Young drivers making statement
Larson, Elliott, Blaney among those who could contend for championship
Still on pit road long after the conclusion of his Daytona 500 qualifying race in February, Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflected on his first meaningful competition after missing the second half of the 2016 NASCAR season because of a concussion.
Earnhardt praised Ryan Blaney and his ability to influence events in the draft while competing against some of the best restrictor-plate racers in the business during the final laps.
“Sharp, sharp kid … very observant,” Earnhardt said of the son of former NASCAR driver Dave Blaney. “He grew up around this stuff, so he had a good foundation of knowledge, and he’s just building off that.”
It quickly became clear that the 19-year veteran, 26-race winner and bellwether for so many things NASCAR was much impressed with 23-year-old Blaney.
They are friends, but Earnhardt has many and doesn’t laud one in every conversation. There was no current manufacturer or ownership connection. Earnhardt drives a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Blaney, a Ford for the Wood Brothers via an alliance with employer Team Penske. Maybe it was partly because both had grown up in the sport, albeit two decades apart, or that both enjoyed a playful relationship with social media or were podcasters, but Earnhardt just liked what he saw from Blaney as he entered his second full season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
“He’s one of the brightest talents that we have, and he’s also one of the most marketable talents we have,” Earnhardt said. “The way he uses social media and his personality is just perfect. People are going to love him.”
Increasingly so, if he maintains the type of performance and reach Earnhardt predicted. More important for NASCAR, he isn’t alone. Blaney is among several young drivers who have shown signs of career growth through the first five races. And some say NASCAR needs fresh talent and personality to help attract the coveted younger fans it craves as attendance and TV ratings continue to decline.
Chip Ganassi Racing ’s Kyle Larson, 24, has held the points lead for two weeks and all but ensured himself of a playoff berth with a win last weekend at Auto Club Speedway. He also has three runner-up finishes.
“Kyle Larson is the best driver to come into this sport since Jeff Gordon,” 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick said this week on his new SiriusXM NASCAR radio show. “He’s just a kid that not enough people know about — but he has won and wins in everything he’s ever driven. He’s just a racer.”
Chase Elliott, 21, son of 1988 series champion Bill Elliott and a double legacy as the replacement for Gordon last year in the No. 24 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports, is second in the standings with two top-fives in five races.
Joey Logano, contesting his ninth full Cup season at 26, has advanced to the Cup final at Homestead-Miami Speedway twice since the elimination format made its debut in 2014, finishing second last season. He won the 2015 Daytona 500 and is fifth in the standings this year.
Blaney, runner-up in the Daytona 500 and seventh in points, wants to lead this young outfit of upstarts as soon as possible.
“Kyle Larson and Chase have been a little bit better than us starting off this year,” Blaney said. “So while we want to beat those guys, it’s cool to see some younger drivers running very well.”
Furniture Row Racing rookie Erik Jones, 20, is 15th in points and within the playoff cutoff. Daniel Suarez, the 25-year-old Xfinity Series champion, has produced consecutive top-10s in his bid to replace veteran Carl Edwards at Joe Gibbs Racing.
NASCAR and — increasingly — IndyCar are series in which drivers with the proper portions of high performance, sponsorship and health can race toward age 50.
Hall of Famer Mark Martin contested his last 36-race season at age 52 in 2011 but ran 24 and 28, respectively, the next two seasons, producing at least one topfive in each campaign.
Four-time series champion Gordon retired and became a Fox Sports analyst at 44 but showed he could still compete by filling in for eight races, earning two top-10s, while Earnhardt recovered from a concussion in 2016. Edwards left the sport at a relatively spry 37 after finishing fourth in 2016.
Still, with champions — such as defending and seven-time titlist Jimmie Johnson, 41; Matt Kenseth, 45; and Harvick, 41 — and popular drivers such as Earnhardt, 42, entering later phases of their careers, a need for a new wave to buttress 30-something champions such as Kurt Busch, 38; Kyle Busch, 31; and Brad Keselowski, 33, is apparent.
“It’s great for everybody to see some new talent coming in and being successful. It seems like it’s been a while,” said Mitch Covington, Monster Energy vice president of sports marketing. “We hope there’s more and more new talent that comes in as it goes. But at the same time, it’s great to see the veterans do well, too. They’ve got a lot of fans.
“But everybody’s talking about the new guys right now, and I hope that’s a continuing thing, always a new crop with guys that step up. It’s like Supercross. Everybody wants to know every year who the next guy is going to be, and I hope that NASCAR gets more like that.”
Along with Millennials currently high in the points standings, add 2016 playoff qualifiers Austin Dillon, 26, and Chris Buescher, 24; Austin’s younger brother Ty Dillon, 25, and Suarez. Larson sees a group that combines the racing ability and opportunity to connect that Earnhardt sees in Blaney. That will be crucial in generating younger fan support to carry NASCAR into future generations.
“It’s really cool to see kind of were the sport’s at right now,” Larson said. “Joey Logano is only a couple years older than I am. It’s really cool to see kind of the future of the sport and them all running up front. I’m sure NASCAR is really happy about that.
“We’re in a great spot.”