Mike Calinoff: Childs Play
Written by Mike Calinoff · November 6, 2003
By all accounts the youth movement is on. And the past several years have only been a small indication of things to come. Kids are the deal – and everyone knows it.
When Jeff Gordon came along in his first full season of Winston Cup racing, he was 22 years old. That was considered young, and still may be by some standards. Jimmie Johnson was 23 and Matt Kenseth was 27. Even at their ages today, they’re referred to as part of the “Young Gun” contingent.
But that’s all about to change.
Car owners and sponsors now look in a different direction. And, if kids like Brian Vickers at 20 shine as expected, you can count on the whole development program go out the window. Young drivers with recognized owners and sponsors will scoop talent up – and head right to the big leagues.
In the past, and even in some cases today, car owners were set on the A-B-C program to cultivate their drivers. ARCA, Busch and Cup schedules would prepare them for battle in the future. The learning curve would be two or three years and off to the majors they’d go.
You won’t see very much of that in the future.
Vickers, who in family-owned equipment seemed marginally fit, now sits behind the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports Winston Cup car – while competing as a rookie for the championship in the Busch Series. Just a few years ago, it would be a natural progression to have someone like Vickers spend at least another year in the Busch Series before venturing out.
But that’s not how it works anymore.
Corporate America has decided that youth sells and there’s no sense wasting time having their spokesman aspire to higher ground. Hurry up and bring them to top as quick as we can. That’s the way of the world today.
While it’s great that veteran fan-favorites like Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte are having somewhat of resurgence in their careers, we all know that these days are numbered. The Elliott’s and Labonte’s and Sterling Marlin’s are going to be a thing of the past. Soon, we’ll see drivers retiring at 35 and very few will race beyond 40.
The kids are here. They’re making noise. And making sponsors lots of money.
Mike Calinoff, regular contributor to FastMachines.com, is a twenty-five year auto racing veteran. Mike has been involved in most aspects of racing and was featured on NBC’s pre-race show with Benny Parsons. Aside from his consulting work, team management skills and professional speaking, Mike works weekends for Matt Kenseth in the Winston Cup and Busch Series as the Team Spotter. Click here to learn more about Mike. Here are some of Mike’s recent contributions to FastMachines…
This article is not necessarily the viewpoint of this site or any person, company or organization that Mike Calinoff is affiliated with.
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