NASCAR veterans emerging

By Rick Minter

For the AJC

In recent seasons, NASCAR has been driven by a youth movement. Team owners have searched the country for young talent, including Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, who were put on a fast track to drive some of the most powerful cars on the circuit.

But the sport’s graybeards are getting a chance to make some big-time comebacks because of their experience and the sport’s struggling economy.

Mark Martin, 50, has been one of the surprise stories of the 2009 Sprint Cup season. Driving the No. 5 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports, he is tied with Kyle Busch with four race victories. His five poles are one shy of Brian Vickers, who leads that category.

The youngest driver in the top 12 in Sprint Cup points, heading into tonight’s Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, is Denny Hamlin, who turns 29 in November.

In the Camping World Truck Series, 51-year-old Ron Hornaday Jr. has won six races and four poles, both tops in the series, before Saturday night’s race at Iowa Speedway. And he has built a commanding lead over second-place Matt Crafton in the points standings.

Georgia’s Bill Elliott, 53, is helping to get the Wood Brothers Racing team back on track, although he won’t race today because he injured some ribs and his back in a recent dirt-bike accident. Despite running a limited schedule, he has four top-10 starts in his past five races, although problems in the pits have kept him from getting similar finishing results.

Eddie Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 Ford that Elliott drives, said he sees no signs of age in his driver.

“I’ve known Bill all my racing life, and he’s as good right now as he ever was,” Wood said.

Elliott said he believes the reason for his longevity, like Martin’s, is because he’s staying physically fit.

“I’m trying as hard as I can to stay in shape, working harder and working out harder than I ever have,” he said. “I’m doing all I can.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it’s the mix of old and young drivers that makes NASCAR racing so interesting.

“Experience always has trumped youth, but it’s really fun when you get a guy like Joey Logano or Brad Keselowski and see them do well,” he said. “That’s exciting to see, just as when Jeff [Gordon] came in.”

But Earnhardt said the older drivers, in most cases, have the advantage.

“Experience is hard to beat, and I think being a race driver, your skills and abilities won’t fade like you see in football and baseball players,” he said.

And a lot depends on the equipment the driver has under him.

“Mark [Martin] got in Hendrick [Motorsports] equipment and has really done some great things,” Earnhardt said, pointing out that Martin also ran well in the Dale Earnhardt Inc. cars he drove before moving to Hendrick.

“You could argue that he did better in these Chevrolets than he did in Roush’s cars for the last four or five years of his career in Roush equipment,” Earnhardt said. “The team variable is pretty big.”

But experience and equipment aren’t the only factors leading to the older driving trend. The sagging economy has slowed many driver development programs. Mike Brown, the general manager for “The Racers Group” NASCAR team, said the shortage of sponsor dollars has stopped the youth movement for now.

Young drivers often wreck a lot of expensive cars during the growth process. Teams can’t afford it.

“Three or four years ago it was easier to take a chance on a younger guy because the economic times were better,” Brown said. “But now, with the situation being what it is, you kind of go back to the old way of doing things. You look for that experienced guy who’s going to help you survive.”

Brown said the Car of Tomorrow is a factor as well.

“It’s so hard to drive, I think that’s where the experience pays off,” he said.

Martin, who has been an enthusiastic backer of talented young drivers, said that the economic situation won’t keep the elite youngsters down for long.

“Right now instead of taking the long shot, [team owners are] having to be a little more calculating in what they do,” he said. “These young guys are going to get their shot, but they’re going to be the sure-bet guys like Joey Logano.

“They’re the ones who are going to get the opportunity because experience means a lot with everything that’s going on in the sport today.”

Jay Frye, general manager of the Red Bull team that fields cars for Brian Vickers, agrees that the economy is a factor.

“Teams don’t have the budget to develop an 18-year-old,” he said “At this point you need a more established product to go forward with.”

He said that when Red Bull expands its operation, he’ll likely seek funding for a driver development program, and he’ll be among those once again looking at teenage talent.