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NASCAR: What’s wrong with NASCAR? Part 7 – The drivers

By William Richard

BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 12: William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, is introduced during pre-race festivities for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Consmers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 12, 2018 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 12: William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, is introduced during pre-race festivities for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Consmers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 12, 2018 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 10: William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 10: William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Rushed into the limelight (continued)

Now, William Byron has a full-time Cup Series ride as the driver of the famed #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. At 20 years old, he has just two years of big-time NASCAR driving under his belt, yet he holds one of the most coveted seats inside the Cup Series garage.

This really gets under the skin of some fans for two reasons. For one, it seems like the young are pushing out the old. Instead of seeing veterans such as Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch or Aric Almirola getting a stab at the #24 ride, Rick Hendrick went for the kid. This again fuels the narrative of rides being handed to young stars.

The second reason is that fans don’t know some youngsters enough to support them. I’ve known of Byron for just two years myself, and outside of that, I know very little about him.

Fans used to have extensive résumés from drivers, but nowadays, drivers go from zeroes to heroes overnight. In my opinion, I think the reality of the situation is that many drivers get moved up to the Cup Series so quickly that fans don’t get enough time to learn who they are.

It doesn’t help that NASCAR barely markets these young drivers in the lower divisions.

Instead of seeing names fans are familiar with, fans see kids who seemingly haven’t earned their spots in the sport taking up some of the best rides in the garage. Personally, I’ve heard older fans tell me they have no clue who these kids are. That in itself is a problem, and it is something that has caused a void in the sport.

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