Dave Marcis races off-and-on for Penske (1972-77)
Join me throughout this year as I take a look at when some of the sport’s biggest stars drove some unusual cars! (Presented in no particular order).
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| Roger Penske & Dave Marcis, courtesy NBC Sports |
Why? Before he became best known as “The Last of the Independents”, Dave Marcis ran races for multiple different car owners. Amongst them, he ran the infamous Penske AMC Matador part-time from 1972 through 1974. Then, after a two year run with the K&K Insurance team, Marcis returned to Penske part-time in 1977 running Chevys and Mercurys.
How successful were they? Much like Bobby Allison, Marcis couldn’t get much speed out of the “Flying Brick” that was the AMC Matador, struggling for top-tens. However, upon returning to the team Marcis was a threat to win, posting multiple top-fives.
What was the aftermath? Roger Penske would wind down his NASCAR operations in a few years before returning to the series in 1991. Marcis, meanwhile, would move to relatively-new Osterlund Racing for 1978.
Ranking on the Strange-O-Meter? 8 pairs of wingtip shoes out of 10—a stubborn old independent like Dave Marcis seems like the polar-opposite of a “Penske driver”.
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