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The View From Fanville
Out With the Old, In With the New
Sterling Marlin may find himself pacing the floor, wondering what the heck has happened this year. While he’s been contemplating pulling back from a full time ride in the Cup Series, he was planning on doing it his way. Instead, his golden years in racing have turned into a guessing game. Will he have a ride? Will he want the ride? Will he tell them all to go stuff it and walk away?
Sterling has been racing for many years. He’s seen men rise up in this sport to the point of being multi-millionaires and others fall as fast as their names crossed the finish lines. And through it all, he’s been pretty steady. In 1995 and 2001 he finished both seasons in the 3rd spot, has won 10 Cup races, and ridden in well over 700 of them.
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After all this time, he is now finding himself debating what to do with his career and the situation it has presented. He’s been replaced by a younger racer, and is now sitting in the wings wondering what’s next. He said he’d like to run a limited schedule…maybe a dozen or so Busch races, that sort of thing. He did say that he doesn’t want to hang around too long though…he doesn’t want to go out of the series wishing he’d left sooner if you know what I mean. There’s a big difference between going out with dignity and just going out.
Lots of drivers have come and gone, some are still hanging around, doing TV appearances or radio spots, others are quietly living their lives with their families close by. Some were treated like kings when they left, others quietly slipped out the back door unnoticed.
In this day and age of high competitiveness and amazing talent, there ought to be a way for our men that helped us get to this point to feel really good about things when there time to leave finally comes.
I’m not saying it’s time for Sterling to go…I’ve no right to even contemplate that. I’m just wondering why some of our finest fellows find themselves in these uncomfortable predicaments. Maybe they bring it upon themselves; maybe they didn’t pay attention to the little nudges and hints that were sent their way over the past few years…or maybe they just didn’t want to hear them.
Ah well, Sterling is a big strong strappin’ man from down home in Tennessee. That alone will be strength enough to get him through this unpredictable time…there’s just something about those good ole boys, they stand strong and proud when the other guys are whining and fussing.
And as we watch over the next few years, all the fellows that started this game will be saying goodbye to full time racing. Some have already gone, while some have turned their rides over to their sons.
But if you walk out on the track when no one is there and you stand in the quiet and close your eyes, you know that these men that are now fading out of the limelight are still there, still strong, and still winning, if only in the minds of their fans.
NOTE: I'm a one man show, not supported by anyone. If you wish to donate to help offset expense, it would be appreciated:
 
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