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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. He 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 made the Daytona 500 every year from 1968 until 1999. The 2002 Daytona 500 was the last time Marcis raced in NASCAR. 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 Osterland Racing after the 1978 season. Marcis was

replaced by 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". Marcis experienced moderate success as an owner driver during the 1980s. The highlight of Marcis' career as an owner-driver was winning at the old Richmond Fairgrounds in 1982 driving a very un-racable looking 81 Chevy Malibu. Marcis was a lap down, but made up the lap when the race leader Joe Ruttman spun out and Marcis passed him. All three drivers that were ahead of Marcis pitted and he assumed the lead as it began to rain. The race was called complete as darkness set in, and Marcis was declared the winner. 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." "It was one of my greatest moments in racing," Marcis said. "I had even built my own engine for that race." From that point Marcis' team gradually became less competitive as more well-funded teams found their way into the series. 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 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

Fantasy NASCAR Racing

DAVE MARCIS - 03/01/1941