Mike Marlar with Woo Late Models announcer Ben Shelton
Mike Marlar earned his first win of the 2015 racing season earlier this month when he captured the Southern Nationals Bonus Series promoted Butterball Woolridge Memorial at Richmond Raceway. That victory netted the Winfield, Tenn. driver $10,028 for his efforts. However, the 37-year-old has his sights set on even more trophies in the future.
“It’s a cool place and it’s always cool to win close to your house when all your friends and buddies and family get to go,” Marlar said of his Richmod triumph in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “It’s fun when you get to accomplish something with everybody there.”
There’s a good reason why this talented pilot hadn’t won prior to July during this racing season. Due to work commitments, Marlar and his Ronnie Delk-owned team simply haven’t been on the race track as often as they might like. However, that may be about to change.
“I haven’t raced nearly as much as normal and hadn’t won anything,” the ‘Winfield Warrior’ explained. “We’ve actually made the decision that in the second half of the year we’re going to race a little more than we have been. We bought us a hauler and some things to race with better and after we sat down and planned out the rest of our season, we won the first night out. Maybe we’ll get something going here.”
Marlar started a towing and recovery business last year that has been doing well and has also taken much of his time. But now the former winner of events such as the ‘Hillbilly 100’ and the ‘Clash at the Mag’ hopes to direct a bit more of his energy on racing.
“My focus hasn’t been there on racing,” Marlar admitted. “I love it, but it’s hard to be everywhere at one time. Hopefully I’m set up now to where I can be a little more focused at it and maybe do a little better. We’ve been fortunate to have some success at racing and then you step away and think ‘I can go back over there when I want to and run good’ but it’s hard to do that. You’ve got to be there to run good all the time. It felt good to redirect my energy and have some success.”
Marlar hopes that success for him will ultimately come on an even larger scale.
“Honestly, I’ve been racing Late Models since ’04 and I’ve never really got the opportunity to go out and run a World of Outlaws or a Lucas Oil type series,” Marlar said. “I’ve either not had the stuff to do it or I’ve worried about my car owner’s wallet. It’s just hard to do that deal without spending a ton of money.”
Marlar’s Ronnie Delk-owned No. 157
But the driver longs for the opportunity to prove himself against the best in the sport over the course of a full season. And he hopes such an opportunity comes along while he is still in the prime of his career.
“In the right situation, I’d love to go out and run a series and really get to see what I could do because I may have to retire from racing someday without ever knowing. But at the same time, we just do what’s smart. Running a series like World of Outlaws or Lucas may not be the most financially smart thing to do, but it’s the only way to ever see where you stack up. Hopefully someday in the history books, you’re in there and you’ll never really get too far without following one of those. I realize that and maybe someday I’ll get the opportunity to do it.”
