Penske eventually sold his team’s Chevrolets to Rod Osterlund, who continued to campaign the No. 2. Driving for Osterlund in 1978, Marcis was second in points to Cale Yarborough with only one race remaining.
But Marcis finished 27th in the finale at California’s Ontario Motor Speedway and slipped to fifth in the final standings.
Despite the solid season, tensions ruled behind the scenes and Marcis struck out on his own the following year.
“Driving for other team owners with good cars was very enjoyable,” Marcis said. “I’m sure I could have made more money if I continued driving for somebody else, but if you don’t have a ride you aren’t going to make any money. I had some offers from different people. I talked with the Wood Brothers at one point, but they didn’t run all the races then.
“I just wanted to race. I struggled, but I guess you can say I did what I wanted to do.”
Away from NASCAR, Marcis worked closely with the IROC series for 32 years, testing the equally prepared cars that were utilized in the all-star racing series.
He also worked with Richard Childress Racing as a test driver for Dale Earnhardt in return for use of engines for his Chevrolets.
All told, Marcis logged five victories, 94 top-five finishes, 222 top-10 runs and 14 pole positions in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“The back pack of cars, the guys that didn’t run as good, were still racing each other for position,” Marcis said. “Every one of us knew how much money there was from 15th, 14th, 13th and so on. We knew what it paid. We read the entry blanks and paid attention to that. So there was good racing all around the race track.”
Len Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing, has a huge amount of respect for one of NASCAR’s most successful independent drivers.
“Anyone that wore wingtip dress shoes when he drove had to be tough,” Wood said. “He was a good racer, always did it on his own with a small amount of money with a small group of people. He was a really good guy as well. A little-known fact was that he drove our car in relief of Donnie Allison in the second race at Atlanta in 1971. Back then, there were fewer ways of cooling drivers on those really hot days than we have today.”
Eddie Wood added, “He was a really tough competitor that won some races. My brother, Len, went to see him two or three years ago and there he was working in the garden wearing that Goodyear hat, that familiar plaid blue-and-white shirt and those black shoes he always wore. That’s just the way I remember Dave Marcis.”
The famed racer finally ended his NASCAR career on Feb. 17, 2002 at Daytona Int’l Speedway, where his career began 34 years earlier.
These days, Marcis tinkers in his shop, cuts timber off of 300 acres in Wisconsin to sell and enjoys hunting and fishing. He’s quick to point out he stays busy and doesn’t sit around.
“It was a relief (to quit) more than anything because I guess I didn’t realize how tired I was all those years,” Marcis said. “I’ve kept myself in good shape and feel like I could drive right now. I weigh 158 pounds and still work all the time. I miss not driving, but I don’t miss the schedule we had because we were short of people and we didn’t have an airplane and all that kind of stuff. I hated to leave, but it was really getting tough to make ends meet.
“I’m still pretty busy with things but hard work is all I know. I enjoy life and can rest some now and do what I want to do, but I still miss the racing. I really do.”