NASCAR: 5 significant changes that need to be made
By Randy Smith
Changes NASCAR should make: No. 5 – Focus on the next generation of drivers
The unfortunate reality for the NASCAR faithful is that most of the drivers attached to their favorite moments will soon be out of the sport. Kevin Harvick was already set to retire last year, and his contract with Stewart-Haas Racing runs out next season.
Kurt Busch seems to have next year picked out as his retirement year as well. Combine those names with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, and several others, and you suddenly have a long list of retirees who played roles in making NASCAR what it is today.
This is where it’s up to the sport to highlight the younger drivers, but more importantly off the race track. Most NASCAR fans know that Chase Elliott is the sport’s most popular driver and that he’s the pride of Dawsonville, Georgia.
But what makes Elliott tick as a driver or as a person in general? What are his passions outside of racing? There’s only so much TV coverage can do, and NASCAR’s social media presence could be re-vamped to answer such questions.
Elliott is set to be Chevrolet’s premier driver for the foreseeable future, with Team Penske drivers Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney among those representing Ford and 23XI Racing drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick among those representing Toyota.
Establishing these names will only help the sport grow and remind viewers who they’re tuning in to see. Nostalgia is effective, but only to a certain extent.
If the sport wants the onslaught of success which they experienced in the 1990s, they can’t wait for the next Gordon to pop up; focus on who’s already filling that role and show fans, faithful and fair-weathered, why they’re the best in stock car racing.
With other rising young stars in the Xfinity Series set to join the aforementioned names in the Cup Series, the future is bright for a youth movement in NASCAR. But an online presence which delves into the storied backgrounds and personalities of the youthful drivers will be needed to grow the sport.
Next. NASCAR has a completely unnecessary problem on its hands. dark
“Drive to Survive” helped Formula 1 skyrocket in popularity in the United States, and a similar series and approach to NASCAR drivers can help in a big way moving forward.