Engine woes end Marcis' day, career

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dave Marcis didn’t leave his mark the way he wanted to on Sunday.

However, he retired from the sport and the Daytona 500 leaving quite an impressive spot in Winston Cup Series racing. Marcis fell out of the 200-lap race on lap 84 after his engine overheated.

Marcis, driver of the No. 71 RealTree Chevrolet, began his record-setting 33rd Great American Race in the 14th position. He registered a 42nd-place finish in his final race as a driver.

“We got a piece of debris on the front grill,” Marcis said. “The water temp went up to 260 degrees. I was going along and working the accelerator trying to pump cool fuel in there and keep the piston tops cool.

“We were lucky when we had an earlier caution, got it cleaned up and the water temp went back to 200 (the preferred temperature). We were just sitting out there running along trying to catch up.

“Ever since it got that hot, the engine didn’t run right.”

Marcis had a pretty good week in making his 33rd Daytona 500 when he qualified through the second Gatorade 125-miler. On Wednesday night, friends and family through him a farewell party where he was showered with praise, applause and gifts.

The Wausau, Wisc. native leaves behind a legacy of being a good person in his trademark Goodyear hats and wingtip shoes. Through his 882 starts, Marcis registered five victories and finished second to Richard Petty in the 1972 championship chase.

Marcis, one to rarely complain or show any indication of a bad day, was true to form after he fell out of the race.

“It’s been a great week,” Marcis said. “It was a great 125-miler and I had overwhelming support from the fans, Richard Childress Racing and Bill Jordan from RealTree.

“We didn’t want to end it like this. We wanted to get a good run like we did in the 125-mile race. But, with these things you just never know.”

Marcis will keep his owner hat on and enter several more races with Dick Trickle behind the wheel.