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Posted on July 18, 2007
Top of My Head -
Special Edition
An Open Letter to
Bobby Ginn
Hey Bobby,
You’ll pardon me if I
don’t call you Mr. Ginn; I only reserve
that kind of title for people I
respect. Today you showed your true
colors, and they don’t deserve respect
of any kind.
Not very long ago, all of
us Sterling Marlin fans were happy and
hopeful when you took over MB2 Racing.
You promised better equipment, plenty of
research and development, new shop.
And oh, yes. In an
interview with Larry Woody, you also
said this:
“Sterling has
become a part of my family. It will be
entirely Marlin's call about when to
quit driving. Sterling is a veteran
driver, and he'll know when he's no
longer competitive. He'll make that
decision; I won't make it for him. I'm
rooting for him, I'll tell you that.
When he quits racing, we'll lose not
only a great driver, but a great
personality."
If this is how you treat
your family, I’m glad we’re not related.
I remember last year
watching Terry Labonte retire. I was
sad, of course, but happy at the same
time – happy that Terry’s fans got to
give him a proper sendoff, got to say
their goodbyes. I knew that Sterling
had been talking about retirement for
awhile, but you’d also said that when
the time came, he’d get the sendoff he
deserved.
I never thought at the
time that you meant he would be swept
under the rug in favor of yet another
untested “Young Gun.”
I was looking forward to
going to Pocono this year to see
Sterling race, just in case he got his
limited schedule next year and decided
not to make the trek north. I always
looked forward to spending Sunday
morning waiting outside his trailer for
him to come and sign autographs, take
pictures, and just for a moment flash
that grin in my direction and say “Hey
Girl, how you doin’?” He was a
remarkable guy. Once he met you, he
didn’t forget you – even if he couldn’t
remember your name, he knew he’d met you
somewhere along the line.
I was going to ask him if
I could touch The Ring. Don’t ask what
ring, it was the ring that was as much a
part of Sterling as his Tennessee
drawl. The Daytona Ring, the one he got
after winning his second
consecutive Daytona 500. He had two of
them, but he gave the first one to his
father. That’s the way you should treat
family, Bobby.
Did you deliver the news
to him in person, or did you just fly
over his house in your blimp?
I’m going to be retiring
myself in a few years. My husband and I
have been looking forward to traveling,
and when you took over Sterling’s team
we said hey, we’ll have to give this guy
some business. Unfortunately, it was
you who gave us the business. There
will be no Ginn resort in our future, or
in any of our friends’ futures.
So I just want to say
THANK YOU, Bobby, thanks for the
memories… oh, no, wait, you took that
away from all of Sterling’s fans… the
chance to give him the sendoff he so
richly deserved.
Well then, thanks for
showing such integrity… ooops, sorry,
you didn’t do that either.
Um – how about thanks for
respecting Sterling Marlin, the last of
the good ol’ boys, and all of his fans
who’ve stuck with him through high and
low… uh-oh, Bobby… strike three. You’re
out.
Bobby Ginn – on behalf of
all of Sterling Marlin’s fans – thanks
for nothing.
You can contact
Becky at
marlinmama@gmail.com
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