A confrontation between NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin and a race fan a couple of years ago on a Jamaican beach has landed Marlin in federal court. This week, a jury is considering Joel Whitcomb’s claims that he injured his knee and shoulder when Marlin assaulted him and threw him into shallow salt water. Marlin, who lives in Columbia, TN, contends he could not have hurt the man. Besides, he testified Monday, he had every right to stand his ground when the plaintiff accused him of being a cheater. Whitcomb, a Pittsfield, Mass., used-car dealer, went with his wife to Jamaica in December 2001 for a promotional beach holiday that drew NASCAR aficionados from across the United States. Whitcomb, a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan, went with his wife, Julia, who likes Bill Elliott, according to U.S. District Court testimony. In Jamaica they found themselves at a beachfront resort, where they could mingle with the drivers by night and join teams to compete in the sunny beach Olympics that organizers staged on the sand. The Whitcombs were pleased to find themselves on Dale Jr.’s team. Joel Whitcomb competed in almost all the events, including the tug of war between the Earnhardt’s fans and Marlin’s fans. The men from both teams each won once, leaving the rubber match to the women. When the women from Marlin’s team began to lose to those from Earnhardt’s, Marlin reached in and grabbed the rope as if to aid their cause. Marlin told the jury he was just horsing around and didn’t really pull. But Joel Whitcomb concluded otherwise. Testimony from the witness stand and from depositions showed that he told Marlin that he thought the driver was a cheater always had been, always would be and jabbed his finger into Marlin’s chest. “I thought he needed to be cooled off,” Marlin told the court. Marlin said he grabbed Whitcomb by the swim trunks and T-shirt and shoved him toward the ocean, where Whitcomb landed in about 2 feet of water. He came up spitting water and insults, testimony showed. Whitcomb’s wife testified that her husband’s knee soon began to swell, requiring a trip to the doctor and several months of rehabilitation in Massachusetts. In November 2002 Whitcomb sued in U.S. District Court in Nashville. The suit was filed in federal court because the plaintiff and the defendant are from different states. According to court records, Marlin declined to settle the case out of court. The trial is scheduled to resume after the Veterans Day holiday.( USA Today/AP )(11-12-2003)
