Right Turns

A NASCAR BLOG BY Jim Duff

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Age change is a bad idea

Jan 23

Those who back plans to raise the minimum age for driving in the NASCAR Sprint Cup because it might keep younger drivers in the Nationwide Series may have a point. But NASCAR officials shouldn’t make the health of their second-tier series more important than their premier circuit, and if that’s the case, this is a terrible time to change.

At the very moment that some old-time fans – however misguided they may be – are grumbling about “foreign invaders” taking over Cup rides, NASCAR shouldn’t be closing the doors on fresh-faced young Americans. If Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano has half the talent and maturity that racing insiders say he does at age 17, this young American-born and American-trained driver could be a real shot in the arm for the Cup series at the very time it’s needed most.

If NASCAR wants to convince the disgruntled fans who have drifted away that the sport is still a hospitable place for American drivers who work their way up the ranks as well as the international set, officials should quietly scrap the talk of an age change.

NASCAR has far more at stake in restoring the health of the Cup series in terms of fan support and television viewership than it does in worrying about some perceived problems with its No. 2 series – which remains the nation’s second most popular form of motorsports.