Kasey Kahne, of Washington...
Kasey Kahne, of Washington state, has been the surprise of the '04 season.
There has always been a trickle of non-Southern drivers into NASCAR, including such past champions as Rusty Wallace, who moseyed down from Missouri, and the late Alan Kulwicki, a Wisconsin native. But in recent years the Mason-Dixie dam has burst, and genuine, down-home, countrified Good Ol' Boys-once the sport's mainstay-are becoming a rarity.
Prominent team owner Rick Hendrick, who has recruited such stars as Gordon, Johnson, and the youngest Busch brother, Kyle, agrees with Wheeler that the sport's popularity boom over the past decade at least partly accounts for the dramatic shift in driver demographics.
"I think what has happened is that a lot of talented young drivers from other venues started following NASCAR and began to set their goal to race in this series," Hendrick says. "We've gone from a talent pool of about 200 to a pool of about 2,000. We [team owners] are looking at a bigger pool from all around the country."
Also, not coincidentally, many of the young racers are coming in from the open-wheel ranks, as opposed to lower-level stock car divisions, which once were the training grounds for NASCAR's big leagues. "There was a time when Southern boys raced stock cars and dreamed about someday running at Indy," Wheeler says with a chuckle. "Now a lot of kids race open-wheels and dream about someday running in NASCAR. Times have definitely changed."
Sterling Marlin is part of...
Sterling Marlin is part of a vanishing breed in NASCAR.
There's no question that more young drivers are using a background in open-wheel racing to punch their NASCAR ticket.
"Sprint cars are very difficult to drive," Wheeler says. "Racing open-wheelers tends to weed out the average drivers very quickly. The ones who are successful there seem to have a jump when they move into stock cars. Fortunately or unfortunately, that's going to continue."
"It helps to have experience with a lot of horsepower," Hendrick says, "and to have driven a car a little out of control in some situations. To have driven with loose [Sprint Car] conditions helps, I think."
Joe Mattioli is president of Music City Motorplex in Nashville. The 46-year-old track, formerly known as Fairgrounds Speedway, once was a training ground for many of the sport's future big-leaguers: Coo Coo and Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Means, David Sisco, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Hamilton, Jeff Green, Jeremy Mayfield, and Casey Atwood.
Gradually the Nashville pipeline has dried up. The historical old track, like most others like it around the country, is seeing fewer and fewer graduates move up the racing ladder. "There was a time when this track was famous for producing future NASCAR superstars, Mattioli says. "But it's been a while now."
Indiana native Ryan Newman...
Indiana native Ryan Newman powered the No. 12 Dodge to the most wins (8), most poles (11), and most miles led (1,509) in Cup last season.
Marlin blames rule restrictions at weekly tracks for some of the problem. "Today every local track has its own set of rules and it's hard for drivers from one track to go to other tracks and race," he says. "That keeps them from traveling around like we used to do, getting exposure and picking up experience against other good drivers. There's a limit to how much you can gain by racing against boys night after night."
Waltrip moved to Nashville from Owensboro in the late 1960's to hone his racing skills at the Fairgrounds, and things went according to plan. He used his experience there to open bigger doors, and went on to win 84 Winston Cup races and three championships. Green followed the same Kentucky-to-Nashville-to-Nextel Cup trail, as did Mayfield.
What are the chances of a young driver today following a similar path through the local ranks and up to the top?
"None," Waltrip says bluntly. "Those days are gone forever. Team owners are scouting young drivers all around the country, and a kid running Saturday night 50-lappers in Nashville just isn't going to attract much attention any more. Who're the good drivers at Nashville right now? Nobody knows, and that's exactly my point: They don't get the kind of widespread exposure and attention that we used to get.
"There's a much bigger, national talent pool, and that's what team owners are looking at. Being the Late Model track champion at your local track doesn't count for anything nowadays. The Southern boys who used to use that approach are going to have to find a different route."