All These Young Drivers!

SpeedPagan

SpeedPagan

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So am I the only one who's feeling really old when seeing all these young drivers coming up in the top three series in NASCAR? I mean, I've only bee involved in the sport of stock car racing since like the late 90s, early 00s, but has this always been the norm? I mean how old was Gordon, Earnhardt Sr., Richard Petty when they entered into the Winston Cup Series or the Busch Series?

All of these young whipper snappers are also making me feel old and I'm only 30! :p
 
You're not the only feeling old. I look at these kids and wonder if they are old enough to even have a learner's permit. Most don't even
look old enough to shave.
But then, back in the day, young drivers had to work their way up through the ranks to even THINK about getting a decent ride. DE was 29 when
her won ROTY. Most didn't have the money necessary to start with small cars at a young age.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
You're not the only feeling old. I look at these kids and wonder if they are old enough to even have a learner's permit. Most don't even
look old enough to shave.
But then, back in the day, young drivers had to work their way up through the ranks to even THINK about getting a decent ride. DE was 29 when
her won ROTY. Most didn't have the money necessary to start with small cars at a young age.
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Apparently Richard Petty was 21 when he began his NASCAR career, it doesn't say in which series. Jeff Gordon was also 21 when he started racing for Hendricks in the Sprint Cup (then Winston Cup) series. Well at least Jimmie Johnson was 27 when he started racing in the Sprint Cup series.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Apparently Richard Petty was 21 when he began his NASCAR career, it doesn't say in which series. Jeff Gordon was also 21 when he started racing for Hendricks in the Sprint Cup (then Winston Cup) series. Well at least Jimmie Johnson was 27 when he started racing in the Sprint Cup series.
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You add 2 more years for him driving for Davis...in a FORD and you have him at roughly 18-19 years old. Gordon's been around.
 
Reck said:
You add 2 more years for him driving for Davis...in a FORD and you have him at roughly 18-19 years old. Gordon's been around.
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Damn, he must have been one hot rocket to get noticed by two team owners.
 
I
SpeedPagan said:
So am I the only one who's feeling really old when seeing all these young drivers coming up in the top three series in NASCAR? I mean, I've only bee involved in the sport of stock car racing since like the late 90s, early 00s, but has this always been the norm? I mean how old was Gordon, Earnhardt Sr., Richard Petty when they entered into the Winston Cup Series or the Busch Series?

All of these young whipper snappers are also making me feel old and I'm only 30! :p
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I was 18 when daryll waltrip was a rookie.
 
I knew my NASCAR racing dreams were shot the day Bayne who is younger then me won the 500.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Damn, he must have been one hot rocket to get noticed by two team owners.
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You should look up some of his ESPN Thursday Night Thunder stuff.. You'll see the Larson/Gordon comparison.
 
kkfan91 said:
I knew my NASCAR racing dreams were shot the day Bayne who is younger then me won the 500.
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Yeah, that first time that a driver younger than you wins a Cup race, it makes you feel instantly old. I think mine was when Kurt Busch won his first Cup race at Bristol in '02. The fact that was over 12 years ago makes me feel even older.
 
I remember the last youth movement and felt it was good for the sport - seeing as those guys were 22-26 when they were entering Cup.

This time around, it's bad. You have to be in a Truck Series ride by the time you're 16 or affiliated with a NASCAR team when you're 14 in order to have a shot... which means that only the kids with rich daddies can succeed.
 
All these young drivers....and they all wear these goofy looking flat-billed caps. Except the Dillon's; they were those goofy looking cowboy hats. ;)
 
LMAO. Mine was Joey Logano when he took over the Nationwide series...
 
I like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott but 18-20 is just too young to be in Cup. If I was king, I'd set 21 as the minimum age to compete in Sprint Cup.
 
CamelPowered said:
All these young drivers....and they all wear these goofy looking flat-billed caps. Except the Dillon's; they were those goofy looking cowboy hats. ;)
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They're cookie cutter, just like the tracks. They raced go-karts when they were a kid, raced the Summer Shootout at Charlotte one summer and "got noticed" (bought a development deal) then ran a few races in PASS, UARA, ARCA and K&N then, viola, they're in Cup. And many of them have the exact same life story. If y'all think Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are boring, you haven't seen anything.

