Updated Q & A With Sterling Marlin
Q. Talk about your year so far with the Coors Light Dodge
team?
A. We’ve had a good season, but I’m not surprised.
I knew it was just a matter of time until everything would come together for
this team. It’s like anything else, once you get all the right elements in
place like the owner, the team, the shop, and the driver, then you get a good
season.
Q. Of course you’ve heard the rumors the past years how
you’re a veteran who should consider retiring, but you haven’t, why?
A. Well, because I still love what I’m doing. I love
driving a race car, I’m still winning, still having fun, still competitive in
all areas, so why quit? I’m going to be around a while longer. I don’t pay
much attention to what other people think I should do, it’s up to me to make
that decision and I’ll know when the time is right to call it quits, but trust
me, it’s not anytime soon!
Q. Personally, what did it mean to you to be the first
Dodge winner?
A. I just wanted to win period. But, I’m not going to
sit here and say I didn’t want to be the first Dodge winner either. It’s
history making and it was important since I thought we had and have the best
Dodge team out there today. We were on the verge of a win for months and it
finally came together at the right time. So, all in all, it meant a lot to the
whole bunch of us. It’s nice to show people the ‘fire’ is still there in
me too.
Q. I imagine it was good that most of the big Dodge people
were in Michigan to see the win?
A. Yeah, that was an added bonus. They loved it and we
loved it.
Q. Did Dodge give you a new Viper?
A. If they did, I ain’t seen it yet.
Q. What about another new truck?
A. Nope. But, they take care of us too.
Q. And Chip Ganassi came to congratulate you too?
A. Oh yeah. I see Chip about every 2-3 races, so he came
to help us celebrate the big win. He was proud of the team and the hard work we’ve
all done I think.
Q. Did you know the #40 flag was flying high over the
Columbia, Tennessee courthouse after your big win?
A. Yeah, I heard about it, but didn’t personally see it.
I’d like to have seen that, I must have been on the road too much that week to
see it.
Q. Some of your fans have pictures of it.
A. Good, maybe I’ll get to
see it after all then.
Q. You seem to be having success at nearly every track you
race on, why isn’t your teammate, Jason Leffler, doing any better than he is?
A. You know, I really don’t know. Honestly, I just
concentrate on my own team and my own racing. I’ll talk to Jason, listen to
him and advise him if he asks. I know Jason is a good driver and he just needs
more seat time, with patience and practice, he’ll do fine.
Q. So, it isn’t the fact since you’re the senior
teammate that you get all the best equipment and attention and Jason doesn’t?
A. Not at all. We have the same equipment, same everything
as far as I know. It’s just the experience matters more than most
people realize. It’s a tough business and it
takes time to learn, I’m still learning!
Q. So, I guess that means Jason will continue to be your
teammate next year? No plans for new teams or team members?
A. You’re asking the wrong person, but as far as I know,
things won’t change much. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m signed on
with Chip (Ganassi) for 2 more years and that’s where I plan to stay. There
will probably be changes in the off-season in some areas, but I don’t know
what they are right now. Everybody does little changes here and there in the
off-season.
Q. Someone said you mentioned on ‘RPM Tonight’
recently about driving a Coors Light Chevy, you aren’t changing manufacturers
again are you?
A. (Laughs) Nah, must have been just a slip of the tongue,
heck I drove those Chevy’s a long time so it’s just a habit I’m still
breaking if I said that on TV.
Q. Do you know of any new, unique paint schemes you’ll
be driving next season?
A. No, not yet. I just like to drive it when it’s all
silver. It looks good, looks sharp actually, and it’s my favorite and the fan
favorite too I think. But, I’m sure we’ll do something during the new
season, but nothing too drastic I hope. I like the Silver Bullet, don’t you?
A. Yep, I like the Silver Bullet the best and the fans do
too from what they tell me over at your website.
Q. I’ve had several of your fans comment on the fact
they still don’t understand why you sometimes have trouble with your restarts
during a race, any thoughts on that?
