Sterling Marlin twice has won the Daytona 500 in his racing career. A shot at winning number 3 in the 50th running of the race Feb. 17 took a huge hit this week after three sub-par days of testing. Marlin’s #09 Chevy, owned by Phoenix Racing, had the 46th-fastest speed, at 186.162 mph, of the 58 drivers who tested the past two weeks. The slow speed has Marlin doubting his chances of qualifying for the race. “It looks like the Toyotas are looking like they have their bases covered,” said Marlin, a Columbia native. “They are really fast. Realistically looking, you are not going to make the (restrictor) plate races on speed because you can’t get yourself fast enough to make it.” Marlin is scheduled to attempt to qualify in seven Cup races. That list originally included four restrictor plate races – two at Daytona and two at Talladega. Max Papis is scheduled to attempt to qualify for both road races during the season. Marlin said the team should rethink attempting to qualify at Daytona and Talladega. “We might want to get rid of the superspeedways and go with more short tracks,” Marlin said. “I told them today that if we come back like we are today, we are wasting money and time. The car drafts pretty good, but you need some speed. We’ve got to find out the problem.”(Tennessean.com)(1-17-2008)
