John Clark/NASCAR This Week
Dave Marcis says he plans to run in the Winston Cup Series next year.
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
Dave Marcis is perhaps the only holdout —
and certainly the most notable — in a long tra
dition of struggling independents. He hasn't
won a race since 1982, yet still he keeps com
ing to the track, doing his best to be
competitive.
While Marcis rarely runs at the front any
more, he is widely beloved by NASCAR fans
who respect his perseverance and determina
tion to succeed against incredible odds
AGE: 57
WIFE: Helen
CHILDREN: Shawn Marie (28), Richard
(26).
HOMETOWN: Born and raised in Wausau,
Wis., lives in Avery’s Creek, N.C.
CAR: No. 71 Realtree Chevrolet Monte
Carlo, which he owns.
CAREER RECORD: 724 starts, 12 poles, 5
wins, 75 top fives, 180 top 10s, nearly $6 mil
lion in earnings.
FIRSTS: Start (Feb. 20, 1968, at Daytona),
pole (March 7, 1971, at Richmond), win (Sept.
28, 1975, at Martinsville).
HOW DID YOU GET INTO RACING? “Basi
cally, it all began in Wausau, Wis., on just a lit
tle short track there.
I decided if I wanted to get into racing for a liv
ing, needed to come down to NASCAR. Racing
was pretty seasonal back in Wisconsin, and
there were only about three months per year
that we could really race. I’ve seen so many
things change in NASCAR over the years in
the growth of it. It’s growing so fast, so big, I
don’t think any of us realized it could get so
big.”
WHAT’S IN YOUR FUTURE? “My plans are,
for 1999, to run in the Winston Cup Series
again. I think we’ll have an announcement real
shortly that Realtree will be with us again. We
are a small team, but I really enjoy the sport.
It's been my whole life. I’d like to be a team
owner one day, but I can’t afford to put anyone
else in the car right now. My plan right now is
to spend another year as a driver. I would like
to be in the Daytona 500 in the year 2000.
Then I’d make a decision about putting some
one else in the car.”
WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING? “I don’t know.
I’ve been racing since I was 16 years old. I
love to drive the race car. There are days when
you say, I’m not competitive, I’m tired of this
deal, but there are days when you are pretty
competitive. I’ve got five Winston Cup wins and
14 pole positions. I’ve had a good career.
There are a lot of guys with good teams, plenty
of money and lots of people, and they don’t
have any wins. There is a tremendous amount
of freedom also in being your own boss. I love
it. It’s been my life. I’m really proud of being
able to hang in there as an independent, one
of the little guys. I’ve never had to lay anyone
off. I’ve been able to pay for things a§ I go
along. I sent both of our children through col
lege. Helen and I are proud of that. I’ve got a
good name in the sport. I’ve got a good reputa
tion, always kept my nose clean in that
respect.” *
T H
C U
THE WINSTON CUP SERIES
COMING UP: Dura Lube/Kmart 500K
WHERE: Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 25
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Dale Jarrett
EVENT QUALIFYING RECORD: Bobby Hamilton, Pontiac, 131.579
mph, Oct. 31, 1997.
RACE RECORD: Dale Jarrett, Ford, 110.824 mph, Nov. 2, 1997.
OTHER FORMER WINNERS: The late Davey Allison is the only dri
ver ever to win here twice since the Winston Cup began holding
races in Phoenix, Ariz., 10 years ago. Single-time winners include the
Jarrett
late Alan Kulwicki, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt,
Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, Bobby Hamilton arid
Ricky Rudd.
NOTABLE: This historic venue hosts a wide vari
ety of events, including CART Championship
cars the annual festival known as the Copper
World Classic.
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
COMING UP: GM Goodwrench Service/AC Delco
300K
iSfei
WHERE: Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 24
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Joe Ruttman
TRACK QUALIFYING RECORD: Joe Ruttman, Ford, 127.741 mph,
Oct. 30, 1997.
RACE RECORD: Joe Ruttman, Ford, 103.942 mph, Nov. 1, 1997.
OTHER FORMER WINNERS: Jack Sprague won three Phoenix
races in a row before Ruttman’s victory last year. Mike Skinner is a
two-time winner of this race.
NOTABLE: This mile track has a “dogleg" on the back stretch. It is
the next-to-last event on the schedule.

