | $3,186,423 | 36 | 0 |
| 2002 | 8 | 14 | 451 | $1,908,376 | 29 | 2 |
| 2001 | 12 | 20 | 535 | $3,346,300 | 36 | 2 |
| 2000 | 3 | 10 | 183 | $1,791,805 | 38 | 1 |
| 1999 | 3 | 8 | 219 | $1,613,371 | 41 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 8 | 342 | $1,136,740 | 37 | 0 |
| 1997 | 2 | 6 | 70 | $1,241,481 | 35 | 0 |
| 1996 | 6 | 11 | 352 | $1,245,370 | 33 | 2 |
| 1995 | 9 | 22 | 472 | $1,586,655 | 32 | 3 |
| 1994 | 6 | 14 | 144 | $979,990 | 40 | 1 |
| 1993 | 2 | 10 | 345 | $530,613 | 38 | 0 |
| 1992 | 7 | 14 | 218 | $554,234 | 31 | 0 |
| 1991 | 7 | 16 | 201 | $474,235 | 29 | 0 |
| 1990 | 7 | 12 | 180 | $393,167 | 34 | 1 |
| 1989 | 4 | 13 | 76 | $382,375 | 31 | 0 |
| 1988 | 6 | 13 | 332 | $337,346 | 33 | 0 |
| 1987 | 4 | 8 | 68 | $261,665 | 29 | 0 |
| 1986 | 2 | 4 | 21 | $113,070 | 11 | 0 |
| 1985 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $31,155 | 8 | 0 |
| 1984 | 0 | 2 | N/A | $54,355 | 14 | 0 |
| 1983 | 0 | 1 | N/A | $119,375 | 30 | 0 |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 | N/A | $3,615 | 1 | 0 |
| 1981 | 0 | 0 | N/A | $1,955 | 2 | 0 |
| 1980 | 0 | 2 | N/A | $29,810 | 5 | 0 |
| 1979 | 0 | 0 | 11 | $505 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | 0 | 1 | N/A | $10,320 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $565 | 1 | 0 |
