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3/18/02
DODGE RACING UPDATE

The last shall be first -- Sterling's Dodge is golden at Darlington

Sterling Marlin

From Dodge Motorsports

Sterling Marlin worked for this one. The a 44-year-old Tennessee native piloted his No. 40 Coors Light Dodge -- dead last in the starting lineup -- to his second victory of the season Sunday at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Darlington Raceway.

Marlin took the lead on lap 251 and stretched it to a 3.581-second victory over Elliott Sadler through the final 43. It was his 10th career victory in 544 starts and his second in the past three races. Marlin is the only driver who has five top 10 finishes in 2002.

The only other Dodge driver in the top 10 with Marlin Sunday was veteran Bill Elliott, whose No. 9 Evernham Racing car is co-sponsored by the UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center.

Dodge Drivers, cars and finishes
in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400


Sterling Marlin – Coors Light No. 40 – 1st
Bill Elliott – UAW-DC NTC No. 9 – 10th
Kyle Petty – Dodge Sprint No. 45 – 14th
Jeremy Mayfield
– UAW-DC NTC No. 19 – 16th
Buckshot Jones – Georgia Pacific No. 44 – 12th
John Andretti – Cheerios No. 43 – 22nd
Casey Atwood – Sirius Satellite Radio No. 7 – 26th
Ward Burton – Caterpillar No. 22 – 31st
Hut Stricklin – Hills Bros Coffee No. 23 – 32rd
Jimmy Spencer – Target No. 41 – 37th
Shawna Robinson – BAM Racing No. 49 – 42nd

The victory for Marlin, for Dodge and for the No. 40 car's owner, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, also boosted Marlin’s lead in the NASCAR Winston Cup Standings. He now holds a 99-point lead over rookie Ryan Newman, who finished fifth Sunday. It was the third victory of the season for Dodge and gave Dodge a 36-31 lead over Ford in the season-long manufacturers standings.

Marlin finished third in the 2001 standings, his first year behind the wheel of the Dodge Intrepid R/T. In addition to his eight straight top 10s, Marlin also has two victories and three runner-up finishes during that stretch.

Starting at the rear of the field on Sunday, because the team had decided to change engines after Saturday’s Happy Hour practice, Marlin quickly worked his way to the front. He took the lead for the first time on lap 195 and ended up leading three times for 57 laps.

"Our car was really good on long runs today," Marlin said after the race. "It's a credit to all these guys here at the shop and at the track. Dodge and everybody pitches in and makes this car go. I'm just real fortunate that Chip and Felix let me drive this thing. I'm tickled to death. I'm having the best time of my life."

A multi-car wreck on lap 227 of 293, eliminated Dodge drivers Jimmy Spencer and Ward Burton. Spencer and Burton had run in the top five most of the day, but were relegated back to 37th and 31st, respectively.

Dodge's next shot at a Winston Cup victory will be in the Food City 500 Sunday at North Carolina's Bristol Motor Speedway. The race is to be broadcast live on FOX at 1 p.m. ET.

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