The worst part for the sport in general is that these kids don't have any roots in any hometown track or region so it's not like fans from Central Ohio are watching someone they watched at their local track making it to Cup and getting behind this driver.

I don't think the sport can survive without die-hard, grassroots racing fans.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Daniel Hemric not being able to get a NASCAR ride is egregious. It's an atrocity. Everyone who knows anything outside of Sprint Cup knows it.

This sport is dying.
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yep Nascar is dead..go find a game to watch while the rest of us hang around until Nascar quits twitching. We will let you know when it happens..have a good game.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
They're cookie cutter, just like the tracks. They raced go-karts when they were a kid, raced the Summer Shootout at Charlotte one summer and "got noticed" (bought a development deal) then ran a few races in PASS, UARA, ARCA and K&N then, viola, they're in Cup. And many of them have the exact same life story. If y'all think Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are boring, you haven't seen anything.

The worst part for the sport in general is that these kids don't have any roots in any hometown track or region so it's not like fans from Central Ohio are watching someone they watched at their local track making it to Cup and getting behind this driver.

I don't think the sport can survive without die-hard, grassroots racing fans.
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yeah your right again ol bean. I think there is a ball game on somewhere....whew, anybody smell something dying...or is that Andy.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
They're cookie cutter, just like the tracks. They raced go-karts when they were a kid, raced the Summer Shootout at Charlotte one summer and "got noticed" (bought a development deal) then ran a few races in PASS, UARA, ARCA and K&N then, viola, they're in Cup. And many of them have the exact same life story. If y'all think Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are boring, you haven't seen anything.

The worst part for the sport in general is that these kids don't have any roots in any hometown track or region so it's not like fans from Central Ohio are watching someone they watched at their local track making it to Cup and getting behind this driver.

I don't think the sport can survive without die-hard, grassroots racing fans.
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Agreed 100%

It seems like we have a crop of kids who grew up elsewhere but moved to North Carolina when they were teenagers to pursue NASCAR. In theory, Joey Logano should be a fan favorite in New England because he's the only (competitive) driver from that area of the country but no one has any real ties to him because he never really raced there.
 
Let's see, today you have to be everything to everyone, Looks, speech, proper on TV, do interviews that make sense, come across as vibrant and energetic. The old school racers were just that old school. The driver of today has to represent multi billion dollar corporations week in week out. The old school drivers were just that old school drivers, excellent at what they di, but, a driver today makes more to start a race than the old school guys made to win a race.

Gordon was the changing point in the paradigm shift to current day drivers.
 
I used to LMAO at the 'Gillette Young Guns'. They had no use for razors, just a splash of milk on their cheeks and a cat.
I "THINK" Gordon was the first of the youngsters. Sr called him the Boy Wonder. Going back most cup guys didn't get a shot until they were mid to late 20's. Not 18 year olds who have 10 years (?) racing experience.
 
Its good for the sport. Fresh new faces who are competitive. Gonna be fun watching the Larson/Dillions/Elliott battle for years to come. Anyone who says different is either stupid or a liar. My friends who all 21ish have been informed by me that Larson is 21 & Elliott is 19 and they are all shocked. Bringin in new fans ;)

AndyMarquisLive said:
Daniel Hemric not being able to get a NASCAR ride is egregious. It's an atrocity. Everyone who knows anything outside of Sprint Cup knows it.

This sport is dying.
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Do you ever have anything positive to say?
 
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AndyMarquisLive said:
They're cookie cutter, just like the tracks. They raced go-karts when they were a kid, raced the Summer Shootout at Charlotte one summer and "got noticed" (bought a development deal) then ran a few races in PASS, UARA, ARCA and K&N then, viola, they're in Cup. And many of them have the exact same life story. If y'all think Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are boring, you haven't seen anything.

The worst part for the sport in general is that these kids don't have any roots in any hometown track or region so it's not like fans from Central Ohio are watching someone they watched at their local track making it to Cup and getting behind this driver.

I don't think the sport can survive without die-hard, grassroots racing fans.
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Assuming that the Chase Elliott video package they showed during a couple of races wasn't just fluffy propaganda, Chase definitely has Dawsonville behind him, even if it is mainly because of his daddy.

