Add to that the fact that even though Kurt Busch won Sunday’s Daytona 500, young stars in Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were who everyone was talking about after the dust and smoke had settled.
Elliott won the pole, won his Duel and led the second-most laps of anyone in the 500 — only losing the race because his No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet ran out of fuel inside of three laps to go — while Larson led at the white flag but was passed in turn two by Busch when his car sputtered on fumes as well.
Both drivers put themselves in prime position to take home the Harley J. Earl Trophy and certainly performed beyond the level I anticipated at the end of the race. I say that with all due respect, too; I just simply felt like this year’s 500 would be dominated by the veterans … and by the end of the day, it nearly wasn’t.
Every driver that spoke on Chase Elliott’s performance after Sunday’s race ended had the same general consensus: he’s going to win soon, and he’s going to win a lot.
They said the same thing when Larson was going through his struggles of not being able to close the deal a few years back; that all it takes is one win to open the floodgates, and then it’s game on from there. The California driver finally got that first win last year at Michigan Int’l Speedway for Chip Ganassi, and expectations are even higher for him this time around.
And when you look at the Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle at the Cup level this year, you’ve got three fresh faces in reigning XFINITY champion Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, and Ty Dillon who have all stepped up from the second-tier level and are eager to prove themselves in the premier series.
Whether anyone likes it or not: the days of Gordon and Stewart are gone. They’ve retired, and new feet have stepped into their shoes.
Soon enough, even this current era of domination by Jimmie Johnson and regular appearances in victory lane by other names, like Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth, will dwindle to a close as well.
The young guns are hungry.
The young guns are coming.
And pretty quickly, the young guns will be the ones dominating the sport week in and week out.
The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Race Chaser Online, the Performance Motorsports Network, Scorpion Radio Group, their sponsors or other contributors.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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