REMEMBERING COO COO -- (Photo Taken Prior To The 1977 Talledega Race)

As many of you know, I have been a long-standing and intensely loyal fan of all forms of auto racing. Recently, one of my all-time favorite stock car drivers passed away.

Coo Coo Marlin was a very good driver who raced back in "the good old days" before NASCAR became "corporate." You see, drivers like Fireball Roberts, Freddie Lorenzen, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Bobbie Allison, Tiny Lund, Lee Roy Yarborough and "The King", Richard Petty, all came up from the ranks the hard way and from humble beginnings. They not only knew how to drive fast, they knew how to bend the rules in creative ways that still have people marveling at their mechanical knowledge as well as their competitive nature. While I only met Coo Coo once (prior to a race at "The Monster Mile" in Dover, Delaware) what I remember are two things -- his warm, genuine smile and his dirty fingernails. You see, Coo Coo was one of the drivers who still worked on his own car and served as his own crew chief. While he didn't win as much as some of his peers, he was peerless in getting as much out of his limited resources as anyone on the circuit. He will be missed...