The man with the drift and the three pound sledge in the lead photo is NASCAR great Dave Marcis. It isn’t the only time you’ll see him beating on one of his race cars with a hammer in this video, in fact the second clip has him STANDING ON THE MOTOR OF HIS CAR AND SWINGING AN EIGHT POUNDER DURING A RACE.
Marcis had a five decade NASCAR career and did so largely as an independent bad ass who relied on his own hard earned mechanical skills, guile, and gutsy driving style to do more with less than virtually anyone else in the history of the sport. He banged fenders with guys from the beginnings of the golden age all the way into the 2000s. He was best friends with The Intimidator, raced in wingtip shoes, and is now an active land speed racer with the ECTA, running in the circle track class with a hot rodded stock car that goes 220 in the standing mile…and at 70, he’d still whip you in a scrum.
Don’t tell any of my drag racing pals this but one of the singular thrills of my announcing career has been being able to both meet, interact, and call Marcis’s sprints down the Wilmington Mile course in Ohio at ECTA races. This film is fantastic. It is chock full of old footage, candid, funny interview clips, and even tire smoking, gear banging, small block screaming in-car footage of Marcis running his car in Wilmington. The guy still goes to work in his shop everyday (equipped with standard issue wingtips and his Goodyear hat), wrenches on old cars, works on his racer, and lives life on his own terms.
If Marcis wasn’t an LSR guy and ECTA member this would still be a great look at his career, but the fact he is still doing all this stuff makes it even better. This isn’t an artsy wistful look back at an old man who did some neat stuff decades ago. This is an upbeat, beautiful piece that celebrates the type of guy we here at BangShift hold in the highest esteem, the racers who used their brains to beat the guys who only had the bucks.
Dave Marcis rules and so does this film!
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NICE
Wonderful!
As a long-time ECTA racer I’ve had the privilege of waiting in line with Dave more than once. He’s a great guy and as friendly as you could ever imagine. Evidently he has some funding from Real Tree but basically he seems to be self-funded like the rest of us and like all of us shows up for the love of the sport and with no illusions of money or (outside of our group) even fame.
Just so everyone knows, that’s Hoosier (the other Dan) on the starting line.
Dan
Spent 10 years in the Cup garage seeing Dave work, and even better, seeing him race. He always did the best he could with what he had (and had made himself). He never let anyone pass him without racing them fair and square (except for Dale) whether he was on the lead lap or two laps down. This video is a fine tribute to him.
We’re entered for the first Wilmington event, so hopefully I’ll be able to see him for the first time in over a decade.
vic
I attended the Wisconsin Racer Dinner for a few years before moving 10 years ago.. I got to tell Dave I had 71 on my Escort gt racer for Rockford Speedway. I didn’t tell him I had 17 on it but it was taken when I got to the track and 71 was made with a quick racing tape move!! Dave Marcus and the late Dick Trickle great Wisconsin RACERS!!!! Great MEN!