Coo Coo Marlin

Clifton Burton "Coo Coo" Marlin (January 3, 1932 – August 14, 2005) was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver who spent 14 years in the series.

Coo Coo Marlin
Coo Coo Marlin
BornClifton Burton Marlin
(1932-01-03)January 3, 1932
Columbia, Tennessee
DiedAugust 14, 2005(2005-08-14) (aged 73)
Cause of deathLung cancer
NASCAR Cup Series career
165 races run over 14 years
Best finish20th: 1975 Winston Cup Series season
First race1966 Nashville 400 (Nashville)
Last race1980 Talladega 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 51 0

Local track history

Marlin earned a name for himself at the short tracks in Tennessee and Alabama, running against Red Farmer, Bobby Allison, and Donnie Allison. He was a four-time track champion at Nashville Speedway USA (now Music City Motorplex).

Marlin was a speedway favorite with a lot of kids during the 1960s. He drove a fire-engine red 1964 Chevrolet Impala, No. 711, and was the first real "hero" to many youngsters. During this time, he and his racing "nemesis," Charlie Binkley No. 125, continuously thrilled audiences with their often tense finishes. Marlin was always available for photos and autographs in the pits after a race. His brother, Jack Marlin, was also a crowd favorite.

Grand National and Winston Cup career

Marlin advanced to part-time rides on the NASCAR Grand National circuit, starting with one race in 1966 and three in 1967. He ran more of the schedule as the series changed from Grand National to Winston Cup, but he never competed in more than 23 races in any season. He never won a race in his 165 Winston Cup starts from 1966 to 1980, but he had nine top 5 and 51 top 10 finishes, with many of those starts in a car numbered 14. However, in 1973, Marlin won a non points race, with one of the Duel races at Daytona that year.[1]

Death

Marlin died in his hometown of Columbia, Tennessee on August 14, 2005 of lung cancer at the age of 73.

Son's use of number 14 as memorial

Shortly after Marlin's death, his son Sterling was in negotiations with MB2 Motorsports to drive the team's second car for 2006. The team was unable to retain the No. 10 (which was to be used by Evernham Motorsports for 2006), so MB2 was looking for a new number. A still-grieving Sterling found the No. 14 available (ppc Racing's defunct Nextel Cup team had been the last to use it) and had MB2 request the No. 14, which was granted. It was run to honor his father during his year and a half with the team until his unexpected release from Ginn Racing mid-way through the 2007 season, after the team merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. The No. 14 is now run by Clint Bowyer, his owner and former driver Tony Stewart who chose the number for his own race team in honor of AJ Foyt, a childhood hero of his.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series
NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 NGNC Pts Ref
1966 Gray Racing 97 Ford AUG RSD DAY DAY DAY CAR BRI ATL HCY CLB GPS BGS NWS MAR DAR LGY MGR MON RCH CLT DTS ASH PIF SMR AWS BLV GPS DAY ODS BRR OXF FON ISP BRI SMR NSV
8		 ATL CLB AWS BLV BGS DAR HCY RCH HBO MAR NWS CLT CAR 95th 360 [2]
1967 Charlie Hughes 04 Chevy AUG RSD DAY
13		 DAY DAY
50		 AWS BRI GPS BGS ATL CLB HCY NWS MAR SVH RCH DAR BLV LGY CLT ASH MGR SMR BIR CAR GPS MGY DAY TRN OXF FDA ISP BRI SMR 88th 680 [3]
Cunningham-Kelley Racing NSV
17		 ATL BGS CLB SVH DAR HCY RCH BLV HBO MAR NWS CLT CAR AWS
1969 Cunningham-Kelley Racing 07 Chevy MGR MGY RSD DAY DAY DAY CAR AUG BRI ATL CLB HCY GPS RCH NWS MAR AWS DAR BLV LGY CLT MGR SMR MCH KPT
22		 GPS NCF DAY DOV TPN TRN BLV BRI
30		 NSV
7		 SMR ATL
13		 MCH SBO BGS AWS DAR
31		 HCY RCH TAL
10		 CLB MAR NWS CLT
39		 SVH AUG CAR JFC MGR TWS 52nd 375 [4]
1970 RSD DAY
24		 DAY DAY
18		 RCH CAR SVH ATL
9		 BRI
9		 TAL
10		 NWS CLB DAR BLV LGY CLT
30		 SMR MAR MCH
31		 RSD HCY KPT GPS DAY
34		 AST TPN TRN BRI SMR NSV
6		 ATL
15		 CLB ONA MCH
17		 TAL
14		 BGS SBO DAR HCY RCH DOV NCF NWS CLT
34		 MAR MGR CAR LGY 38th 876 [5]
1971 RSD DAY DAY
13		 DAY
20		 ONT RCH CAR HCY BRI ATL
15		 CLB GPS SMR NWS MAR DAR SBO TAL
39		 ASH KPT CLT DOV MCH
27		 RSD HOU GPS DAY
31		 BRI
14		 AST ISP TRN NSV
25		 ATL
34		 BGS ONA MCH
33		 TAL
42		 CLB HCY DAR MAR CLT DOV CAR
38		 MGR RCH NWS TWS 49th 527 [6]

Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1972 Cunningham-Kelley Racing 14 Chevy RSD DAY
25		 RCH ONT CAR ATL
12		 BRI
6		 DAR NWS MAR TAL
35		 CLT
28		 DOV
24		 MCH RSD TWS
3		 DAY
4		 BRI
22		 TRN ATL
29		 TAL
16		 MCH
34		 NSV
26		 DAR
10		 RCH DOV
36		 MAR
11		 NWS
30		 CLT
34		 CAR
27		 TWS
7		 25th 3852.9 [7]
1973 RSD DAY
29		 RCH CAR
14		 BRI
7		 ATL
6		 NWS DAR MAR TAL
6		 NSV
6		 CLT
33		 DOV
35		 TWS
28		 RSD MCH
11		 DAY
38		 BRI
27		 ATL
30		 TAL
40		 NSV
3		 DAR
7		 RCH DOV
6		 NWS
11		 MAR
23		 CLT
19		 CAR
10		 22nd 4233.89 [8]
1974 RSD DAY
4		 RCH CAR
24		 BRI
10		 ATL
28		 DAR
19		 NWS MAR
12		 TAL
7		 NSV
9		 DOV CLT
38		 RSD MCH
13		 DAY
18		 BRI
12		 NSV
28		 ATL
9		 POC TAL
35		 MCH
11		 DAR
29		 RCH
18		 DOV
25		 NWS
11		 MAR
22		 CLT
22		 CAR
12		 ONT 22nd 581.66 [9]
1975 RSD DAY
17		 RCH CAR
26		 BRI ATL
7		 NWS DAR
5		 MAR TAL
5		 NSV
3		 DOV
6		 CLT
40		 RSD MCH
12		 DAY
34		 NSV
26		 POC
7		 TAL
5		 MCH
35		 DAR
39		 DOV
31		 NWS
12		 MAR
29		 CLT
42		 RCH
9		 CAR
10		 BRI
7		 ATL
8		 ONT 20th 2584 [10]
1976 RSD DAY
21		 CAR
8		 RCH BRI ATL
6		 NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH
13		 DAY
6		 NSV
8		 POC TAL
34		 MCH
12		 BRI DAR
8		 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
32		 CAR
10		 ATL
30		 ONT
DNQ		 28th 1412 [11]
1977 RSD DAY
4		 RCH CAR ATL
8		 NWS DAR BRI MAR TAL
8		 NSV
8		 DOV CLT
12		 RSD MCH DAY
13		 NSV
11		 POC TAL
40		 MCH BRI DAR
26		 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
12		 CAR ATL
10		 ONT 34th 1004 [12]
1978 RSD DAY
26		 RCH CAR ATL
39		 BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL
41		 DOV CLT NSV
22		 RSD MCH DAY
38		 NSV POC TAL
26		 MCH BRI DAR
30		 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
7		 CAR ATL
10		 ONT 36th 765 [13]
1979 RSD DAY
9		 CAR RCH ATL
38		 NWS BRI DAR MAR TAL
10		 NSV DOV CLT
30		 TWS RSD MCH DAY
25		 NSV POC TAL
29		 MCH BRI DAR
36		 RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL ONT 33rd 613 [14]
1980 RSD DAY
QL†		 RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL
11		 NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY
14		 NSV POC TAL
37		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ATL ONT 54th 303 [15]
† - Qualified but replaced by Sterling Marlin
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1967 Charlie Hughes Chevrolet 27 50
1970 Cunningham-Kelley Racing Chevrolet 40 18
1971 26 20
1972 3 25
1973 4 29
1974 31 4
1975 35 17
1976 10 21
1977 13 4
1978 16 26
1979 37 9
1980 QL†
† - Qualified but replaced by Sterling Marlin

References
  1. Coo Coo Marlin page of Racing-reference website , retrieved May 21, 2007.
  2. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1966 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  3. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1967 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  4. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  5. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  6. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  7. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  8. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  9. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  10. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  11. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  12. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  13. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  14. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  15. "Coo Coo Marlin – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
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