Sad News - Hal Marchman: "Shalom and amen." With that trademark ending to prayers he offered before every Daytona 500 for 46 years, the Rev. Hal Marchman endeared himself to race car drivers and hundreds of thousands of their fans. It was the Baptist preacher's way of being inclusive, the same way he lived his life, whether he was counseling an alcoholic or persuading community leaders to take on some civic project. Marchman, 89, the retired pastor of Central Baptist Church, died unexpectedly at Indigo Palms Memory Care Facility on Sunday. After years of fighting dementia and memory loss, a sudden bout of illness ended his life, said his daughter Anne Marchman-Jones. "We feel like we got our fair share of time with him, but it's hard because we didn't expect (his death) to be so sudden," Marchman-Jones said Sunday. Not only did Marchman pray with the drivers and fans before the race, he spent the rest of the day in the hospital area at the track to be available for drivers' families if anyone was hurt. "Hal was a servant and a shepherd," said NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip, adding that Marchman always "took good care of his flock."(Daytona Beach News Journal)(3-16-2009)