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On TV
All Times Eastern
■ Trucks, Goodwrench/AC Delco 300K
3:35 p.m. • Saturday • TBS
■ Winston, Dura Lube/Kmart 500K
2 p.m. • Sunday • TNN
■ NHRA Revell Nationals
5r30 p.m. • Sunday • TNN
On Radio
AM 1540-WTXY “Your Racing Station"
■ Bush Poll Live Qualifying • 5:30 p.m.
Friday
■ Winston Cup Weekend • 9 a.m.
Saturday
■ Dura Lube 500 • 1:45 p.m. * Sunday
■ - r'• ... •' - , ' • » .... *
ON THE SCHEDULE
Date Race_ 1997 Winner
Oct. 25 Dura Lube/Kmart 500K, Avondale, Ariz. Jarrett
Nov. 1 AC-Delco 400, Rockingham, N.C. Hamilton
Nov. 8 NAPA 500, Hampton, Ga. . B. Labonte
Pole
Hamilton
B. Labonte
G. Bodine
TOP TEN
Weekly rankings by NASCAR This Week writer Monte Dutton.
Last week’s ranking is in parentheses.
1. Jeff Gordon (1)
Game, set, match
2. Mark Martin (2)
Fading at the end
3. Dale Jarrett (3)
Victim of bad luck
4. Bobby Labonte (5)
A tad too late
5. Jeff Burton (4)
Two wins and holding
6. Rusty Wallace (6)
Good year at Daytona
7. Terry Labonte (NR)
Getting it back together
8. Dale Earnhardt (8)
Trouble on pit road
9. Mike Skinner (9)
Not for lack of effort
10. Ricky Rudd (10)
Likes next two tracks
Y POINTS STANDINGS
WINSTON CUP
1. Jeff Gordon, 4,817
2. Mark Martin, 4,459
3. Dale Jarrett, 4,197
4. Rusty Wallace, 4,043
5. Bobby Labonte, 3,934.
6. Jeff Burton, 3,930
7. Jeremy Mayfield, 3,926
8. Dale Earnhardt, 3,496
9. Terry Labonte, 3,473
10. John Andretti, 3,399
BUSCH
• .1. D. Earnhardt Ji, 4,121
2. Matt Kenseth, 4,019
3. M. McLaughlin, 3,815
4. Randy LaJoie, 3,292
5. Elton Sawyer, 3,257
6. Elliot Sadler, 3,178
7. Phil Parsons, 3,168
8. Tim Fedewa, 3,161
9. Buckshot Jones, 3,120
10. Hermie Sadler, 2,984
TRUCK
1. Jack Sprague, 3,765
2. Ron Homaday, 3,737
, ;3. Joe Ruttman, 3,568
4. Jay Sauter, 3,385
5. Tony Raines, 3,365
6. Stacy Compton, 3,288
7. Jimmy Hensley, 3,267
8. Rick Carelli, 3,007
9. Randy Tolsma, 2,972
10. Ron Barfield, 2,971
FROM LAST WEEK
WINSTON CUP SERIES
At Daytona Jeff Gordon
earned his 11th victory of
the season, the 40th of his
Career and the first ever in
either October or Novem
ber. So much for the notion
of Gordon stroking to his
third Winston Cup title. By
winning, he improved his
Winston Cup lead over
16th-place finisher Mark
Martin to 358 points with
just three races to go.
BUSCH GRAND
NATIONAL
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
padded his point lead with a
victory in Madison, III., near
St. Louis. Bad luck ended a
memorable battle between
Earnhardt and Buckshot
Jones, who had an oil line
come loose on his Pontiac
near the end.
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK
SERIES
Dennis Setzer drove a
Dodge to victory at Mesa
Marin (Calif.) Raceway,
passing Mike Bliss’ Ford
with 11 laps to go. Jack
Sprague improved his point
lead to 28 points over Ron
Hornaday with a second
place finish. Stacy Compton
was third and Hornaday
fourth.
RACING ON THE WEB
Shorttrack USA Web site
www.shorttrack-usa.com/
Features: A poll enables visitors to choose their
favorite form of short-track racing. Fun site tl'"
well worth a visit. ‘ s
Background info: This site is maintained by D'
Auld of WQYK-AM 10f 0, a radio station in St.
Petersburg, Fla.
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
The rich history of NASCAR
When Bobby Hamilton drove Richard Petty’s Pontiac
into victory lane at Phoenix two years ago, it marked
the first victory for Petty since he won his 200th race j
at Daytona on July 4, 1984. The race was also a
notable achievement for the injured Terry Labonte,
who had broken his wrist in a practice crash. He fin
ished fifth en route to the Winston Cup championship.
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