NASCAR P.R. Feature: Marlin in Elite Company

Attempting to repeat as the champion in any athletic endeavor is a
task laden with almost insurmountable odds and pressures.  As Sterling
Marlin attempts to become the first driver in history to win three
straight Daytona 500's in the 38th running of the most prestigious
stock car race in the world on Sunday, Feb. 18, he may be the most
perfectly suited, by temperament, to the task.

Only two other drivers - both of Hall of Fame caliber -- have even had
the opportunity to achieve three straight wins in the sport's
signature event. Richard Petty came up short in 1975. Cale Yarborough
also failed to win No. 3 in 1985.

Petty, who won seven Daytona 500s on his way to seven NASCAR Winston
Cup titles and 200 career NASCAR Winston Cup victories, by his very
nature was the target for an intense bombardment of pressure from both
the media and throngs of devoted fans. The "King" of stock car racing,
with an unprecedented even-keeled demeanor, set the standard for
today's prototype NASCAR WINSTON Cup driver through his candor and
availability and in his role as an effective corporate spokesman. But
that role made concentrating on the race effort and winning three
straight a difficult proposition.

Yarborough, the gritty, bulldog-tough self-made millionaire, won three
straight NASCAR WINSTON Cup titles from 1976-78, but was on the
downward slope of his career when he captured his third and fourth
Daytona 500s. Although he was subjected to all of the pressures of a
heavily-sponsored and successful racer, the driven Yarborough also
produced a great deal of inner stress to succeed. The 1985 500 was
perhaps a hallmark of that determination. Yarborough's team raced a
Ford Thunderbird for the first time and he was leading the race when
the engine expired.

While Yarborough agreed that his self-imposed pressure drove him hard,
he also acknowledged the additional stress of racing in today's
corporate-minded world.

"It wasn't anymore pressure than it always was on me - I wanted to win
'em all and didn't put any extra emphasis on one particular race,"
Yarborough noted. "There's probably more pressure to win now - mainly
because of the big buck sponsors. They like to go through the entire
year with a Daytona 500 win under their belt because it means a lot."

Dale Inman, Petty's cousin and team manager for Petty Enterprises who
was with Richard for all seven of his Daytona 500 wins, used the
King's experience in trying to win three in a row to illuminate the
difficulties Marlin might face during Speedweeks '96.  "I just flat
out don't know how he (Petty) managed to keep his cool over the
years,' Inman said. "There's no way people can appreciate how much he
contributed to the sport except for those of us who have been close to
him all these years."

Like Petty, Marlin grew up in the sport crewing for his dad, Winston
Cup driver Clifton 'Coo Coo" Marlin. The younger Marlin has never lost
his country charm, nor his boyish zeal, for his sport.  "I'm sure it
would be a real big deal," Marlin said of the possibility of winning
his third straight. "But it's one of those things you just have to go
through before you can really say.  I haven't really thought that much
about it. There's enough pressure as it is.

"The last thing you need to do is mentally beat yourself out of it by
putting pressure on yourself or anybody else by counting your chickens
before they hatch."  Marlin spoke of the strain of going well into the
evening every night of Speedweeks with media and sponsorship
commitments, but he said it came with the territory and was actually
rewarding.

He summed it up with refreshing country simplicity. "The pressure is
trying to work things out so everybody gets their time with you. The
fact that so many people want your time is kind of flattering if you
think about it."