Daytona: Dave Marcis preview

Dave Marcis Finishes Where He Started NASCAR Winston Cup Legend Hangs Up His Wing-tip Shoes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 6, 2002)- NASCAR Winston Cup legend Dave Marcis may be a man of many words, but one word everlastingly remains to describe him: tenacious. With little consistent sponsorship in his five decades of racing in NASCAR's premier circuit, Marcis has vied as a team owner and driver through most of the sport's growing pains, from gaining its primary sponsor (Winston), to leaving the dirt tracks, to entering new race markets.

At the NASCAR Winston Cup's season-opener, the Daytona 500 (Daytona [Fla.] International Speedway), Marcis, 60 years old, will attempt to make his final start at the same place he made his first.

"I've seen this series (NASCAR Winston Cup) grow from a Southeastern sport to a national pastime. I've raced since we were on dirt to the time when engineers have created track surfaces with special sealants to make them last. I've watched sponsors come and go and seen some stay for years on end. I've seen more than most care to see, but I've seen it and experienced it nonetheless," Marcis explains.

"You can't buy experience and you can't buy history. And I sure as hell wouldn't trade what I've seen and done for anything."

"Kicking and screaming, I'm kind of leaving like that. I'm not retiring because I'm 60, though most people think that. That's just a number. We just don't have the resources to run like the rest of the circuit. I know I say this all the time, 'we've done so much with so little for so long.' Well, we have. And I'm proud of that. I come from the school of when you had to shed sweat and tears to get where they want to be. Some guys still do that and some guys don't have to do that these days. I'm not saying it's wrong, it's just a different time. But none of that changes my desire to do this."

Marcis continued, "I'm sure I can't do now what I could when I was younger, but I have never needed a relief driver at any point in my career. It used to be really hot in those old racecars. None of those fancy air-conditioned helmets that guys have now. I've raced when we had those hot, big-block engines and they wouldn't let us put vents in the windows."

"It's real important for me to close this particular door of my racing career where it opened. The first time I took the field for a NASCAR race was in Daytona and because of that it's always meant a whole lot to me. It makes things complete to take my last laps here. This place is it, it's the Superbowl," commented Marcis. "It's been amazing running races for five decades in NASCAR."

The former Wisconsin short track champion's first NASCAR event was the 1968 Daytona 500. In 1975, Marcis went on to win his first race, the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway (Martinsville, Va.). That same year he took the runner-up position to Richard Petty in the battle for the Winston Cup Series Championship title. Winning five Winston Cup races, he finished in the top-five in the points standings twice, and in the top-10 eight times. Marcis' career milestones include: current record holder for the Most Consecutive Starts at the Daytona 500 (32); the Most Starts of Any Active Driver (881); runner-up for the Most Starts of All-time (behind Richard Petty); 93 top-five finishes; 221 top-10 finishes; and 14 pole positions.

Bill Jordan, president of Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd. expresses no shyness regarding Marcis' accomplishments. "Everyone at Realtree has been very proud and honored to be a part of Dave Marcis' legacy. He's what racing is all about. His hard work, passion and determination are such commendable attributes. It'd be one heck of a race if the whole Winston Cup field was filled with drivers that cared as much as he does about the sport."

Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd., makers of Realtree and Advantage camouflage, is based in Columbus, Georgia and is the official camouflage pattern of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Bill Jordan, close friend of Richard Childress, has placed Realtree as the official sponsor of the No. 71 Realtree Chevrolet since 1997. Realtree is also an associate sponsor on the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Advantage is the official pattern of Ducks Unlimited. Hundreds of manufacturers use the Realtree and Advantage camouflage patterns on literally thousands of products. With every product purchased from Realtree or Advantage, a significant portion of the revenue is donated to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation or Ducks Unlimited or other conservation groups.

<pre> Dave Marcis NASCAR Winston Cup Statistics

Year    Races   Wins    2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th-10th  11th-43rd     Poles   Points Finish
2001    3       0       0       0       0       0       0         3             0       53rd
2000    11      0       0       0       0       0       0         7             0       46th
1999    20      0       0       0       0       0       0         17            0       42nd
1998    13      0       0       0       0       0       0         10            0       45th
1997    19      0       0       0       0       0       0         17            0       42nd
1996    27      0       0       0       0       0       0         22            0       38th
1995    28      0       0       0       0       0       0         21            0       35th
1994    23      0       0       0       0       0       1         15            0       36th
1993    23      0       0       0       0       0       0         17            0       33rd
1992    29      0       0       0       0       0       0         16            0       29th
1991    27      0       0       0       0       0       1         16            0       29th
1990    29      0       0       0       0       0       0         25            0       21st
1989    27      0       0       0       0       0       1         22            0       25th
1988    29      0       0       0       0       0       2         20            0       19th
1987    29      0       0       2       0       0       5         12            0       18th
1986    29      0       0       0       0       1       3         11            0       17th
1985    28      0       0       0       0       0       5         12            0       18th
1984    30      0       0       0       3       0       6         14            0       13th
1983    30      0       0       0       0       0       8         11            0       11th
1982    30      1       1       0       0       0       12        9             0       6th
1981    31      0       0       2       1       1       5         7             1       9th
1980    31      0       0       1       2       1       10        9             0       9th
1979    25      0       0       0       0       1       5         7             0       20th
1978    30      0       1       3       8       2       10        4             0       5th
1977    18      0       0       0       4       1       2         6             0       25th
1976    30      3       0       1       2       3       7         3             7       6th
1975    30      1       1       5       6       3       2         1             4       2nd
1974    30      0       0       0       2       4       12        4             0       6th
1973    23      0       0       0       1       2       3         5             0       24th
1972    27      0       0       2       1       2       7         4             0       15th
1971    28      0       1       1       4       2       4         2             2       21st
1970    47      0       0       3       0       4       6         7             0       9th
1969    37      0       0       1       2       0       8         4             0       19th
1968    10      0       0       0       0       0       2         5             0       --
Total   881     5       4       21      36      27      126     365             14      --

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