Ganassi: Marlin is the backbone of our company.

Chip Ganassi has re-affirmed his faith in veteran driver Sterling Marlin despite a sub-par 2004, stating that the double Daytona 500 winner and his #40 Coors Light team is the backbone of his Nextel Cup operation.

Despite being outshone by 'Young Guns' Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears last season, Marlin, who has been a mainstay of Ganassi's NASCAR involvement since he bought into Felix Sabates SABCO outfit at the start of 2001, is primed to bounce back in 2005 according to his boss.

"The backbone of the company is the #40 Coors Light team and driver Sterling Marlin," stated Ganassi during a media tour of the Lowe's Motor Speedway last week. "Last year the 40 team did not perform to our expectations, so we sat down and had to make some significant changes.

"We did some restructuring, including making Steve Boyer the crew chief," he continued. "We've reworked almost the entire pit crew, and we expect to see some significant improvement in the 40 car this season."

After leading the NASCAR points standings for the majority of the 2002 season until injury sidelined him with six races remaining, Marlin has finished 18th and 21st in the last two NASCAR Championships, failing to win a race in either season.