In the 1968 Daytona 500, a driver from Wausau, Wisconsin drove a 1966 Chevrolet to a 20th place finish. Not bad for a driver making his first start. Little did anyone know that on that day a NASCAR icon had just burst onto the scene. The man in the wingtips climbing out the window, just having completed 175 laps, but still running at the finish, was Dave Marcis.

Marcis had the same career most independents back in the day had touring with the Grand National series. Trying to get a fast enough qualifying time to make the race, finish the best he could, and try to earn enough money along the way to keep going. Maybe to pick up a sponsor race to race, and pray for that big break. Such was life for independents in the '60s and '70s. He served a brief stint from 1972 to 1974 driving Matador's for Roger Penske. His only start in '74 for Penske was the Rebel 500, finishing sixth. Marcis continued on driving his self-owned Dodge racking up top ten finishes. That caught the eye of Nord Krauskoph, whose number 71 Dodges had been laying idle for months after Buddy Baker vacated the seat in favor of Bud Moore's Fords. His first start in the K&K Dodge was the National 500 in Charlotte.

The 1975 season began to bear fruit for Marcis. He would pick up his first win at Martinsville, beating Benny Parsons by three seconds to take the Old Dominion 500. He would also finish 2nd to Richard Petty for The Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) title. In 1976 he would take wins at Richmond, Talladega, and Atlanta. Krauskoph announced K&K would no longer be sponsoring the car for the 1977 season. He had things covered. Roger Penske wanted him back.  The 1977 season saw him an odd combination of  The Captain's Mercurys and Chevrolets, his own cars in races Penske did not enter, and Chevrolets owned by Bill Monaghan and Rod Osterlund. He would drive full-time with Osterlund for 1978.

In 1979 he would see Marcis out on his own again. He would continue as an independent and a fan favorite for the rest of his career. He would take his fifth and final win at Richmond on February 21, 1982 doing what any experienced driver would do-stay on the track when it started raining. While everyone else scurried to the pits only to get caught in the rain, he drove the final 5 laps under caution leaving his Malibu at the top of the leader board when the race was red flagged. It was also the first victory with a car from his own stable. "This is my greatest win. It's my first win with a car from my own garage. I built the engine, drove the truck here, and drove the car in the race," he said in a post race interview.

In 1994, Marcis struck up with Richard Childress . Dale Earnhardt despised test sessions, so Marcis would do the testing for Earnhardt's cars in order to provide more funding for his  number 71 Chevrolets. The only draw back was, it cut into the time needed to test his own cars.

Marcis ran his final race in 2002 where his career began. The Daytona 500. He would retire having competed in more Daytona 500s than any other driver with 33 starts. His 883 starts rank him third behind Richard Petty and Ricky Rudd in Sprint Cup career starts. Afterwards, he would go on to test Banjo Matthews built IROC cars and various Cup teams. He later began a successful business, building custom street rods out of his Arden, N.C. shop.

In today's atmosphere of modern-day Sprint Cup racing, it's doubtful we will ever see driver/ owners of Marcis' caliber again. Plus, wing tip shoes are not approved footwear any longer per NASCAR rules.

Tickets may obtained by contacting either June Vogt Wendt at 386-763-0681 or Linda Reeves at 386-767-3929. Ticket orders must be placed by February 12 in order to select seating preferences.

Story by Robbie Solesbee