A bright red #711 will once again roll out of the Marlin clan racing shop and onto the high banks at the historic Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday night. No, it won’t be Sterling or his son Steadman driving. This time Sterling’s daughter Sutherlin will make her driving debut in the Supertruck feature piloting a vehicle bearing the colors once made famous by her grandfather, the legendary Coo Coo Marlin.
“I’m just ready to get out there,” said the 19-year-old Sutherlin. “We’ve been working on the truck for months.”
Now that her crew has the truck race-ready, Sutherlin said she realizes that with no driving experience, she’ll have to take some time to get adjusted to racing in the Fairgrounds Speedway’s most competitive division.
“We just want to finish our first race,” Sutherlin said. “Right now I just need to get some seat time.”
Sterling agreed, saying “We’ll consider it a good night if she keeps the fenders on it and gets some experience. Of course, we would like to finish in the top five or six too. We’ll just have to see how it goes. Seat time is the most important thing.”
Along with gaining experience, Sutherlin said she also expects to have some fun too. “That’s the main reason I wanted to do it- to have fun,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting out there and mixing it up with the guys.”
Sutherlin did say that she understands there will be a spotlight on her because of her famous name. “There is some pressure, but since it’s my first time in a car, we don’t really have many expectations. We just want to avoid trouble,” she said.
Of course, if she does end up finding trouble, Sutherlin said she expects her gender to be called into question. “I’m sure whatever happens they’ll say is my fault because I’m a girl. If they wreck three cars in front of me and I get caught up, they’ll say it’s my fault because I’m a girl. I want to turn it around on them. If I have a good run it will be because I’m a girl,” she said.
Sterling said that he doesn’t see gender on the track. “There is no difference between her and Steadman when they’re out there,” he said. “They’re both just my kids.”
Sutherlin said that she would love to race against her father and brother one day. “It would be a lot of fun,” she said. “Dad would probably go easy around me because he’s the one paying, but Steadman might get mean,” she joked.
“We might do it sometime, but she’ll need some seat time first,” Sterling added.
Regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s race, Sutherlin said she is just excited to be on the track. “(The Marlins) have always raced. Now it’s my turn to get out there and show them what I’ve got,” she said.
In addition to the Supertruck race, a full line-up of divisions will be competing at the Fairgrounds Speedway, including the fender-bangin’ Thunderstox and the lightnin’-fast Late Models going nose-to-tail and side-by-side for 125 laps!
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, and, as always, children under 10 are free. Gates open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag of the night falling at 5:30 p.m.
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