Ricky Rudd, with wife Linda and son Landon. Credit: Autostock
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
September 16, 2003
3:27 PM EDT (1927 GMT)
Last month, while researching Ricky Rudd's path to an unfathomable 700th consecutive Winston Cup Series start, I was baffled by the unwavering commitment required of the veteran driver to achieve such longevity.
Essentially, Rudd endured a quarter-century of pure tough man absurdity worthy of syndication on You Gotta See This! broken bones. Duct-taped eyelids. Heat exhaustion. The like.
He's crazy. But it's not his fault. He's a product of his generation, which also happens to be my father's generation. Once, when I was a kid, I saw my father get hung up in a barbed-wire fence and, aside from a quick barrage of expletives, never complain.
The barb went completely through his thumbnail and it bled like a stuck pig with hemophilia, but all he did was ask me to find a Band-Aid. There was no time for crying. He had a fence to build.
Rudd? He had bellies to fill. Twenty years ago, racing didn't pay what it pays today. Guys scrapped by. Guys raced hurt so they didn't lose a job and, for certain, the cars were far less safe.
I saw Jerry Nadeau two weeks ago at Richmond, and was amazed by his indomitable spirit. He is committed to returning, healthy and competitive. Twenty years ago, he wouldn't have had an option. He would already be back in the car, ready or not.
It's a different day and time. Drivers are instant millionaires with more toys than Geoffrey the Giraffe.
Thing is, they have no time to play.
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When not participating in actual weekend driving duties -- practicing or racing -- Winston Cup drivers are testing. When not testing, they're on planes en route to autograph sessions in remote locations in Iowa and Wyoming. Once that's done, it's off to corporate headquarters to rub elbows with CEOs and various other suits.
I know, I know. Cushy life, right? We'd all love to live it. But for a moment, think about how much you enjoy time for yourself. While in the circus, most drivers have none. Hence, a decade in the big top is plenty.
Therefore, if Rusty Wallace doesn't break Rudd's record, no one ever will. Rudd, Wallace, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett are the last of a dying breed -- that being the driver who competes after his 45th birthday.
Considering the commitment required of today's Winston Cup stars, they'll drive for 10 or 15 years and call it a career by age 40. Hear this: In no way am I questioning the heart or desire of today's drivers. Their commitment is as deep or deeper than anyone in history. I'm simply saying the game wears them completely out, physically and mentally.
Ask Tony Stewart. He'll be driving race cars when he's 50, but they won't be of the Winston Cup variety. Try dirt late models or sprint cars. In other words, everything he loves about racing without everything he hates.
Jimmie Johnson has made mention to me in the past that he won't be around for decades, either. He wants 10 successful years, financial security and a yacht full of trophies to sail into oblivion with. Kevin Harvick? Same deal, only he'll invest his fortune in team ownership.
It's the dynamic of new age Winston Cup racing -- at least in the past three or four years. Win early. Win often. Move on if you don't.
Do you think the new generation of drivers will ever reach consecutive race milestones like Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte and Mark Martin, or will they retire early and wealthy?
alhdej8: Sadly, many of the drivers in the sport today probably won't be here in 10 years. The sport is hyper-competitive and for some reason, young and new is better to most sponsors and owners. If they don't win races, I don't think they'll be around long. Also, the sponsor's don't seem to be as loyal as they used to be.
Hip is what they want and an older driver may not fit the image they are looking for. However, I think people like Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon will be around for the long haul. They fit the image NASCAR and sponsors need and won't be leaving until they themselves think it's time to go.
Touch 'em all, Al. For the second consecutive week, Al Harrington brought it like Barry Bonds. Grand slam. So, so true it is that image is crucial in today's market-conscious NASCAR.
To excel these days, drivers must be as good in front of the camera as they are behind the wheel. When sponsors are doling out $15 million a year, speed on Wall Street carries nearly as much weight as speed at Daytona.
Now, rest assured, on-track performance is still the end all. I don't care if you can sell a fur coat at a PETA convention, fail to run up front, and you're subject to replacement.
But the fact remains that, given two drivers of virtually equal talent, the one most capable of peddling product will get the nod. It's simple math. Young ladies are the most coveted of target markets. And young ladies like young men.
Get it?
Wayne Brady is all over it. Well, almost.
Wayniackc: Given the increasing competitiveness of the sport and sponsors trying to get the most of their dollar, the new generation of drivers might not have a choice.
If Jimmie Johnson were to all of a sudden start finishing 15-20 in the points for two or three years in a row, I doubt Lowe's would be too excited to keep letting him ride around and pressure the owner to put someone new in the car.
So basically, if they can stay competitive, then sure -- they can ride around until they decide to retire, but I think the sponsors are going to be a lot less tolerant of "slumps".
Not too sure about that last part, there, Waynard. Remember, Lowe's endured years of futility with Brett Bodine and Mike Skinner before hitting the jackpot with Johnson. Robby Gordon sent Lowe's to Victory Lane for the first time in the 2001 season finale at New Hampshire, but it wasn't until they inked Johnson, Chad Knaus and Hendrick Motorsports that they became a legitimate weekly threat.
