Dave Marcis

Dave Marcis
Born (1941-03-01) March 1, 1941
Wausau, Wisconsin, United States
Achievements

Holds NASCAR record for most Daytona 500 starts (33; 32 consecutive)

Holds Sprint Cup Series Modern Era record for most Top 10's in a season without a win (24 in 1978)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
883 races run over 35 years
Best finish 2nd (1975)
First race 1968 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race 2002 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
First win 1975 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
Last win 1982 Richmond 400 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles
5 222 14
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
4 races run over 3 years
Best finish 69th (1996)
First race 1985 Tri-City Pontiac 200 (Bristol)
Last race 1996 AC Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish 71st (1995)
First race 1995 GM Goodwrench / Delco Battery 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
Statistics current as of April 15, 2013.

David Marcis (born March 1, 1941 in Wausau, Wisconsin) is a retired driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup (now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup) circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final win in 1982, and collected 94 top 5 and 222 top 10. His best championship results were 2nd in 1975, 5th in 1978, 6th in 1974, 1976 and 1982, and 9th in 1970, 1980 and 1981.

Marcis 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 competed in the Daytona 500 every year from 1968 until 1999. The 2002 Daytona 500 was the last time Marcis raced in NASCAR.

Career overview

Marcis' career is notable in the history of the NASCAR Winston 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 retired in second place on the all-time starts list with 883 behind Richard Petty. Ricky Rudd and Terry Labonte have since passed him on the list.[1] Marcis often owned/drove the #71 car. He finished 8 times in the Top 10 season long driver's points.

1970s

Marcis (#2) racing against Lennie Pond in 1978

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 Osterlund Racing after the 1978 season. Marcis was replaced by future 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."

1980s

Marcis experienced moderate success as an owner driver during the 1980s. In 1981, he went upside down during a race at Atlanta after hitting two tractor tires at the entrance of pit road while trying to avoid a spinning Tim Richmond. The highlight of Marcis' career as an owner-driver was winning at the old Richmond Fairgrounds in 1982 driving a very un-raceable looking 81 Chevy Malibu.[2] Marcis was a lap down, but made up the lap when the race leader Joe Ruttman spun out and Marcis passed him.[2] All three drivers that were ahead of Marcis pitted and he assumed the lead as it began to rain.[2] The race was called complete as darkness set in, and Marcis was declared the winner.[2] Marcis described the win, "I wasn't praying for rain, but I told the guys when I got out of the car (during the break before the race was canceled) that if the good Lord wanted to help an independent, this was his chance."[2] "It was one of my greatest moments in racing," Marcis said. "I had even built my own engine for that race."[2] 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.

1990s

1996 Marcis in the Prodigy Internet, Chevy Monte Carlo at Pocono Raceway
1997 Realtree car

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 had a terrifying accident at Pocono in June 1999 when after getting loose in turn 2 on the 91st lap, he over corrected it to the right and slammed the wall head on at a high rate of speed, grabbing some massive airtime and completely destroying his car. In what was the worst crash of his career, he climbed out of the wreckage without injury. 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, setting a record for most Daytona 500s run with 33.

Marcis started 16th in the 1994 Brickyard 400, but a crash during the race relegated him to a 41st-place finish.

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.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

Winston Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1968 Larry Wehrs Chevrolet 35 20
1969 Milt Lunda Chevrolet 45 17
1970 Marcis Auto Racing Dodge 33 10
1971 17 25
1972 12 27
1973 Penske Racing Matador 33 27
1974 Marcis Auto Racing Dodge 40 14
1975 K&K Insurance Racing Dodge 8 6
1976 3 27
1977 Penske Racing Mercury 9 28
1978 Osterlund Racing Chevrolet 10 6
1979 Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 12 24
1980 Oldsmobile 13 22
1981 15 15
1982 Buick 11 24
1983 Chevrolet 21 32
1984 RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 39 42
1985 Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 21 24
1986 Pontiac 11 38
1987 Chevrolet 16 34
1988 29 20
1989 19 20
1990 42 23
1991 42 35
1992 23 20
1993 41 33
1994 27 25
1995 19 36
1996 23 15
1997 24 17
1998 35 36
1999 35 16
2000 DNQ
2001 DNQ
2002 14 42

Busch Series

SuperTruck Series

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

References

  1. "Sprint Cup Series All-Time Starts". Jayski. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grubba, Dale (2000). The Golden Age of Wisconsin Auto Racing. Oregon, Wisconsin: Badger Books. pp. 227–228. ISBN 1-878569-67-8.
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