I've said this before, but here's my thing: having an entertaining personality and a relatable small town/everyman background is a good thing, but at the end of the day, whether or not a person can drive is the most important thing. There are a lot of young kids that are coming up that can really drive. I would actually make the opposite argument and say that that's one of the few things that is keeping the hardcore fanbase interested in the sport.
 
Predicting doom and gloom is a full time job for Andy, I get a lot of laughs from his posts they are so ridiculously funny. As most can see, two, three, and even four generations are continuing the sport. Open wheel, sports cars, Nascar, Sprint cars, Drag cars, you name it, racing dynasties are in every series of racing. Racing has always been and will always be a sport where it takes big money to field a car, even better is to have big money, a name, and talent. It will never be fair and just. The few Andy's and melrose mafia's of the world will have plenty of ammunition in the future to be miserable.
 
Well I'm pretty sure we've seen our last driver puffing on Winston filters during the cautions. A.J and Petty...to DE Sr and Harry Gant...to Whipper Snapper Gordon...to Ol' Vet Gordon. Next thing you know they'll have a girl out there racing ;).
 
StandOnIt said:
Predicting doom and gloom is a full time job for Andy, I get a lot of laughs from his posts they are so ridiculously funny. As most can see, two, three, and even four generations are continuing the sport. Open wheel, sports cars, Nascar, Sprint cars, Drag cars, you name it, racing dynasties are in every series of racing. Racing has always been and will always be a sport where it takes big money to field a car, even better is to have big money, a name, and talent. It will never be fair and just. The few Andy's and melrose mafia's of the world will have plenty of ammunition in the future to be miserable.
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It ain't about generations, bro. These drivers, nobody can relate to them. Like someone said, Joey Logano isn't popular in New England when he should be.

Every other sport has "hometown heroes" and, as hard as NASCAR tries to have those, big money has killed that aspect of it.
 
I think Andy has a point here. NASCAR wants to expand beyond being a regional sport but most of these young guys only have racing roots in North Carolina. If I'm trying to convert some guy up in New England to NASCAR, I can't really say "that Joey kid got his start here." Because of his career, the guy has spent the last decade of his life in the South. There's no watching that local guy who tears up the local short tracks make it to the big time.
 
The Nature Boy said:
I think Andy has a point here. NASCAR wants to expand beyond being a regional sport but most of these young guys only have racing roots in North Carolina. If I'm trying to convert some guy up in New England to NASCAR, I can't really say "that Joey kid got his start here." Because of his career, the guy has spent the last decade of his life in the South. There's no watching that local guy who tears up the local short tracks make it to the big time.
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They don't have roots down here either. They're rich kids who don't climb any ladder because they don't have to. Only thing I can say is that most of them don't make it - but there are a few who have enough money to stick around forever ... and usually in quality rides.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
It ain't about generations, bro. These drivers, nobody can relate to them. Like someone said, Joey Logano isn't popular in New England when he should be.

Every other sport has "hometown heroes" and, as hard as NASCAR tries to have those, big money has killed that aspect of it.
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Again, I disagree with the bolded. Yes, there are very few people that can relate to the drivers financially - which is how it is with all highly paid professional athletes - but they can relate to them in other ways. I've stated several times why I feel like I can relate to Junior and therefore cheer for him, and as a fellow "vanilla" guy, I feel like Matt Kenseth is pretty much me personified. Mellow, quiet, and easygoing, but with an underrated sense of humor that you wouldn't necessarily notice at first glance.

I do agree that big money has essentially killed the "hometown hero" concept, but I'd argue that it's pretty much like that in all sports, not just NASCAR. That's why everyone made such a big deal about LeBron James going back to Cleveland. The idea of someone leaving their home team for the bright lights of a bigger market city, winning a couple of championships, and then coming back home a few years later to try to win one for their hometown is pretty much unheard of these days.
 
Mr. Gregory said:
Again, I disagree with the bolded. Yes, there are very few people that can relate to the drivers financially - which is how it is with all highly paid professional athletes - but they can relate to them in other ways. I've stated several times why I feel like I can relate to Junior and therefore cheer for him, and as a fellow "vanilla" guy, I feel like Matt Kenseth is pretty much me personified. Mellow, quiet, and easygoing, but with an underrated sense of humor that you wouldn't necessarily notice at first glance.

