Changing of the Guard

Nascar, after struggling for so many years to bring any rookies up into the Sprint Cup series, is now welcoming in an influx of them. In 2013, 3 drivers competed for rookie of the year—Danica Patrick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and the little mentioned Timmy Hill. Next season, even more new drivers are expected to move up to the Sprint Cup series, including RCR driver Austin Dillon and the young  Japanese-American phenom Kyle Larson. MWR driver Brian Vickers is also expected to make his return to the Sprint Cup series after a long battle with blood clots. But as these young drivers come up through the ranks, others have to step aside to make room. Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, and Jeff Burton will all be stepping out of their rides at the end of the season. Here’s a look at what could happen to them.

1. Mark Martin

A couple days before Nascar’s penultimate race at Phoenix, Mark Martin made headlines by announcing that he would stop driving after the end of the 2013 season.  Many might be suspicious–Martin, after all, said the same thing in 2006, before accepting a ride with Ginn racing for the 2007 season. But, all indications point to this being Martin’s last season before he moves into an advisory role with Stewart-Haas racing in 2014. Although Martin won’t be racing next year, don’t be surprised if you see him get back behind the wheel in the future.

2. Jeff Burton

The Mayor of Nascar’s garage, Jeff Burton has been a respected competitor in the series for the past 25 years. He used to be a contender for a win week-in and week-out, fighting for wins and top five finishes. In the late 1990’s, he was one of Jeff Gordon’s biggest rivals. However, those days have passed. Driving for RCR, Burton has failed to record a win since 2008, and has failed to finish in the top 10 in points. Even though Burton had a year left on his contract, Childress let him go in favor of Ryan Newman and up and coming driver Austin Dillon. Burton has announced that he will drive part-time in 2014, but has not yet said where he will go. There was speculation that he would move the the 78 of Furniture Row Racing, but that ride was snapped up by Martin Truex, Jr. Although Burton has not announced his decision, possible candidates include a part-time ride at Michael Waltrip Racing as well as in the 30 car at Swan Racing.

3. Bobby Labonte

Labonte, a former series champion and once one of Nascar’s greatest drivers, is in the twilight of his career. He has not had a competitive ride since he left Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005. Since then, he has driven for teams such as Richard Petty Motorsports, the now defunct Hall of Fame Racing, and TRG Motorsports, which has since moved on to sport’s car racing. Labonte moved to JTG Daugherty Racing for the 2011 season, but has struggled since then. It has been announced that in 2014 Labonte will be replaced by AJ Allmendinger, who will have a full-time ride in the Sprint Cup series for the first time since serving a suspension for drug use in 2012. Labonte has not announced plans for 2014, and with most teams already announcing their drivers for the next season, it is likely that, if he chooses to compete, Labonte will be able to, at most, find a ride at a team such as Front Row Motorsports or BK Racing. Even if Labonte does hang up his helmet at the end of this season, Nascar will always remember him as one of its greatest competitors.

Nascar Returns To Indy, But Does Anyone Care?

On Sunday, Nascar made its annual sojourn to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hosting the memorably named Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com. Wow. The person who came up with that name needs to take a serious look at what he’s doing with his life. Anyway, the race was won by Indiana native Ryan Newman, who beat Jimmie Johnson not by passing him on the race track, but by having a faster green-flag pit stop. Indeed, there was very little passing on the race track. There was just one on-track lead change during the race, the rest coming during green-flag pit stops.

 

The race featured no side-by-side action and virtually no passing, as it has been since 2008. The track was repaved that year, eliminating the outside groove on the track, and along with it, much of the interest in the race. Tony Stewart was vocal in his defense of Indy, saying, “It doesn’t have to be two- and three-wide racing all day long to be good racing. If you want to see passing, we can head out to Interstate 465.’ Fans, however, appeared to disagree with Stewart, and in large numbers. Barely half of the seats at Indy were filled. The backstretch grandstands were closed off completely.

Indeed, the race stood in stark contrast to the Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora. The Nascar return to dirt was one of the most exciting races of the season, featuring beating and banging as well as exciting passes for the lead. At the Brickyard, no one so much as scraped the wall. There were only 3 cautions in the 160 lap race. Two were for mechanical problems concerning Timmy Hill‘s OxyWater Ford, and the other one was for drive-line issues in the 31 car of Jeff Burton. The Mayor would finish last, falling 3 spots in the standings. The end of Burton’s Chase hopes? It might be, especially considering how he’s performed so far this season. Meanwhile, Ryan Newman gained three places in the standings with his win. He is now only 20 points behind Martin Truex, Jr., and could be poised to make a Case run. Meanwhile, the Chase standings shuffled. Brad Keselowski‘s 21st place finish dropped him out of the top 10, and Jeff Gordon moved in. Gordon is currently only 1 point ahead of 11th place Stewart. Unlike the racing at Indy, the battle for the Chase is heating up.