“What is the prime age of a modern day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver?

Just a guess, mid 20's maybe, good question.
 
Early to mid 30s. As 2017 has shown us, a driver's skills are still viable past 35 but he's too expensive to put under contract.
 
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Depends on the person I think. Some drivers like Jeff Burton and Dale Jr peak early, some like Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson peak in the middle, and some like Martin Truex Jr and arguably Kevin Harvick peak later in their careers. I think some of that has to do with equipment as well.
 
according to that article
McMurray is past his prime
Ryan Newman is
Jimmie is
Kurt
supposed to be in their prime
Menard
Kasey
Boyer
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Folks have insufficient ad revenue, puts it on the backs of the readers.

They chose... poorly.
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That is a rather narrow and entitled view, IMO. Thankfully, the internet has made it truly efficient to offer low-cost subscriptions to content that is both (a) costly to produce and (b) specialized in content and potential audience. You might prefer a world in which mass market appeal is everything, but some folks are eager to read research, analysis, and commentary that digs below the surface.

The article quoted by @StandOnIt was published in March 2015. A year earlier, Smith had published a data-driven analysis of driver performance versus age, based on data up through the 2013 season. Over Nascar's entire history, a driver's performance tended to peak in the 32-35 age range, but in recent years he observed a shift toward the peak being 35-39. This article was checking in to see the effect of adding another year of data to that "recent" observation. He thought the shift might go even further, given that three Cup graybeards had excellent results in 2014 (Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth).

As it turned out, when the 2014 analysis was added in, the results still looked about the same... gradual improvement up to age 39, and still very good at 40-41 but on the down slope.

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DIDIT said:
I am thinking they are in their prime up to the point they get married and have a family. All downhill after that.
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Harvick's best years have been after Keelan was born. Kyle won the year Brexton was born. Jimmie won the year his second daughter was born. And so on.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Harvick's best years have been after Keelan was born. Kyle won the year Brexton was born. Jimmie won the year his second daughter was born. And so on.
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Agree, my post was mostly sarcastic...but Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano do come to mind and for a while I was getting nervous about Kyle Larson. Blaney shows the most potential because you never see a chick hanging on his arm...yet. :)
 
I would say skills are at their peak at 35 - 40. Money for this age group peaked about three or four years ago.
 
It's different for everyone, and often a driver hits their visible "prime" when their team gets in a groove. I'm sure if Truex had his 2017 team in place when he was 30 he could win a title still.

Drivers will have up and down years but their "primes" could be hit anywhere between 27 to 45 (pulled those numbers out of my ass, but seems reasonable enough, and Mark Martin, etc are exceptions, not the rule) depending on their focus, crew chiefs, engineers and even stuff like aero packages or new cars that fit a driver's style.
 
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If the younger guys follow in the footsteps of their senior predecessors such as Johnson, Harvick, (I know I'm leaving others out) in their physical fitness regimen they can be viable competitors well into their 40's, IMO. With few exceptions the drivers are in tremendous physical and mental shape. I think most men peak out physically somewhere before age thirty but Cup drivers seem to do well far beyond that age.

After Roy Halladay the baseball pitcher got killed in his plane I read where he was quite an apostle of Harvey Dorfman who wrote at least three books about how success in baseball is 80% mental and 20% physical. I am reading two of his books now. His stance was that most players have pretty much the same measurables and those who win and excel manage to figure out the mental game. A lot of that has to do with preparation and training in the off-season. Very interesting stuff. I look at drivers the same way. Most have the same lean build, are hyper-focused, yet not all succeed. Being extremely fit certainly helps, Tony Stewart notwithstanding. He may have either been an outlier, was in better condition than he looked, or he mastered the mental game. But back to the original question, I'd say 30-35.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
I'm thinkin Harry Gant got his first won somewhere on either side of 50.
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I was wondering the same........ looks like he got his first Cup win at 42...... and his last at 52...... of course he won a whole lot in the lower series before that..... What always will stick in my mind was how he won those 4 in a row in '91.... with Andy Petrie...... and almost won 5...... what a hoot that would have been!!!!! Had his brakes not given out........ Sr. would not in any way been able to get by him......... Harry was ALWAYS one of my favorites...... and so humble........
 
kymartin6 said:
I was wondering the same........ looks like he got his first Cup win at 42...... and his last at 52...... of course he won a whole lot in the lower series before that..... What always will stick in my mind was how he won those 4 in a row in '91.... with Andy Petrie...... and almost won 5...... what a hoot that would have been!!!!! Had his brakes not given out........ Sr. would not in any way been able to get by him......... Harry was ALWAYS one of my favorites...... and so humble........
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Humble is what I liked about him.
 
In the new NASCAR I'd say 25 to 30. After that they have to be on the way out. Not enough sponsorship money to keep them behind the wheel.:D
 
I really think it depends on what kind of team a guy has behind him..someone posted earlier Truex could have won the Cup at 30 if he had a guy like Pearn and I agree. Not knocking Martin at all, many drivers figure it out (preperation, physical fitness, comfortable with types of setups and tracks)at different times and there’s examples in history of that. But a Great team led by a great crew chief could expedite all that. Interesting topic here.
 
I could be wrong, but I think Truex will have plenty of company next year. I don't believe he was as good a driver as KDB, they both had the faster cars, but Pearn made the difference. I think he and Kyle are in their prime, they have been around long enough to know the feel they need in their cars and the different tracks changes as the race wears on. I think as a general rule 35-40 are prime years for most drivers. Depends on many things though, the car and the team have to be a good fit.
 
I've always thought older drivers were the best because their experience taught them how to preserve the car for the end of the race. These days the cars seem be able to run close to 100% for the whole race (but they still need to preserve the car to some degree). Also, back in the day young drivers didn't start in the best equipment, they had to prove themselves with a lesser team. Experienced drivers got the best equipment and those drivers were the successful ones. It is a different these days but experience still seems to make a difference.

During the time when more Cup drivers were taking seats in the feeder series fewer young drivers got the chance to advance in NASCAR; there were fewer young drivers coming into Cup. That seems to be corrected with the number of new drivers getting rides in Cup over the last few years.
 
O/T I don't think it make a hell of a lot difference to a casual fan to see a veteran cupper win in the lower series. But old timer fans for the most part want to get a look at the new talent and the more the better. I know all about if you beat a cupper in the lower series you are doing something, but I don't need that example to see if a new guy is any good or not. One driver lately for instance Hemerick was fast in the trucks in a lesser truck, same thing in Xfinity in a RCR car. If you follow the sport closely as many of us do, we can spot the good ones I believe. So far despite all the hooplah, bringing all these young guys into cup isn't making a whole lot of difference in the win columns. Maybe it will change next year.
 
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