Racing legends to compete at Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. - It was a chilly Wednesday morning in the hills of Tennessee, but Dave Marcis was in racing mode.

The NASCAR legend attended a press conference at Bristol Motor Speedway dressed in his trademark Goodyear hat and wingtip shoes.

Marcis has been selected to compete in the March 20 Scotts EZ Seed Showdown, a 35-lap event which will feature 12 retired drivers competing on the high banks of BMS.

The unique event, originally dubbed the Saturday Night Special, was dominated by Sterling Marlin and Rusty Wallace last season.

The format has been altered to equalize the field and spark fan interest.

“I didn’t see the race they had here last year, but I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it,“ said the 68-year-old Marcis, who competed in 883 Cup Series events.

The list of legends confirmed to return to BMS includes Cale Yarborough, Jack Ingram, Jimmy Hensley, Tommy Houston, Phil Parsons, Charlie Glotzbach, and L.D. Ottinger.

According to BMS vice president of public affairs Kevin Triplett, four more greats will be announced soon. To be eligible, a driver must not have made a start in the Sprint Cup or Nationwide Series within the past seven years.

BMS general manager Jeff Byrd said the format change was made in response to the feedback of fans who longed for more nostalgia.

“This event was probably better received by the race fans than anything we’ve done in a long time,“ Byrd said. “We not only found out that the fans want to see racing the way it ought to be, they want to see racing way it used to be.“

In addition to a dramatic imbalance in the age of competitors last year, drivers such as Wallace brought specially-prepared cars. For the second race, all drivers will race in cars used in the United States Auto Racing Association Pro Cup Series. The celebrity portion of the Showdown has been eliminated.

Houston, who once held the record for career starts in the Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series with 417, said he recently talked with Harry Gant and Ingram about the 2009 Saturday Night Special. Ingram was among the more disenchanted drivers after the charity race.

“Jack was telling me how handicapped his car was,“ said the 64-year-old Houston, who also attended Wednesday’s press conference at BMS. “And Harry said the race was a lot of fun. I’m really honored that they have invited us.“

The last race for Houston came in 2000 in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I had been out of racing for four or five years, but when we started that race it was like I had been racing last week,“ Houston said.

Houston said he has no tricks or special plans for his comeback.

“I’m just going to race hard,“ Houston said.

Marcis and Houston shared several stories about the formative days of NASCAR Wednesday. Marcis, once dubbed as “The Ultimate Independent” by powerful car owner Richard Childress, said he earned his lofty place in the sport the old-fashioned way.

“All our life basically we were sort of the independent operator, and we accomplished a lot of things on our own,“ Marcis said. “We worked on our cars, and traveled with our crews up and down the road in a car caravan, and ate at the same restaurants.“

Marcis said modern Sprint Cup drivers, who travel around via jet planes and hide away in luxurious motorhomes, are missing out on the camaraderie and color long associated with stock car racing.

“To me, those guys when they reach our age are not going to have anything to talk about,“ said Marcis, who ran his last Cup race in 2002 at Daytona. “They fly to the races and they fly out. We all borrowed parts and worked together. It’s just completely different today.“

Following one race in Maryville, Tenn., Houston said he saw famed driver Sam Ard still wearing his driver’s uniform in a restaurant.

Tradition dies hard for Marcis, who plans to stick to his familiar driver apparel for the Scotts EZ Seed Showdown.

“Oh yes, I am wearing the wingtips,“ Marcis said.

The mastermind of the legends race concept was BMS vice president of events, Wayne Estes. The longtime NASCAR insider said he realized some changes needed to be made after Marlin and Wallace dominated last year’s event.

“Fans let us know that they were a few things that they wanted to be changed, and probably the chief thing was that they wanted to see guys that had been away from the sport for a while,“ Estes said. “That gave us an opportunity to open it up a little bit.“

Byrd, the BMS general manager, is among the NASCAR fans who treasure their memories of the sport’s titans.

“I walked around that whole evening with a huge smile on my face last year,“ Byrd said. “To think that I would get to see one of my true heroes in Junior Johnson race again, I just never thought I would see that happen.“

The March 19-21 race week at BMS will also include Food City Race Night, Ford Fan Friday qualifying, the Scotts Turf Builder 300 Nationwide race, the Scotts EZ Seed Showdown, and the Food City 500 Sprint Cup event.

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