Marlin finishes disappointing 17th in Daytona 500

Daytona Beach, Fla. (February 16, 2003) --- Sterling Marlin, driver of the
No. 40 Coors Light Dodge, finished a disappointing 17th in the Daytona 500
after getting a stop-and-go penalty from NASCAR for racing below the yellow
line.

Marlin started his Coors Light Dodge in seventh place and kept to the inside
line to remain in the top-15 for the majority of the race.  The Coors Light
crew only made a tire pressure adjustment on Marlin's car during the first
pit stop to loosen it up a bit on the Superspeedway.  Otherwise, Marlin's
Dodge was driving to his comfort.

The first of two rain delays of the day came out on lap 56 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The red flag halted the field for an hour and a half before racing resumed.
When the race resumed, Marlin moved from his 12th place restart spot to
fifth place in three laps.  

On lap 72, Marlin was issued a stop and go penalty from NASCAR for going
below the yellow line on the racetrack to pass another car.  The team went
one lap down in the process but was able to make it up when a caution came
out on lap 94.

Following the caution, Marlin was able to gain valuable ground and ended up
in 17th place when the final red flag came out at 4:10 p.m. ET for rain.
Michael Waltrip was declared the winner of the Daytona 500 when the race was
called an hour later.

"I'm not sure what the deal is on the yellow line," Marlin said.  "I was
trying to not get in a wreck and I get penalized for it.  They need to make
up their mind on what we can and can't do.  Then we'll follow the rules."

Marlin finished the rain-shortened Daytona 500 in 17th position and is in
18th place in the Winston Cup championship point's race.  

The Coors Light team heads to Rockingham next weekend for the Subway 400 at
North Carolina Speedway on February 23.