Who can forget 2001? The place was the California Speedway. The victim was 16 year old Kyle Busch. He came down to the speedway, all ready to qualify for what would be history in the making. Only to have Nascar put a brake on his attempt. And for what reason?
Well he was to young to buy a pack of cigarettes acording to the federal government. And since the race was sponsored by Marlboro, the feds also said that he was to young participate. Im sure that some of you have went to buy your kid a Jr t-shirt. And have noticed that it say’s Jr instead of Bud. Or you go to Walmart to buy his car. And you find out that you have to 21 or over to purchase it.
Well at that time. Nascar raised the age limit to 18 in order to race in any of their 3 top racing series. But there were still stipulations when Kyle started to race in the Busch series. If he won a race. He wouldn’t be allowed to crack a cold Busch beer, or even take pictures with a can or bottle in his hand. Or for that matter. Even have any thing that resembled a beer in victory lane.
Which to Kyle it was okay. Because after all he was here to race and not to promote drinking. Well now we move up to 2005. The same exact track at which he wasn’t allowed to race because of his age. So what does he do? At that age of 20. He becomes the youngest driver to ever win a cup race. And with the new rule that Nascar is going impliment. That record is basically set in stone.
Nascar is now gonna require that all drivers who want to compete in the cup series, be at least 21. The age of 18 will still hold for the Nationwide series as well as the Truck series. There reasoning is so that it gives the younger drivers more time to develop. To maybe mature more before coming up to handle not only the longer schedule. But also the pressure of driving in the upper series.
Also to try to generate more of an interest in the lower series. Maybe with that new rule. They should also make some of these drivers, who are coming from the other racing series, at least drive 21 races in the Nationwide series. Just because they are over 21, doesn’t mean that they are mature enough to handle these stock cars. The maturity that I am talking about. Is the maturity that it takes to go from one animal to another.
You don’t go into a cowboy bar and ride the mechanical bull. And just because you can stay on for the 15 seconds? Does that mean that you are ready for the pro circuit? Or because you hang out a doughnut shop 5 days a week. Does that qualify you to be a cop? Im Out
Having new drivers in the NASCAR series spend some time in the developmental series of Trucks, and Nationwide seems to be an idea growing in popularity. Drivers can only benefit from this, no matter what their age. That being said, some of the younger drivers under the designated age, may still be ready before the calendar says they are.
Years from now they will casually call it the "Joey Rule" It really is a shame for poor Joey Logano, he is going to have to wait until he is 21 to buy a jet.
Photo- LOL Can you imagine David Pearson or Richard Petty trying to mix it up with Tony. It could get dangerous. Especially for Tony.
Gerrel- Thats why I even have more respect for Jr. He could have come up after his first Busch championship. But instead decided that a couple more years would do him some good. Alot of people don't like him. But he did put his time in. He didn't rush the process. And for that he will reap the rewards of his patience.
Hammer- I keep hearing that. But I really don't see it. Besides has anyone asked Joey what his plans are? Everyone keeps assuming that he wants to come up right away. Not that he will have a choice when the rule does kick in. But maybe his desire all along was to spend a few years in the Nationwide series.
3fan - great post, with a different slant than the others I've read. Kyle may indeed have that record in the books forever...I do think Joey wants to come to Cup ASAP.
Those of you who have raced...how long did it take you to "get it" in a certain level where you thought you could move up? a year? two?
Klvalus- Thanks, I tried to write something a little different. I was just hoping that it would come out right.
I already know that the debate will come up that some people mature faster then others. But what I didn't write about was peer pressure. The other drivers such as Mark Martin commenting that he is the real deal. They also said that about Stacy Compton. And where is he now? Sure he may be mature the way he handles himself. But then what happens with a little fame mixed in. Then you have a Kevin Harvick running around.
I remember when Sr died and they threw Harvick into his car. Kevin actually thought that he was the rebirth of Sr. He even went as far as to try to drive like him. But with time, he finally realized that he needed to be Kevin Harvick. There will always be pros and cons. But just for the safety not only of the young guys. But also the older ones. I like the idea of the age limit. Why try to grow up to fast. They should enjoy their youth. Mature in the lower series. Have some fun like Jr did.
Jr could have come up after winning his first Busch championship. But he didn't. he opted to hang around a couple more years. To use that time to get more used to not only the difference in cars. But also the media pressure that follows the cup drivers. And as we seen last season. All that time that he spent developing himself paid off. Not once last season did he go out and make a jerk of himself in front of the media. Instead he handled all the pressure like a professional.
Last edited by frevr3fan on January 22nd at 8:35 AM.
I just don't think a chronological age has anything to do with maturity. However, it doesn't matter what I think. The officials of NASCAR will do what they want to do.
That all depends on what type of racing you do . If you jumped around depending on the locations and types you were in, it could take longer. When I switched from round tracks and stock cars into the formula Vee and formula 4s, No one took me as a qulified driver for 2 years. I had to buy and set up my own cars and ran them till the bigger teams would even talk to me.
Drag racing is another story. I had driven sportsman classes for a few years before I went into Pro Stock and Pro Modifieds. I had to spend the first 1/2 year just taking driving test down the strip at different speeds before I could get a pro license being I was trying out for NHRA, UDRA, and IHRA.
Most of the drivers in NASCAR came from round tracks in the lesser series so they had the credentials. If they were good they usually got in with the development series teams for their formative years. We are talking drivers that started out as early as 12 to 14 years old with parents that mortgaged their homes to keep these kids in race cars waiting to be discovered.
Yes I can. I would imagine the old guys could give Tony a lesson or two.
Volfan:
Maturity has a lot to do with age. Todays kids ( based on my Grand kids and their friends) lack a lot of maturity as opposed to the kids of my era. It seeems they have no clear cut paths of what they want to do other than video games, rock concerts, and dating. Every thing else is un important.
Last edited by photogr on January 22nd at 1:09 PM.
To Kristen - it depends so much on just how talented a driver is. Ex. I saw a kid go from a restrictor plate class in go-karts to a shifter kart class for adults when he was 13. They made him start on the tail all season and he won almost every race. He also won a championship in a mini-sprint against adults during his first year driving them, also as a 13-year old. He was racing full powered sprint cars soon after and made it to Craftsman Trucks and Busch before his attitude, more than his talent, ruined his career. There is no doubt in my mind that Joey Lagano in a Gibbs car could finish in the top twenty in points as a teenager in Sprint Cup. Let the car owners make the decision who they put in the seat!!!
Last edited by HoosierRacer13 on January 24th at 8:15 AM.
BTW frevr3fan, Dale Sr. was more dangerous throughout his career than Kyle Busch has ever been. Some guys will race you hard, be agressive, and take chances to win. Sr. intentionally wrecked others to win because he didn't quite have the talent to win otherwise. It's one thing to bump and run but he spun guys into the wall to get around them because he didn't have the talent to win without doing so. NASCAR racing became a safer sport the day he met his tragic fate just as it will become a safer sport when Tony Stewart retires or kills himself.
I am a Nascar fan from Cali hoping to bring a diffrerent perspective to Nascar. And if not. At least I tried. I also love football, baseball, golf and basketball. I try to attend as many races a year as I can. Ive been to Kansas,Infine on,Phoenix,Ve gas,Californi a just to name a few. Ive been a fan going on about 20+ years. There is nothing like short track racing at Irwindale on saturday nights. Also love to watch and attend drag races. Of course John Force is my favorite driver. Im also a fan of Tony Schumacher. Maybe someday to be able to write about Nascar.