A. I agree with the fans on that. I have had some problems
with restarts. I may miss a gear, but mostly it’s due to our fuel pump
problems I think. It was even a problem as recent as Dover last week, I could
feel it going through the gears, but it wasn’t enough to throw us out of the
race, but probably hurt enough to keep us from winning too. Our guys constantly
work to get us as
good as we can be and I expect that to continue. We have a good bunch of guys at
our shop and if anybody can solve it, they can.
Q. Would you talk a little about the seatbelt issue that’s
come up again with Jeremy Mayfield’s recent accident?
A. I heard it wasn’t a Simpson belt, but I can’t say
that for sure, just what I was told. But, either way, I’m not real concerned
about it. My team checks, re-checks, and triple-checks my seatbelts. It’s all
we can do as a team. I’ve been climbing in a car for years and not worried
about the seatbelt issue and no need to start now.
Q. So, no concerns for your safety?
A. Naah, not really. As I said, we do all we can humanly
do to prevent those things, nothing much else to do. You can’t get in a race
car week in and week out with that kind of fear in your head. You need to
concentrate on the race and your driving. You also just have to trust the guys
and the equipment they use to be right.
Q. How was it in Dover recently with the recent terrorists
attacks and all the patriotism there?
A. It was special. The flag was flying everywhere. It gave
you a real sense of patriotism for sure. I expected the grandstands to be half
full, but it was packed solid. The crowd was loud, pumped up, and all the
entertainers were great before the race. We were all ready to get back to
racing, our ‘normal’ lives, well as normal as could be under the
circumstances. Everybody has to find a way to get back in their normal routine
somehow, it won’t be easy, but it’s what we need to do as a country I think.
Q. Will you doing your annual Talladega Tailgate party
this October?
A. No, not in Talladega, maybe Atlanta, but not Talladega.
I think that’s the weekend I’m going to see the Tennessee Vols play Alabama.
Hopefully, we’ll get to do it in Atlanta though. It
should be posted somewhere when the decision is
made so the fans will know for sure.
Q. You’re sitting in the 5th spot in the
championship point’s race, could you go higher at this point, maybe even win
the championship?
A. Yeah, I think we could easily go as high as 3rd,
but probably no higher. Unless the top 2 guys just totally fall apart and have
the worst luck in the world, then we’ll have to settle for 3rd. It’ll
be fun to be on stage at the banquet though. Last year I didn’t even go to the
banquet. My daughter, Sutherlin, was playing basketball and I’d missed most of
her games, so I stayed home and did that instead.
Q. I heard the banquet would remain in New York City to
spite the recent tragedy?
A. Yeah, I think you’re right; it will be in New York.
Personally, even though I like New York, I think they should move the banquet
around to other cities like Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and other places, just
to break up the same routine, kind of like they do in the NFL with the Super
Bowl. Besides, no matter what is said or done, everybody is going to be thinking
of the devastation downtown anyway, the World Trade Center site. You can’t
help but think about that now and even then, it’s only a few months away and I
know the clean up will still be going on. It’s sad.
Q. Talk a little about your son, Steadman, and his
upcoming 2002 season.
A. We’re trying to put together the funds and the team
so Steadman can run at least 15 Busch races next year. Maybe even one or two Cup
races. If we can field a 3rd Cup car in Talladega next year,
hopefully Steadman will be driving it. But, he needs more and more seat time,
more experience, more of everything right now. He’s coming along great, just
takes a lot of time and patience from all of us, including Steadman. A lot of
times these young guys get thrown to the fire too quick, just don’t want that
to happen with him.
Q. In closing, so things are good at Camp Ganassi/Marlin
and you see things just continuing on this path?
A. Well, I can’t see in the future, but yep, I don’t
see any problems on the horizon at all. We just want to win a championship in
the worst way and plan on doing just that in 2002!
Q. You sound confident.
A. You bet!