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Former Hendrick Motorsports mechanic Marlin Yoder recently shared his story of breaking away from his Amish family and his journey to the premier series in NASCAR in a recent conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Yoder, hailing from a conservative Amish family in Wisconsin, was raised in an environment that traditionally limits interaction with the outside world. In a recent episode of Dale Jr. Download, he narrated the events when he abandoned his community at the age of 17.
Marlin Yoder recounted the pivotal Sunday morning when his family departed for church when he planned his escape. He asked his sister to attend church alone, which raised her suspicion. He said about the eventful day (03:50):
"So I said 'You're going to Church by yourself today, I'm not going.' She said 'You're leaving aren't you?' I said don't worry about it, just go to Church. She leaves and I'm like alright I got to go, because I know she's going to go to Church and tell dad of course and dad's going to turn around and come right back home, so I got to be gone."
Marlin Yoder quickly resorted to using his neighbor's telephone to call his friend Allen for assistance. However, having never used a telephone before, he struggled to dial the number. He added:
"So I had never used a phone before, but as soon as my sister leaves I'm like I'm going to go call Allen. Well I had his phone number memorized, just because I knew one day I was going to need it and I tried to dial it and it wouldn't go through..."
Marlin Yoder elaborated that despite his initial struggles, he eventually managed to figure out how to dial Allen's number and left a voicemail, anticipating his arrival. However, to his dismay, his father returned from church before Allen arrived at his home.
To his surprise, his father burst into tears and pleaded with him to reconsider when he revealed his decision. However, Yoder remained resolute in his decision and left his community once and for all.
Marlin Yoder reflects on his life-changing decision
After abandoning his community as a teenager, Yoder recalled that he listened to NASCAR races on the radio. He later worked at grassroots levels in Wisconsin before moving to North Carolina, where he eventually secured a job at Hendrick Motorsports.
Marlin Yoder reflected on his life-changing decision which he describes as a challenge he has enjoyed and has learned a lot after leaving his family. He said (12:40):
"I've got this whole world in front of me that I don't know anything about. I know very little about what's going on outside of what I grew up doing. In a way, it was scary. Now, looking back and seeing what I do now and the person I've become, it's that challenge that I enjoyed as I am learning all these things when I leave."
Marlin Yoder worked as a front-end mechanic for the #48 team and was a part of the championship-winning team with Kyle Larson in 2021. He was a part of the Garage 56 crew and recently moved to Hendrick Performance's Track Attack program and is also a street stock racer.
