Shalom and Amen for the Rev. Marchman

There's news from Daytona Beach late Sunday night that the Rev. Hal Marchman has passed away.

If you're a NASCAR fan or even if you just watched the Daytona 500, you'ver heard the Rev. Marchman give the invocation before the sport's biggest race. Bill France Sr. asked him to deliver a prayer before the inaugural event in 1959 and the Rev. Marchman kept the job for nearly five decades.

The Rev. Marchman usually ended his invocation with the term "Shalom and amen."

He had been suffering from dementia and memory loss for several years, but the Daytona Beach News-Journal's website, news-journalonline.com said a member of the Rev. Marchman's family said his death Sunday at Indigo Palms Memorical Care facility was due to a sudden bout with illness.

"Rev. Hal Marchman was a true friend to Daytona International Speedway and will be sorely missed," said Robin Braig, president of Daytona International Speedway told the News-Journal's web site. "He touched many lives at the Speedway, from the competitors to the race fans.

"We're thankful and grateful for his many years of service to the Speedway, but also to the community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Marchman family."