I do agree that big money has essentially killed the "hometown hero" concept, but I'd argue that it's pretty much like that in all sports, not just NASCAR. That's why everyone made such a big deal about LeBron James going back to Cleveland. The idea of someone leaving their "home" team for the bright lights of a big market city, winning a couple of championships, and then coming back "home" a few years later to try to win one for their hometown is pretty much unheard of these days.
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Trust me, these kids are even more robotic than Matt and Jimmie. Chase Elliott and Ben Rhodes are beyond boring.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Trust me, these kids are even more robotic than Matt and Jimmie. Chase Elliott and Ben Rhodes are beyond boring.
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Never heard of Ben Rhodes, but didn't Chase wreck Ty Dillon for a win? Robots don't do that kind of stuff.

I actually like the vibe that Chase gives off - he's one cool customer for sure. It doesn't seem like anything really rattles him. He's pretty young to have that much poise.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Trust me, these kids are even more robotic than Matt and Jimmie. Chase Elliott and Ben Rhodes are beyond boring.
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Personality has really taken a hit over the years.

In F1, IndyCar, NASCAR, and just about everything else. Yeah, they might not be the best. At the same time, they have to appeal to sponsors... Personality gets no sponsorship now in days, ask Kurt Busch. Its all about can this man or woman represent the brand. I'm sorry to say, but its something that we are all going to have to deal with.
 
Want to see some drivers gooning it up? Go to your local short track and watch a few races. Image doesn't matter as much in the lower levels.
 
Kiante said:
Personality has really taken a hit over the years.

In F1, IndyCar, NASCAR, and just about everything else. Yeah, they might not be the best. At the same time, they have to appeal to sponsors... Personality gets no sponsorship now in days, ask Kurt Busch. Its all about can this man or woman represent the brand. I'm sorry to say, but its something that we are all going to have to deal with.
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There's a difference between having a personality and being an a**hole. But, I agree... what appeals to sponsors does not appeal to fans and vice-versa. Another big problem this sport has.
 
Nascar has an hour of hype before the race these days. Like the superbowl, sometimes the pre game show is more interesting than the game. It isn't going to go away, and having ol timer cement shoes in your 20's is hilarious.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
There's a difference between having a personality and being an *******. But, I agree... what appeals to sponsors does not appeal to fans and vice-versa. Another big problem this sport has.
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Meh, I like his assholeishness.

I like Kyle because of the same thing, I liked Jacques Villeneuve because of it, too. We all need some assholes in the field, not everyone can be a good guy because we need some antagonists as well.
 
Hit that right on the head there Kiante, rich kids you love to hate, birthright racers, underdogs, villains, even robots and grandkids...women.:rolleyes:
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
There's a difference between having a personality and being an *******. But, I agree... what appeals to sponsors does not appeal to fans and vice-versa. Another big problem this sport has.
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Agree with the whole post, but the bolded cannot be emphasized enough. That's something that seems to get lost on a lot of people.

Larson is pretty aggressive. I'd imagine that at some point as he starts winning races and really coming into his own, we'll see him get caught up in an on-track skirmish or two. Then we'll start to see his true personality come out, whatever that personality may be.

Kiante said:
Meh, I like his assholeishness.

I like Kyle because of the same thing, I liked Jacques Villeneuve because of it, too. We all need some assholes in the field, not everyone can be a good guy. We need some antagonists as well.
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I never cared for that n00b Villeneuve, but in general, I agree. It's always more fun when you have someone to hate.

I dislike the jerks until their jerkiness reaches stratospheric levels. Then it begins to entertain me and I have to support them. That's why I started liking Hamslice.
 
Mr. Gregory said:
I never cared for that n00b Villeneuve, but in general, I agree. It's always more fun when you have someone to hate.

I dislike the jerks until their jerkiness reaches stratospheric levels. Then it begins to entertain me and I have to support them. That's why I started liking Hamslice.
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JV was beyond entertaining. I liked him even more when he said about those grooved tires in 1999, "They are ****!".

I have some great overtake vids of him back in the day. The man was a champion and deserved every last bit, but at the same time he was a grade A a**hole. Loved it.
 
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