Embattled Marlin takes over points lead by placing third

Steve Guiremand

Monday, March 5, 2001 | 10:03 a.m.

It hasn't been the easiest couple of weeks of Sterling Marlin's life.

The 43-year-old Winston Cup veteran from Columbia, Tenn., found himself in the middle of a firestrom of controversy and the object of numerous death threats following the fatal crash of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500.

It was Marlin's No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid that tapped slightly with Earnhardt's car as the two sprinted around the last turn during the dramatic finish at Daytona. Some followers of The Intimidator decided Marlin was to blame for the crash heard around the motorsports world.

But overlooked in the wake of that deadly mishap with Earnhardt is the fact that Marlin is off to an excellent start in the 2001 Winston Cup campaign.

Marlin, who finished seventh at Daytona and eighth last week at Rockingham, took over the early Winston Cup points lead on Sunday with a third place finish in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Marlin is the only driver with top 10 finishes in all three Winston Cup races this season. He now holds a 35-point lead over Jeff Gordon in the Winston Cup Series standings after finishing behind Gordon and Dale Jarrett on Sunday.

"It's a long road," Marlin said. "I've seen these movies before. We led the points a little while in '94 and '95. But it feels good to be back on top. That's where we need to be.

"I thought we had the car today. I could just drive off from 'em, but it got so loose down there that I couldn't drive it. I don't know what it was. The track changed a lot all day. We were real tight at the start. Then it got real good and it finally got loose."

Marlin, who led for 34 laps on Sunday, said the cloudy weather might have played a factor in his car's setup at the end.

"We were second-quickest in Happy Hour, and our car was really good on long runs, but (Saturday) it was sunny and today is cloudy," he said. "I think we had a good setup for (Saturday). But we gave it all we had."

Marlin said one of the highlights of the afternoon was the reception he received from the Dale Earnhardt fans at the race.

"I've had tons of Dale Earnhardt fans come up and apologize," he said. "I appreciate it. I'd like to thank all the fans that sent letters and cards. It's been an outpouring of support for us. I think that everybody just looked at what happened and saw it was a racing accident."

Now Marlin hopes he can move on and keep his No. 40 car atop the Winston Cup Series standings.

"I felt like before the season started with the team we had put together that we were just laying in the weeds," Marlin said of his Chip Ganassi-owned team. "I thought we could finish in the top five toward the end of the year. Right now, we've got a good jump on it.

"We'll just have to keep working hard and nailing down the top fives and top 10s and see where it all shakes out in November."