rpm.espn.com: Sterling Marlin

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Wednesday, January 15
Updated: January 20, 4:47 PM ET

Sterling Marlin
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
Car/sponsor/make: No. 40 Coors Light Dodge

Sterling Marlin
Marlin

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
Best finish

2002 18 2 8 14 1st, twice

Career 10 81 191 1st, 10 times

2002 recap
The good: Before his season ended due to an injury sustained in a race in Kansas, Marlin had been the man to beat for much of the season. He held the points lead for 25 consecutive weeks, from the second race of the season at Rockingham, N.C., to the late summer race at Richmond, Va. Marlin was on track to win the championship for the first time in his career until the crash at Kansas.

Season highlight: Marlin won twice within a three-race stretch -- at Las Vegas and Darlington, S.C. -- early in the season.

The bad: Marlin was enjoying his best season ever when he crashed at Kansas in late September, fracturing a vertebrae in his neck that abruptly ended his season seven races short. It was a heartbreaking ending to what had been an outstanding season.

Season lowlight: While having his season end prematurely, perhaps the lowest point was the slump he fell into in his last four starts in late summer/early fall, finishing last at Richmond (due to an accident), 21st at both New Hampshire and Dover and 33rd in his final start of the year at Kansas.

Sterling Marlin
Marlin led the points race until his 21st-place finish at Loudon, N.H., in September.

Key stat: Consistency was what kept Marlin atop the standings for 25 weeks in 2002, but in 14 of those 25 races he failed to lead a lap, and led just one or two laps in five other events.

2003 outlook
What needs to be done: Provided he's fully recovered from his neck injury, Marlin should have no problems picking up where he left off in 2002. He has everything necessary for success: a committed team owner with a legacy of championships, a high-dollar sponsor and a car that got better as last season went by. If there is one fear, it's whether Marlin may have any hesitation in the first few races of 2003.

Prediction: If he can pick up where he left off in 2002, Marlin is a definite top-five threat, if not one of the favorites to win the title. There are few drivers who've had the kind of bad luck Marlin has endured in his career, but somewhere, somehow, he's due to finally earn that elusive crown.

Your take
Here are your thoughts on Marlin's prospects for 2003? Will he come back strong or will last year's injury carry over?

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