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
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.
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 
