Veteran driver missing in action this season

Keith Parsons

Thursday, April 5, 2001 | 1:56 a.m.

Dave Marcis, the last of the independent drivers, has a unique presence in the NASCAR garage, with his no-frills cap slightly askew and his trademark wingtip shoes adorning his feet.

For 33 years - most of them as an owner-driver without major sponsorship - Marcis has been a part of the Winston Cup Series, competing against Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, the late Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon.

Marcis has five career wins, but none since 1982. His last top-10 finish was in 1994.

Close friend and fellow car owner Richard Childress - whose top team was part of six of Earnhardt's seven championships - isn't surprised by such numbers in a sport where personnel and money breed success.

"I think Dave's biggest problem is he's been racing without major sponsorship for several years," Childress said. "We've got 200 employees here for all of our teams, and Dave's got just eight."

This year has been the leanest for Marcis, who announced in the winter he was cutting back his schedule. The plan was to enter 10-12 races with plenty of testing to try to be more competitive.

It hasn't worked. Marcis failed to make the season-opening Daytona 500 and didn't even get a chance to make a qualifying attempt in Darlington, S.C., when fog prevented qualifying.

Still, Marcis will stick to the plan.

"I was not happy with the last couple of years," said the 60-year-old driver from Wausau, Wis. "We've just been going from track to track just to be there, and I didn't want to do that anymore. I thought with this plan we'd get better and we'd be more competitive."

The next race for the team is April 22 in Talladega, Ala., where last fall Marcis had his best run in recent years. He qualified ninth, led the second lap and stayed near the front until his engine failed.

His underfunded team survives in part through the help of Childress, who supplies engines and technical support.

"Mostly, we help Dave out at Daytona and Talladega, and we'll do anything else that we can," Childress said. "He's just cutting his schedule back this year, but he helps us out more than we help him."

Marcis has done a lot of testing for Childress, filling in when Earnhardt or Mike Skinner, Childress' other Winston Cup driver, was busy. Next week, Marcis will test for the team at Talladega Superspeedway.

"Even at Dave's age, he is in tune with the new shocks and the new radial tires," Childress said.

Marcis has been without a big-bucks deal for nearly his entire career. During his most competitive period, in the late 1970s, he drove for owners with deep pockets and got four of his five victories. He finished in the top six in points four times from 1974-78, including a career high of second in 1975.

His last chance in a top ride came in 1978, when he drove for a new team owned by Rod Osterlund. Marcis led the points race several times during the season, eventually finishing fifth. The next year, he was replaced by Earnhardt, a rookie at the time who went on to win seven championships.

Since then, Marcis has driven for himself, except for 1984 when he joined the now-defunct Rahmoc team. His 1982 win came at Richmond, Va., and he finished sixth in points that year.

Through injuries and tough financial times, Marcis has always gone to the track. This is the first year since 1968 he has run such a limited schedule.

"I miss it," he said of going to the track every week. "I know so many people, and it's been my lifestyle for 33 years."

He also misses Earnhardt, who was a hunting partner and confidant.

"At Darlington, I was walking through the garage and went over to Richard's truck," Marcis said. "I didn't even go in, because I wanted to talk to Dale. I didn't know what to do with myself, really."

Marcis' future is somewhat uncertain, although he plans to drive for a few more years. He's sold a few cars to younger drivers and plans to help them gain experience in the ARCA series.

"I'd like to stay involved," Marcis said. "I've been doing this for so long and been in the sport for so long, I'd like to stay involved. Hopefully, we'll get it going this year and show we still know what we're doing."

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On the net:

Marcis: http://www.marcisracing.com