NASCAR Cup Series: Top 10 Darlington paint scheme wish list

DARLINGTON, SC - SEPTEMBER 02: Paul Menard, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, leads Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 Carolina Ford Dealers Ford, and Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 STP Chevrolet, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 2, 2018 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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11 Nov 1995: Sterling Marlin Mandatory Credit: David Taylor /Allsport /

Kevin Harvick – Sterling Marlin tribute

Sterling Marlin is an often forgotten name in NASCAR lore. It may be of surprise to fans that he was actually a pretty solid competitor and could have been a NASCAR champion if a few circumstances had gone his way.

Marlin won back-to-back Daytona 500 races in 1994 and 1995, becoming only the third driver to ever accomplish that feat. From 1994 to 1996, he won six races and finished in as high as third place in the championship standings.

Marlin would fade away for the next few years before seeing a resurgence in 2001 when he scored two victories and once again finished in an impressive third place in the championship standings. In fact, if the original chase format started in 2001, he would have ended the season as champion.

The 2002 season turned out to be Marlin’s closest shot at championship glory. Marlin led the championship standings for 26 races and scored two victories before a wreck at Kansas Speedway left him with a cracked vertebra. This sidelined him for the rest of the season and eventually led to diminishing results throughout the rest of his career.

Marlin definitely deserves to be honored with some level of tribute. Landon Cassill honored a 2001 car Marlin drove after the 9/11 attacks.

Still, a full-on Sterling Marlin tribute car has yet to be done, and I think Kevin Harvick would be best suited to take on the role of doing so because of his car number.

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