Later that year, a young driver from Sardis got behind the wheel of Cox’s car at Charlotte and won. Cale Yarborough, a 22-year-old who had run some dirt track events for Cox, but this was the first time on asphalt for the pair. This was also the first win for Yarborough on a track longer than 1/2-mile.


Yarborough was behind the wheel of a Cox-owned car at Daytona in 1962 and finished second. Grand National veteran Marvin Panch took the wheel of a Cox car and won the Permatex 300 in 1965, giving the man nicknamed “Preacher” his second win at the huge track. Immediately after the race, members of the Cox family were headed back to Hemingway so they could attend Sunday School and Worship services Sunday morning. Cox loved his family and he loved racing, but he always made God first in his life.

Since NASCAR ran many of its Grand National events on Sunday, Cox stuck to the “Sportsman” division that raced on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Marion never raced on Sunday, as he was a firm believer in ‘keeping the Sabbath day holy’, which landed him the nickname “Preacher”. Holding firm to his beliefs, Marion felt that Sunday racing wasn’t for him, but had nothing against those who did. When racing on Saturday nights, Preacher would keep a close eye on his watch. It is rumored that he waved one of his drivers, who was leading the race, off the track because it was past midnight and was then Sunday morning.

Until 1966, the only way Marion and Nina could afford to transport the race car was to attach it to the back of their family car and tow it along the highways. Finally, he bought a small flatbed truck and made the alterations to fit his needs of a hauler. He extended the bed of the truck so he could store tools, parts, tires and there had to be ample room to store a huge cooler stocked full of food for the family as well as friends at the race track. While Marion would spend the morning before a race checking over the race car, Nina was busy preparing the food.

Cox won many rewards for his hard work. He was “Mechanic of The Year” for the Modified division in ‘63 and ‘64 and was honored with the Bobby Isaac Award for making possible the success and recognition of so many drivers.

He opened the door of opportunities for so many drivers who shared the passion for racing. Drivers such as Dink Widenhouse, Marvin Panch, Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Ralph Earnhardt, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, Mutt Powell, Darrell Waltrip, Lonnie Wayne Cox, Billy Scott, Richard Childress, James Hylton, Tiny Lund and Sam Sommers were among the 55 drivers who sat behind the wheels of Marion Cox cars and many of them won races for him. Even though an official count could not be found, it is estimated that his drivers captured more than 500 wins and notched more than 15 track titles.

During the 1967 season alone, driver Billy Scott drove the Cox Ford to track titles at Charleston, Savannah, Ga. and Monroe, N, C. The combo finished ninth in the national late model circuit. The following year, Cox hired 18-year-old Haskell Willingham and the team finished second in the Georgia point standings, third in South Carolina and was fourth nationally. In 1970, Willingham and Cox finished fourth in the South Carolina points and fifth nationally.

Cox had built such a reputation as a successful car builder, he was called by representatives of Ford Motor Company in the late 1960’s and was asked if he would bring his young dirt-track driver, Willingham, and meet them at the Holman-Moody complex in Charlotte. Holman-Moody was the headquarters for the Ford financed racing teams and was the distributor for all of the Ford racing parts.

In the meeting, the Ford reps offered Cox and Willingham a deal that not many people ever receive and would never, ever refuse.