Dave Marcis

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Dave Marcis
Born: March 1, 1941 (1941-03-01) (age 67)
Birthplace: Flag of the United States Wausau, Wisconsin
Achievements: —
Awards: —
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
883 races run over 35 years.
Best Cup Position: 2nd - 1975 (Winston Cup)
First Race: 1968 Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway)
Last Race: 2002 Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway)
First Win: 1975 Martinsville Speedway
Last Win: 1982 Richmond Fairgrounds
Wins Top Tens Poles
5 222 14

Dave Marcis (born March 1, 1941), Wausau, Wisconsin) was a driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup (now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup) circuit from 1968 until 2002. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final win in 1982. Dave was most famous for two things: racing for his own team and racing while wearing wingtip shoes to absorb the heat in the car. He made the Daytona 500 every year from 1968 until 1999. The 2002 Daytona 500 was the last time Marcis raced in NASCAR.

Contents

[edit] Career Overview

Marcis' career is notable in the history of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. While he is best known as the last of the non-factory supported independent owner drivers, he is also known as one of the top drivers of the 1970s. During his career, he drove for series championship car owners Nord Krauskopf and Rod Osterlund. Marcis is second only to Richard Petty in all time starts at 883. Marcis often owned/drove the #71 car. He finished 8 times in the Top 10 season long driver's points.

[edit] 1970s

Marcis finished as high as second in the season standing in 1975 driving Nord Krauskopf's K & K Dodge Charger in the first year for NASCAR's modern standard of calculating points. Despite driving for some of the top teams of the day, Marcis opted to field his own teams following his sudden departure from Osterland Racing after the 1978 season. Marcis was replaced by seven time champion Dale Earnhardt, who would begin his rookie campaign the following year. Former crew Harry Hyde once said of Marcis, "he had the talent to be a champion, if only he weren't so stubborn."

[edit] 1980s

Marcis experienced moderate success as an owner driver during the 1980s. The highlight of Marcis' career as an owner driver was winning at the old Richmond Fairgrounds in 1982. The race is often remembered for an odd finish which involved a miscalculation on pit road by the Petty Racing team during a rain delay, which handed the win to Marcis. From that point Marcis' team gradually became less competitive as more well-funded teams found their way into the series. Marcis was occasionally known to moonlight for other car owners such as Larry Hedrick (later of Hedrick Motorsports). Often Marcis would still field his own car, usually with Jim Sauter behind the wheel.

[edit] 1990s

1997 Realtree racecar
1997 Realtree racecar

During the twilight of his career Marcis landed the first major internet sponsor in Winston Cup, Prodigy Internet. This company would sponsor Marcis as an associate and primary sponsor between 1994 and 1996. Marcis was frequently the test driver for the Richard Childress GM Goodwrench #3 of his friend Dale Earnhardt during the prime of his career. This agreement with Childress was made by Marcis to help fund his own race team, but backfired because he rarely had the time to test his own equipment. Marcis finished out his career in the 2002 Daytona 500, a race he has competed in more than any other driver in history.

Marcis was a test driver for the IROC and the Nextel Cup series after his retirement from racing competition in early 2002. He currently resides with his wife in the Asheville, North Carolina area.

[edit] Trivia

  • Marcis holds a Darlington record club mark for speed in an AMC.
  • He still holds the Nextel Cup track record for qualifying at Hickory Motor Speedway.
  • He is currently a test driver for the International Race of Champions IROC series (with Sauter and Dick Trickle).
  • His race shop has been converted into a hotrod shop that builds rods with Nextel Cup-based engines.
  • Marcis was usually photographed wearing a Goodyear hat. He also wore wingtip shoes during races.
  • Friend and fellow racer Dale Earnhardt sponsored Marcis' car with his car dealership Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet in 1994.

[edit] Career statistics

Year Starts Poles Wins Top 5's Top 10's Final Points Ranking
1968 10 00 00 00 02 34
1969 37 00 00 03 11 19
1970 47 00 00 07 15 09
1971 29 02 00 09 14 21
1972 27 00 00 05 11 15
1973 23 00 00 03 06 24
1974 30 00 00 06 18 06
1975 30 04 01 16 18 02
1976 30 07 03 09 16 06
1977 18 00 00 05 07 25
1978 30 00 00 14 24 05
1979 25 00 00 01 06 20
1980 31 00 00 04 14 09
1981 31 01 00 04 09 09
1982 30 00 01 02 14 06
1983 30 00 00 00 07 11
1984 30 00 00 03 09 13
1985 28 00 00 00 05 18
1986 29 00 00 01 04 17
1987 29 00 00 02 07 18
1988 29 00 00 00 02 19
1989 27 00 00 00 01 25
1990 29 00 00 00 00 21
1991 27 00 00 00 01 29
1992 29 00 00 00 00 29
1993 23 00 00 00 00 33
1994 23 00 00 00 01 36
1995 28 00 00 00 00 35
1996 27 00 00 00 00 38
1997 19 00 00 00 00 42
1998 13 00 00 00 00 45
1999 20 00 00 00 00 42
2000 11 00 00 00 00 46
2001 03 00 00 00 00 53
2002 01 00 00 00 00 82
Total 883 14 5 94 222 Avg.: 24.63

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