Move over 'old vets'.....

[97forever]

Sorry guys but your day is done.

Don't get me wrong,I was thrilled to see Terry win again,but that was it for the older(40+) drivers.

Yeah,Mark and Dale might have one more apiece in 'em.Maybe Rusty too.

But an almost unprecedented changing of the guard is underway----and those

guys have to make way for the future.

21 current drivers will be at least 50 years old within ten years.10 current drivers in 5 years or less.And yes,I am aware of Harry and Bobby winning over that age.But the fact is 50 is a pretty much done with age in this sport.

I think sometimes we are too close to the fire to smell the smoke on this 'guard-change'.A static and stable field of drivers for several years,combined with the recent rash of ever younger talent coming into the series,is finally catching up with the field.

Tomorrow is five years or less away and should look much different that the familar old names and drivers we have now.Wallace,Jarrett,Martin,T.Labonte,Marlin,Spencer,Schrader,Rudd etc.All gone the way of the Edsel and sooner than we think.

New names like Vickers and both Busch brothers and Newman and Edwards will replace these guys.Kind of sad in a way...but time rolls on for us all,I guess.

IMO---and at the risk of sounding controversial--I think the next five years are going to give us very likely the finest and most talented NASCAR field in years.MUCH better than the names listed above....and maybe as good or better than the '60's era.Just my opinion on this.What do you folks think?

Can Kurt and Jimmie and Ryan,when all is said and done,compete with names like Waltrip,Earnhardt,Allison,etc?

I think they can and will.I would even go so far as to say that we are right at the dawning of what history might record as the most dynamic group of drivers in history.Just my opinion---and I have been wrong before.

What do you think folks?

 

[Happy29]

Good read 97forever, I also see alot in this new young corps of drivers, especially when Kenseth, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr, Johnson, Newman and Busch are all in the top 10 in points and some of them are fighting for the championship this year. Another startling revelation, there have been only 2 drivers over 40 to win this season, and I believe theyre Dale Jarrett and Terry Labonte. I believe we had the same type of disparity between the age groups the past 2 seasons or so.

We're starting to see a changing of the guard in Winston soon to be Nextel Cup and within the next few years, we'll probably start seeing guys like Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace retire to their golf courses and private jets.

 

[the5car]

What is so unusual about this ??

Terry won his first race, the 1980 Southern 500, when he was just 23 years old.

I saw a replay of the 1982 Daytona 500 the other day., and they were interviewing
both Mark Martin and Rusty after they had been taken out with motor problems or
some other issue, and they were mere babies...

Nextel Cup may become a cumulatively younger crowd, but that doesn't guarantee
all these new kids any wins. Personally, I think the talent pool will become so diluted
that Cup races will become what BGN and CTS are now....a few dominant teams and
a field full of hopefuls.

 

[97forever]

I agree 5car,that both Mark,Terry and Rusty were young guys when they came along.None of the three were,for whatever reason,as competitive then as the young guys we have now though.Newman,Busch and Johnson(not even mentioning Dale and Kevin)have 11 combined wins this season.19 between them since the start of last season.Assuming they keep this measure of success for a reasonable period of time,they will far surpass the three old guys mentioned above in a short period of time.In fact,the BEST seasons of Mark,Terry and Rusty would be pressed to compare favorably to the early years of these three.

Please dont take this as a slam against the old vets:I love those guys too.I just dont think history will reflect that they ever had the success that the up and comers of today will have.Of course,way to early to speculate---and this whole post is speculative---but check back in 15 years and compare the records.I dont think any of the current old guard will be able to hold a candle to the below-30's we have currently.JMO,and just for fun,but the very best this series will EVER see might be strapping into cars this season....this might be NASCAR's golden era just beginning.

Anyway,right or wrong,it should be fun to watch!

 

[stridsberry]

Every 15 years or so, a changing of the guard happens. The former young guys who all came in at once move on, and another waves of young guys comes in to replace them. I think that's why the ages of drivers are always in such distinct groups, because they come in - and leave - in packs. But the sport will go on. It always has. 15-20 years from now, there'll be speculation on whether Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman will retire. That's just the way it goes.

 

[TexasRaceLady]

I think what's making the splash of the youngsters so noticeable is that they are jumping into top-notch equipment that can keep up with their ability.

Had the oldsters jumped into such rides at the beginning, no telling what they could have done.

Can't wait 'til the "babies" really get going.

 

[boB]

I guess you folks have never heard of "young guns" like Cale Yarborough, Lee Roy Yarbrough, Richard Petty, Bobby and Donny Allison, Bobby Isaac, Darrell Waltrip, Tim Richmond, Geoff Bodine, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace or Jeff Gordon?

There's some awful big shoes for your new crop of youngsters to try and fill, wouldn't you agree?
Something like 26 Championships and an awful lot of wins amongst just those few drivers. I believe Geoff Bodine still holds the record for number of wins in a single season, somewhere around fifty when he was running the Hop Harrington car in the modified division. I think that I'm correct in saying that Cale is the only driver to ever win the title three years in a row, or did Darrell accomplish that feat as well?

Wonder if any of you folks realize that the record for NASCAR Championships won stands a good chance of being tied this year by a pretty fair driver from the smallest state in the country. Mike Stefanik already has one more than either Earnhardt or Petty and is in second place in the points race in the Grand National/Busch North series. IF he can win it all this year, he'll tie Richie Evans as the winner of the most titles in the history of NASCAR at nine. Have to mention that these guys have to RACE for their titles; no driving around simply to rack up the points like we see in some of the other series.

 

[boB]

I forgot to mention Jeff Gordon in the previous post. I have to wonder if any of the current crop of young guns will be as impressive over their first decade in the sport as Jeff has.
How many titles, and how many wins?
Pretty good record if you ask me.
Then again, nobody asked me.

 

[71Fan]

Well dango

I'm a "He's just the guy we let drive the car." kind of guy, and my criterion for elevation to GREAT status goes like this.

"Good drivers take great equipment and do the every day while great drivers take mediocre equipment and do the extraordinary.".....you can quote me on this

IMO, greatness in a driver can only sometimes be measured in wins. While there have always been a number of great cars with talented drivers at the wheel, hardly a one of the drivers of those cars can be classified as great according to the criterion I outlined above.

As for old or young drivers, give me a youngin who has yet to hit a wall at speed over a vet who has hit it enough times to jar his brain AND teach him about survival. The old guy might be consistant and even get up to win one now and then but in equal cars my guess is that the youngin will take more checkers and expose my car to more TV time which in turn will make me much more money thru secondary sales etc etc.