Return Trip to Lowe's Has Marlin Feeling More Confident

CONCORD, N.C. (May 24, 2006)— A solid performance last weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway, has given Nextel Cup driver Sterling Marlin a boost of confidence as he heads back to the 1.5-mile oval for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

“We were pretty happy with our Chevy in the (Nextel) Open,” said Marlin. “We haven’t had a lot of success on mile-and-a-half tracks this season but we seem to have turned things around at Lowe’s and found ourselves with a good race car. We were running pretty quick laps so that gives us confidence heading into the weekend."

After a disappointing test session at Lowe's a few weeks ago, members of the MB2 Motorsports team put their heads together to improve the handling of their No. 14 Chevrolet.

“The car we took to the Open was by far the best we’ve taken to a mile-and-a-half track all season,” said Marlin. “We didn’t perform like we wanted to at the Lowe’s test session last month but Doug (Randolph, crew chief) and the team went back to the shop, worked hard and made solid changes and we brought back a car that could compete. It’s a good feeling when you meet goals like that.”

Marlin’s history at Lowe’s dates back to 1978 where he started his first event seventh and finished ninth. Since then, his 50 starts include one win, 13-top 10s and seven top-fives.

“The 600 is the longest race of the season, so knowing you have a good car is important,” said Marlin. “Getting a good finish at a mile-and-a-half track is our goal. Hopefully we can unload off the truck fast and can make some small changes to the car that will prepare us for Sunday.”