[caption id="attachment_6342" align="alignleft" width="300"] Marvin Panch[/caption]

Born in May of 1926 in Wisconsin, Marvin wasn't exactly from racing territory, as the Milwaukee Mile wasn't famous as a race track for many years yet. It was in California where Marvin got his start in racing, and that was a tough place: Lloyd Dane, Dick Meyer, Allen Adkins, and Hershel McGriff were just a few of the men whom you had to beat.  And Marvin was one of the best of them, probably THE best.  He, Bill Amick, and John Soares went out to Darlington one year and wound up sticking around; Marvin never left though, moving to Florida where he lived for over 50 years.

Pancho's Rancho was a happy place to be.   You have the combination of his daughter, Marvette, and her husband, Kevin, and their incredible planting activities.  It's a spot where you can sit down in the serene nature and be surrounded by the beauty of God's creation.  I think Marvin would agree with that assessment.  It's the world of Marvin Panch, the man.  It's a place where you can be with good people and be relaxed.  And then you walk into the garage and see the walls and cabinets lined with pictures of Marvin Panch in victory lane and at racing dinners, trophies, and racing memorabilia.  It's the world of Marvin Panch, the NASCAR legend.

Few men carry themselves like Marvin did.  He was completely laid back, never angry or uptight.  All problems would resolve themselves, and when things don't work out, that's OK too.  He loved to talk about racing, both old and new.  Sorry, Tim, but Marvin was an ardent Kyle Busch supporter.

There are lost annals of NASCAR history that I am sure even the NASCAR Archivist, Herb Branham, hasn't stumbled across yet.  These were the Daytona Beach events staged by Bill France.  Several events happened over the years: beach trials, special races at Daytona, and even ladies' races.  None of the men were quite as dominant as Marvin Panch was.

It was in 2013 that I met Marvin Panch, and I wasn't the least bit disappointed.  With his welcoming personality, talking anything with him seemed natural.  Racing is a world of cold people, and without Marvin Panch, it would be freezing.  One sits back and listens to the stories which, while Marvin wasn't one to add color, he always added his feeling to the story, providing a vivid image.  He allowed his emotions and what he felt to come through in his stories, which made them more interesting than the others'.  I picked his brain so clean that day that he said I knew more about him than he did and promptly nicknamed me "Brains."  The next 18 months brought several more opportunities to meet Marvin.  Every one was just as incredible as the previous one.

During that first encounter, Marvin showed his true colors.  My mother has various problems from a car accident that left her with neck damage.  Marvin saw her working her muscles and immediately said, "Come with me; we need to get those lights on you."  He led her to the garage where Marvette and her friend, Kat (forgive me if I misspelled this!) were applying the light therapy that had worked for Marvin for years and got my mother under those lights!  That's the kind of person Marvin was; when you're with him, you're family.

Marvin Panch was an incredible person who cannot be compared to the others around him, a unique person in the world of racing.

RIP, my friend.

[caption id="attachment_6326" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Marvin Panch/Alex Nickerson, 2013 Purple Cow Festival[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6325" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Marvin Panch driving the Coastal Speedway pace car at the 2015 LLOAR Car Show/Parade. In the passenger's seat is Marvette, having had to be talked into riding along. The ladies on the back are Vicki Wood (left) and Dot Gladis (right).[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6324" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Marvin and More Friends[/caption]