It’s funny what a weekend with no Cup race will do to your imagination. It was very different to watch a Nationwide Series race with “only” 6 Cup drivers in it. I also liked seeing true Nationwide drivers being a factor in the racing. If given the chance, I really believe the likes of Justin Allgaier and Kelly Bires have real talent if given the chance to hone it.
I saw some guys racing out there Saturday that I had forgotten about. Casey Atwood. Remember him? He was supposed to be the “next Jeff Gordon.” Then there’s Stephen Leicht- it wasn’t all that long ago he was named as a promising prospect. Oh yeah, Michael Mc Dowell was out there too, making things interesting for Kyle Busch. He went from ARCA to Cup to “where are you?” faster than Ryan Newman can turn a qualifying lap.
Then my thoughts turn to the current Cup scene. I’ll leave it to you to determine who might be there ahead of their time. Let’s just say there are guys driving out there whose shall we say “Cup worthiness” has been questionable all along, and then there are other racers you have to think would be good if they got some quality seat time minus the pressure to keep the almighty sponsor with the almighty dollar happy.
The NFL draft is coming soon, and before a team will invest millions into raw talent, prospects like Mark Sanchez, Beanie Wells and Matthew Stafford have had every spot on their bodies poked and prodded and their trash rummaged through as well. Thanks to baseball innovator Branch Rickey, big league baseball scouts comb the country, searching high and low for the next Ryan Howard or Evan Longoria.
NASCAR really doesn’t have this. A few weeks back, Bump Drafts contributor Patrick Reynolds, who’s been closer to the action than a lot of us, shared some of his insight from what he’s seen and I walked away thinking “These guys really have no idea where the next big thing is coming from.” The whole thing seems so haphazard.
When you think about, there’s not even a real honest-to-God “feeder” system. Some think that’s what Nationwide is, but it is to some, and not to others. Joe Gibbs had Joey Logano on a “development contract” at 15, but even JGR’s program seems a little drawn up in the dirt when you consider what has/hasn’t happened with Brad Coleman.
While NASCAR has been tweaking with just about everything else, it seems high time to develop something of a real farm system. It seems like it would be a nice investment in its future. It also seems like it using the Nationwide Series as a genuine Class AAA series would be one good step. Now that’s not saying you can’t have “old timers” like the Wallace brothers or Morgan Shepherd around- guys that have no real serious aspirations of returning to the big show. Even Major League Baseball has its share of ex-big leaguers hanging around AAA ball, ready for the call if one of the big boys go down. I think you just get a driver to commit to what series he’s going to run, and should he get called up, fine, he’ll just a Cup race that weekend instead of Nationwide. A big leaguer wouldn’t play in Sacramento and the Oakland A’s during the same weekend series. Young guys will make names for themselves and actually draw fans if they don’t have to go up against Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick. I applaud whoever it was that got Clint Bowyer out of the #2. He’s ready to sit at the adults table and doesn’t need the distraction.
One little problem with the proposal though. That’s the question of whether or not driving in the Nationwide really prepares a driver for Cup racing. I may be wrong here, but I don’t know if Logano has much to gain from the NNS. It seems to me he’s already got that series licked. One good thing is he did get his groove back with the Saturday win.
Who knows? I’m not 100% sure. Too much young talent gets thrown away, or some supposedly hot prospect turns out a suspect instead without a whole lot of tangible performance to back it up.
It just seems to me there has to be a better way to get young talent groomed, and we have some platforms for making that happen if someone will step up make a developmental series what it is supposed to be.
It really isn’t that complicated is it?
{ 4 comments }
Part of the problem with racing is that many young drivers just want to be stars. If you look at racing, as well as MOST athletic stars, the players started to “play” since they were 3-6 years old. This day in age, it is extremely rare to find a star that entered sports at 14-18 years of age. There is something about discipline, rules, accountability, stress, competition, etc. that makes you more successful.
My son played water polo in school. The average kid in the team had been swimming since they were 3-5 years old. The same in golf and tennnis. Racing is an individual sport that takes a long time to hone. I think the greats of this day in age started before they were afraid.
Another aspect is that everyone wants a big contract. No one wants to do the work it takes to make it. If you look at Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, they both came from families who supported them since pre-school. Neither family had money, position, or access. They worked their way up the hard way.
You are right on target with your observations Jim. NASCAR keeps recycling old, tired, and worn out talent and sending it back down what should be the feeder system, thereby clogging it up and not allowing new talent the opportunity. As for the talented youngsters that are trying to climb the ladder, guys you mentioned like Brad Coleman who had a remarkable rookie year at Gibbs in 2007, are faced with the challenge of hanging in the sport long enough to get the opportunity. Unfortunately, that is driven by money and sponsors and not just their talent.
And they don’t get their shot at lesser teams with less money. Coleman proved last year you can’t take bad equipment to the front of the race no matter how talented you are. So not only do the young guys (and girls) need the opportunity, they need it with a good team. You can not compete with the top teams in mid-pack equipment.
In a normalized development system, the old, tired drivers would move on and quit soaking up what few sponsor dollars are out there so that the Leichts, Colemans, and Cassills of the world could get a shot. Besides, people are tired of the same old names and need some fresh blood in the sport. So does NASCAR, so maybe they will do something about it before it is too late.
They could start with the Nationwide (Cup Light) Series.
NASCAR keeps recycling old, tired, and worn out talent and sending it back down what should be the feeder system,
The problem is that the “old, tired worn out talent” guys have name recognition that makes them more attractive to a sponsor than the promising up and comers. NASCAR chooses to structure finances so that individual teams are dependent primarily on sponsors for financial survival. That’s somewhat workable at the Cup level, but it makes it pretty difficult for any lower series to function well as a test bed for up and coming talent
Amen Jim. I have been complaining abou this for years. I always thought the Nationwde series was for the young guns to learn the ropes. You don’t see NFL and Professional baseball players going backwards. Give the new comers a chance.
Comments on this entry are closed.