Sterling Marlin was working on race cars by the time he was 12 years old, and racing by 16. However, he still managed to become a standout football and basketball player at Columbia High in Tennessee. But, there was little doubt about which career path he would take. "Being a race car driver is something I always wanted to do, and fortunately, since the mid-1980s I have been able to land some good rides and keep racing."

Sterling won three consecutive track championships at Nashville Raceway from 1980-82 but only after hae had made his Cup Series debut four years prior, after his father, Coo Coo, suffered a broken shoulder.

Sterling is perhaps best known as only the third driver in Cup history to win back-to-back Daytona 500s, joining Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to earn that distinction after winning in 1994 and 1995. "There is no doubt that my fondest memory is winning that first Daytona 500," Sterling said. And there was a good reason for that. Not only did he win the Daytona 500, but it was also his first Cup victory in 279 starts.

In 2001, Sterling also scored Dodge's first victory in its return to Cup racing after a two-decade absence as he won at Michigan International Speedway in August. He came closest to winning the NASCAR championship in 2002 when he scored victories at Las Vegas and Darlington and held the Cup points lead for 25 weeks. While he scored 14 top-10 finishes and six top-10 qualifying efforts in 29 starts, not to mention starting from the Bud Pole twice -- at Pocono in June and Darlington in early September, a late season crash at Kansas ended his season prematurely, and dashed his hopes for a championship.