Jones, Kenseth represent changing of the guard

BRISTOL, TENN.» It could have gotten very uncomfortable as Erik Jones and Matt Kenseth sat side by side shortly after an intriguing race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Both drivers wanted to win for very different reasons, both came up short, then circumstances put them together in a post-race news conference.

Jones, a rookie who is driving this season for Denver-based Furniture Row Racing, was seeking his first Cup Series victory. He wound up in second place to Kyle Busch, his soon-to-be teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. He started from the pole, led the most laps and really needed that win to lock him into NASCAR’s playoffs.

Kenseth hasn’t won a Cup race in a little over a year and also could use an automatic berth into the playoffs. And he’s on his way out at Gibbs — perhaps even NASCAR altogether — because Jones has been hired to drive Kenseth’s car next year.

So when Jones used his bumper to knock Kenseth out of the preferred driving lane at Bristol, a move that took Kenseth from contention to a fourth-place finish, things could been very awkward after the race. But Kenseth smiled, cracked jokes, ribbed Jones a little bit and assured everyone that everything is just fine.

“I don’t really have anything to be unhappy about,” he said. “Things can turn on a dime. But my life couldn’t be much better. I’ve never really been in a better place. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. There’s more to life than racing.”

Indeed, there is a lot more ahead for Kenseth, a father of four who turned 45 years old in March. His choices are just limited because of the rapid changing of the guard in NASCAR.

Almost overnight, the veterans are being squeezed out of the Cup Series because of the difficult economic climate in racing. Sponsors are very hard to come by, almost every driver needs to find some sort of funding on his own, and corporate America’s current appetite is to back the young kids just breaking into the sport.

That’s fantastic news for car owners, who don’t have to shell out millions in driver salary to a veteran. Kenseth, a two-time Daytona 500 winner and former Cup champion, makes a lot of money. Jones, at just 21 years old, draws a fraction of Kenseth’s salary.

Kenseth is far from alone in this predicament.

Stewart-Haas Racing did not pick up the 2018 option for Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch, and his future with the team will depend on sponsorship. The same goes for Danica Patrick at SHR.

Kasey Kahne is looking for a landing spot after Hendrick Motorsports said he will be replaced by 19-year-old William Byron.