In 63 starts, Johnson has six points-paying victories and a million-dollar payday in The Winston. At Lowe's Motor Speedway. With the Power of Pride paint scheme.
Safe to say he's solidified lifelong elite standing with Lowe's. Regardless, Wayne makes a great point. When so much money is on the line, it's put up or shut up to the maximum degree. To hang around, sponsors must see a return on their investment.
The No. 25 Hendrick team is the perfect example. Joe Nemechek has helped rebuild that team to respectability. But sponsors UAW and Delphi chose not to return, and Nemechek is looking for work.
Citgo is another prime example. I remember being appalled when Citgo left the Wood Brothers after a relationship that spanned nearly two decades. It seemed the coldest of decisions. But the simple fact was, at the time of the divorce, the Woods hadn't gone to Victory Lane in seven years.
In the two years since Cirgo joined Roush Racing's No. 99 team, they've gone to Victory Lane just twice, and not at all since 2001. Hence, they've chosen to discontinue their primary team sponsorship.
skibum1723: Racing is not exactly the easiest or safest method of getting rich. Most of these guys have racing in their blood, it's all they know and will likely race as long as it's feasible.
But I would imagine starting as young as they do these days could lead to early burnout. Racing is tough physically and mentally. I could see a new pattern emerge where a driver is successful in his (or her) 20s and early 30s, takes a few years off to enjoy the fruits of his success and then returns for another decade of competition.
In a perfect world, Picabo, maybe. In the real world, no way. NASCAR is the consummate "out of sight, out of mind" industry.
Whether you're a driver, crew chief or lowly scribe, if you're gone for a year, you're likely gone for good. If you're gone for more than one year, you're most certainly done.
BamaJrFan: Dedication is going to be key. How else would Ricky Rudd have been the "Iron Man" this year?? There will be a dedicated few who prosper well into their careers; there will be some who will continue racing strictly for love of sport even as wins become elusive, and there are some who will quit because they aren't in it for the right reasons or don't want it that bad.
It's that way in baseball, football, and basketball...In every sport, there are seasoned vets both good and bad and young showboats who want out on a good note every year that retire.
Sure, some guys won't be able to let go and will hang as long as someone gives them a set of wheels. Others will say goodbye in their prime, leaving fans to wonder what if and historians frothing at the mouth. See Jim Brown and Barry Sanders. As Mike Shula said, it happens in every sport.
It's truly a shame that newer fans don't realize just how good ol' DW truly was.
Stewartfan5: We live in a disposable society. Everything can be discarded quickly from paper napkins to marriages and everything in between. The other thing that has changed is where NASCAR sits among other professional sports today. 20 years ago it was mainly southern-based and followed. Today it is the fastest growing and one of the most visible sports in America.
NASCAR is attempting to draw younger fans from a much broader demographic and so it will be hard to see drivers stick around as long as they used to, especially if they aren't winning. Corporate America has loyalty to only one thing, MONEY.
I think because of that and the changes being implemented in NASCAR we will see a lot of different drivers changing seats a lot faster than in the past. People like young good looking faces endorsing their products, and today you have to be good on camera not just behind the wheel.
For the first time, it seems a Stewart fan agrees with me.
jimw: Who cares? The "new generation" drivers for the most part are so arrogant it's hard to feel like you know them like we did the old stars. Racing has lost more than they gained with regard to fan appeal.
It wont be long before we hear about nascars "stars" caught up in drugs, guns, gambling and the like. Most of them will never know or care about fan loyalty. Won't be long before we catch up with the NBA.
Conspiracy Theory 2, starring former Boston Red Sox manager Jimy Williams, coming soon to a theater near you.
rustyfan777: I don't think the young drivers will stay in the sport as long as the veterans do know. Most of them will probably retire before they even reach 40. The young guns don't seem quite as dedicated as the veterans do.
Though I agree wholeheartedly that most of today's young drivers won't have 25-year driving careers, saying they aren't dedicated or, as some of you stated, don't love the sport, is ludicrous. Most of them spent countless after-school hours turning wrenches while their friends were hanging out at the Dairy Queen.
Look at Vickers, for example. He skipped prom to race at Bristol, and raced at Charlotte on the same day he graduated from high school. What about Johnson and Harvick? They lived on Ron Hornaday's couch for six months trying to get a break, then spent years driving obscure Busch and Truck Series rides, respectively, before catching on with powerhouse Winston Cup programs.
Dedication? I think that qualifies.
gordon31: I don't think so. The trend is obviously to go with the young guys, and if the trend continues then the current young guns will be replaced by new young guns. I mean look at the last few years, all the rookies have been young, except maybe Stewart or Biffle.
So with the insurgent of young drivers I think only the truly great one's will last close to as long as the current veterans. And it's hard to say who the truly great one's are. Newman, Johnson, Busch? Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Big 10-4 on that one, Robby.
Only time -- I'd say a decade or so -- will tell.
Marty's mailbag appears every Tuesday at 3 p.m.
The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.
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