Charlotte: Sterling Marlin preview

Return Trip to Lowe's Motor Speedway Has Marlin FeelingConfident

CONCORD, N.C. (May 22, 2007)-- A seventh-place finish in last weekend's Nextel Open at Lowe's Motor Speedway has Ginn Racing driver Sterling Marlin feeling confident as he heads back to the 1.5-mile oval for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of theseason.

"We had a super fast Pep Boys Chevy in the Nextel Open last week, so we're pretty anxious to get back to the track and see what we can do," said Marlin. "We're actually taking a different car back there this weekend, but it was even better than this one was at the test, so we're excited."

In addition to the strong run in the Open, the No. 14 Pep Boys team had a very successful test at Lowe's earlier this month, posting top-12 speeds in three of the foursessions.

"Our car was great when we were here earlier in the month," said crew chief Slugger Labbe. "We had two long days to work on itand figure things out. The team did a great job. We showed a little bit of what we had last weekend in the Open, but we're ready to get back there to see what we can do with this other car."

Marlin's history at Lowe's dates back 29 years when he started his first event seventh and finished ninth (May 28, 1978). Since then, his 52 starts include one win, 13-top 10s andseven top-fives. Marlinfinished 28th in last year's Coca-Cola 600 and was 11thin the fall race at Lowe's.

"We're running the longest race of the year on Sunday so it's important to have a good car, otherwise you're in for a really long night," said Marlin. "I'm pretty sure we'll unload off the truck fast and only make small changes to the Pep Boys Chevrolet to get it fine tuned."

Labbe added, "If our performance in last week's (Nextel) Open was any indication of how we'll do Sunday then we should be in good shape. The guys on this No. 14 Ginn team have worked hard, and I think our results at the test plus last week's race is a credit to them."

Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 will be broadcast live on FOX, beginning with a prerace show at 5 p.m. ET.

-credit: gr