NASCAR’s many rising stars under pressure
Darrell Wallace Jr. will share the blame for the decline in NASCAR’s popularity.
But the driver more commonly known as “Bubba” also is not going to take the blame.
“It’s a group effort,” Wallace said Thursday.
The 24-year-old African-American seemed poised to become one of the sport’s much-needed rising stars after he finished second to 28-year-old Austin Dillon during the Daytona 500. During the past 16 races, Wallace, Dillon and the rest of the NASCAR’s young guns have fired blanks.
Meanwhile, veterans Kyle Busch, 33, and Kevin Harvick, 42, have five wins each while 38-year-old Martin Truex Jr. has three.
The lack of 20-something starpower led International Speedway Corp. president John Saunders to call out the next generation as a major reason for the sport’s declining interest. Wallace countered that the ISC has had its share of missteps, beginning with outdated venues lacking modernday amenities.
“There is a lot of boring stuff that we have that is the same thing at ISC tracks that we could update to get more fans out,” Wallace said. “It kind of goes hand in hand from us behind the wheel to people that are here hosting us.”
Wallace also pointed out the younger generation is not the only one failing to reach victory lane.
“There are a lot of guys that are not young, that have the gray hair, that have not won yet,” he said. “It’s not all on us.”
NASCAR is going to need drivers such as Wallace, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson to carry the torch. Harvick, the Busch brothers and seven-time Cup Series winner Jimmie Johnson, 42, will become less competitive. Meanwhile, stars Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon have left the sport during recent years.
Other than Dillon, 28-year-old Joey Logano, a 19-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner, are the only drivers in their 20s to reach victory lane in 2018.
“We still have an issue with star power, and hopefully this stable of young drivers coming along will start to win and build their brands,” Saunders told shareholders Thursday.
ISC owns tracks in California, Kansas, Virginia, Arizona and Alabama and reported a 10 percent dip in attendance this season during the six races held on its properties, the Associated Press reported.
The lack of starpower is a likely factor, as is the costs of tickets and travel.
Wallace has looked to engage fans with behindthe-scenes videos and a documentary series aired on Facebook Watch.
Larson, who lost in the final lap to Kyle Busch last week in Chicago, said victories are the ultimate selling point.
“I might not post stupid videos every week or stuff like that to try and gain fans,” he said. “I try to gain fans on the race track.”