Steve Marshall

Steve Marshall was an American racecar driver from Hoover, Alabama. He is most known for being the 2006 TM Master Cup Series Champion. Marshall was killed in an accident while qualifying for the 2007 Round of Alabama.

Career
Marshall began racing go-karts at an early age, but he put his racing career on hold as he served in the National Guard. The National Guard was his sponsor in the TM Master Cup Series until they were banned by the controversial sponsor restriction rule that was put into place in 2000. Following his release from the armed forces, Marshall began racing stock cars on various short tracks across the country mainly in the south.

TM Master Cup Series
In the 1990s Marshall got his big break when he landed a ride for National Racing. He drove the #33 Saar during his first tenure there. Marshall, who always considered Talladega Superspeedway his home track, would run an American flag paint scheme at the Round of Alabama. Marshall was very patriotic and was one of the many drivers that wanted National Anthems to be played after the races, which would eventually become reality after his death. He came close to winning the championship in the 1999 TM Master Cup season, but ultimately fell short of Leonid Roderick after Roderick won seven of the last ten races. After the 2003 season he switches to McCalister Motorsports to drive the #12 Pepsi Saar. He returned to National Racing later in his career, driving the #8 Wal-Mart/Halliburton Saar

Championship
National Racing had a storybook year in 2006, with Ian Cooper and Steve Marshall both top contenders, with Tony Durbin and Paul Lyons both winning races as well. However this was marred by the great rivalry between Cooper and Marshall. Going into the Karjala Grand Prix both Cooper and Marshall were favorites. The two drivers had run well there in the past but National Racing had never won the Karjala Grand Prix. Early in the race, Ian Cooper spun Marshall into the gravel trap at Sirola Park. Furious, Marshall caught up to Cooper by mid race and wrecked him at Kallela Corner. Marshall fought his way toward second place with pit stratagy, but needed a caution. With under ten laps to go, Marshall hit Alexis Rainsford the race leader in the Mallatt Corner, sending her head on into the wall and out of the race. Alexis Rainsford still hates Marshall to this day. On the restart, he was passed by Tyrone Stanley who made an agressive move on Marshall. Stanley had been a backmarker for his entire career so to see him passing one of the clear favorites for the win was very surprising. With three laps remaining, Marshall intentionally hit Stanley, spinning him into the sand traps. Stanley was still very fast and caught up to Marshall in the Dwyer-S on the final lap. He hit Marshall, spinning him into the sand traps. Marshall limped his car across the line in ninth place, while Stanley took the shock win. Marshall and Cooper continued to be championship contenders, and they took each other out at every chance they got, infuriating Dennis and Peter Keyes, the team owners. Cooper had a lead over Marshall going into the Round of Canada, but Marshall wrecked Cooper during that race. The team then stunned the paddock by releasing Cooper from his contract. Cooper was not able to find a ride for the season finale at Decatur. Marshall had a solid top ten finish, and won the title.

Death
Marshall had endured a difficult season in 2007. Injured at the 2007 Round of Concord, he returned to the track for the 2007 Round of Alabama, despite many of his doctors warning him to return at Ohio or Decatur. During the qualifying race, He was running for the lead with Cooper and Drew Eisenman. Suddenly, Eisenman began to slow with a flat tire, and as this happened, Cooper tapped Eisenman's car as it turned due to the tire failure. The combination of the tire blowout and the contact with Cooper's #7 car sent the #33 Crown Royal Saar of Eisenman hard into Marshall's car, which hit the wall hard. Marshall was rushed to the hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.

Aftermath
There was immediatly an outcry against Ian Cooper, charging that Cooper's dirty driving with his nemesis had killed Marshall. An investigation ruled that it was not the fault of Cooper, although many fans of Marshall believed otherwise. The #8 was retired for the 2008 season in respect of Marshall. His championship provisional got his car into the race, and Damien Snyder, who had failed to qualify, drove the car. He was leading late in the race, but was passed on the final lap by Anthony Evans. The car ran a black paintscheme and was re-numbered to #5 for the final two races, driven by then-free agent Tom Delgado, who grew up idolizing Marshall. Delgado brought the #5 home in 35th at Mansfield after an early incident, but was unable to put the car on the grid for Decatur, crashing out of the qualifying race early.

Legacy
Marshall's #8 was retired for one season out of respect, and Gary Edwards brought back the number to the series the following year. Edwards would score one win at the 2009 Round of Brazil in a photo-finish between him and Leonid Roderick. National Racing, which is currently branded as Team Saar USA, ran Marshall's #8 paintscheme at Talladega in 2010. However in the opening laps of the race, Brian Sendack, who was driving a car looking almost exactly the same as the one Marshall drove when he was killed, suffered a very serious injury in an accident that was in the same place on the track as Marshall's fatal accident. The injuries would leave him on the sidelines for nearly a year, and he would not make another Master Cup race until the 2011 Round of Decatur. Marshall's son Travis would race in the 2010 Texas 500, but was not able to find a ride anywhere in 2011. For 2012, Travis signed with Team Saar USA and ram the #8, his father's number, in the ASCC.