Coo-Coo Marlin Dies

Clifton "Coo-Coo" Marlin, whose love of auto racing eventually led to three generations of drivers, died Sunday.

Mr. Marlin was 73. He had been suffering from lung cancer.

Coo-Coo Marlin was a farmer and cattleman who raced on and off through the 1960s and 1970s. He never scored an official victory, but he derived great satisfaction in 1994 when his son Sterling won the Daytona 500.

The elder Marlin is generally considered to be the first driver from middle Tennessee to rise to national prominence in NASCAR. The Marlins live in Columbia, Tenn., and Sterling Marlin continues to live there.

Marlin was one of the sport's earliest stars, a hard-nosed racer who made his name racing around the short tracks in Tennessee and Alabama.

He became a regular at the Tennessee Fairgrounds, running against the likes of Bobby and Donnie Allison and Red Farmer.

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The Marlins have asked that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Coo-Coo's name to the American Lung Association.

Our sympathy and prayers are with the Marlin family today.

Rest In Peace, Coo-Coo.