Coo Coo Marlin earned a name for himself at the short tracks in Tennessee and Alabama running against Red Farmer and Bobby and Donnie Allison. He was a four time track champion at Nashville Speedway USA.
Coo Coo was a speedway favorite with a lot of kids during the 60's. He drove a fire-engine red 1964 Chevy Impala,
#711, and was the first real "hero" to many youngsters. During this time, he and his racing "nemesis," Charlie Binkley
#125, continuously thrilled audiences with their oftentimes nail-biting finishes. Coo Coo was always available for photos and autographs in the pits after a race. His brother, Jack Marlin, was also a crowd favorite.
He moved on to the NASCAR circuit and became one of the sports earliest stars. He never won a race in his 165 Winston Cup starts from 1966-1980, but he had nine Top 5 and 51 Top 10 finishes, with many of those starts in a car numbered 14.
He died in his hometown of Columbia, Tennessee on August 14, 2005 of lung cancer at the age of 73.
Shortly after his death, his son Sterling was in negotiations with MB2 Motorsports to join the team's second car for 2006. When the team was unable to retain the
#10 (which was to be used by Evernham Motorsports for 2006), MB2 was looking for a number. A still-grieving Sterling found the
#14 available and had MB2 request the
#14, which was granted, and is being used to honor his father.
