By 1970, however, King folded his tent and exited the Grand National ranks. Though little is known about King's arrival or departure, it's likely he experienced the racing truism of: The way to end up with a small fortune in racing is to start with a big one. (King did return as an owner/sponsor for one race in 1975. Sadly, Tiny Lund was killed in the Talladega 500 in King's Dodge.)
Though King got out of Grand National / Cup racing, Dave Marcis modified one of King's 1969 Dodge Chargers. Marcis raced it as a winged Dodge Daytona in 1970 and then returned the car to its 1969 Charger body for 1971 and 1972.
The car found new life in 1973 in NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman division. In February, Alabama's Alton Jones raced the Charger to a fifth place finish in Daytona's Permatex 300 with King Enterprises on the quarter panel as the sponsor.
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| Source: Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers |
One of the first races selected was the Permatex 200 on April 21, 1973 - the season opener on Nashville's newly reconfigured Fairgrounds Speedway. The big ol' Dodge was impressive. Marcis won the pole, dominated the first third of the race, and finished fourth.
Having fared pretty well in his first visit, Marcis returned to Nashville for another shot on Friday, May 12. He brought the '69 Charger to race in the 30-lap LMS feature that accompanied the first round of qualifying for the Music City 420 Cup race.
After qualifying eighth for the Cup race in his 1971 Dodge, Marcis saddled up in the '69 Charger for the short LMS race. Marcis went to the point on the seventh lap - just about the time a caution flew. On the restart, Waltrip (likely smirking) outfoxed Marcis and grabbed the lead. Just past the halfway point, Marcis regained the top spot.
And so it continued for the next ten laps. Marcis' Hemi launched down the straightaways, but Waltrip's #48 Falls City Beer Chevelle had the edge through the corners. On the last lap, Marcis found just enough oomph and pulled ahead of Waltrip to win by a couple of car lengths.
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| Source: The Tennessean |
He and the Dodge returned for another 30-lap feature on Saturday, May 19. Neither Waltrip or Marcis contended for the win that night. Mother Nature scored the W as rain postponed the slate of races to Sunday afternoon, May 20.
Waltrip won the pole, and Marcis timed right alongside him. As was the case in the previous race, Marcis' Hemi could haul the mail down the straights, but the car's weight made it more of a handful through the turns. Waltrip's Chevelle, on the other hand, had the perfect set-up to handle the corners, but he surrendered HP to Marcis after they both got back in the gas.
Waltrip rapped Marcis a time or two in an attempt to rattle his cage. Marcis, however, was unfazed and maintained his rhythm. The two weaved around traffic, took alternate lines every couple of laps, yet still managed to stay together until the final lap.
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| Source: Nashville Area Racing History |
Doc Brewington, Waltrip's mechanic, chose to protest Marcis' Dodge. He wanted the big Hemi stripped down bolt by bolt. Brewington even opted to protest the fuel cell. The car only needed a handful of gallons to run the short feature, but Brewington wanted the tear down to be as painful as possible.
With plenty of afternoon sun remaining, the tear-down began as a crowd gathered to watch. In time, Brewington and Marcis got to joking and placing side bets on what may have been legal or illegal. Meanwhile, as the tear-down continued, someone brought in a cooler of Waltrip's sponsor product supplied by his car owner and local beer distributor, Ellis Cook.
Around 9:30 PM, the evaluation was completed. Joe Carver led the inspection and concluded Marcis' Dodge was legal. Carver was the PR director for the Fairgrounds and later became the promoter at Langley Speedway in Virginia.
Marcis hastily loaded his car and gear and headed for a long, late night drive back to North Carolina. Though Brewington and Waltrip lost the protest, they figured a modest win may have been earned. Marcis arrived and won with an intact car, but he headed home with a tub of parts that would need plenty of time to re-assemble.
Marcis hastily loaded his car and gear and headed for a long, late night drive back to North Carolina. Though Brewington and Waltrip lost the protest, they figured a modest win may have been earned. Marcis arrived and won with an intact car, but he headed home with a tub of parts that would need plenty of time to re-assemble.
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| Source: The Tennessean |
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| Source: The Tennessean |
Although Joe Carver was the technical inspector during Waltrip's protest of Marcis, he was still the publicity director at his core. And he drummed up some for the 100-lap event by having the two competitors race bicycles!
Marcis once again won the pole - although L.D. Ottinger flanked him on the front row. Waltrip started eighth but had a nose for the front as usual. The usual suspects were again at the top of the field along with Alton Jones who had piloted Marcis' Dodge back in February.
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| Credit: Russ Thompson |
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A.J. King left racing but continued with the lumber business started by his father, A.J. King, Sr. He and his wife were the first patrons of a new Sevier County, TN library in 1966 - shortly before he entered NASCAR as an owner. King passed away in 1978, and his son Danny continued the family business. In 2010, the county's library moved into an even larger facility - the King Family Library. The King family contributed $2 million of the project's $11.5 million cost, and the library opened on the same spot as the original family lumber business.
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Marcis raced the old Dodge a few more times including the 1974 Permatex 200 at Nashville. As his Cup career progressed, however, he moved on from LMS runs with the Charger. The car ended up in a private collector's hands who then restored it to a winged Dodge Daytona as Marcis had raced it.In the late 80s / early 90s, the car was repainted to resemble Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird. The car toured as a promotional showcar for Goody's Headache Powders.
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| 1992 Charlotte Motor Speedway - TMC Archives |
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| Source: Getty Images |
TMC
Fantastic read as always.....I love the pic of the Goodys 43...The article is further enhanced by the fact that Jaws was loosing to Dave. :)
ReplyDeleteJaws loosing is always a plus....gigity gigity.
Chase, not only was this a great read, but it's also great history to preserve, and I appreciate you doing the work to that end. It was a different day when GN/Cup drivers would race on Friday or Saturday nights for fun and spare change - and it was different, too, in that the difference between late models and GN/Cup cars wasn't that great. Dave probably remembers a 200-lapper at Langley when both Bill Champion and Larry Manning ran their GN cars (Champion's was too old for further GN racing, but Manning's wasn't). Neither was competitive, but Marcis showed it could be done. Im also grateful for a story showing how good a racer Dave Marcis was in his prime. Great work.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff, Chase. I had no idea there had been such a rivalry between DW and Dave Marcis at Nashville. As my ole racing buddy Frank (disguised as OldWriterEditorFB) has already stated, this was a great read.
ReplyDelete