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CONCORD, N.C. — High-profile departures have been a recent trend in NASCAR’s top division, a development that began with transcendent four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s retirement at the end of the 2015 season.
Popular three-time champ Tony Stewart followed after 2016, then fellow star Carl Edwards stepped away just before this season. That list will include the most popular of all — Dale Earnhardt Jr. — at the end of 2017, a move he signaled in a Tuesday announcement at the Hendrick Motorsports compound.
But instead of sounding an alarm about a possible void, Earnhardt issued a strong vote of confidence for the sport’s future with positive remarks about the stock-car racing’s recent influx of spellbinding talent, a group of young stars that have the potential to dazzle fans for future generations.
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“We definitely have tons of talent. There is no question, but I love the people they are,” Earnhardt said, naming 21-year-old teammate Chase Elliott and current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson, 24, as two brilliant examples. Being marketable, approachable and having a level of savvy with social media certainly hasn’t hurt.
“These guys are effortless at it,” he added. “So once they start to pick it up and understand the power of what they have at their fingertips, the sky’s the limit for NASCAR. I’m super excited about the future.”
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Earnhardt has done plenty himself to help cultivate the next crop of stock-car prodigies, fielding JR Motorsports’ four-car effort in the NASCAR XFINITY Series as a developmental program for next-gen stars. Among those is 19-year-old William Byron, a product of the NASCAR Next youth initiative and a top prospect for success at the sport’s highest level.
It’s why team owner Rick Hendrick was quick to echo Earnhardt’s sentiment.
“I’ve never seen so much young talent,” the 67-year-old team owner said. “I can remember when the question was all of our drivers are in their 40s or they’re going to be, what are we going to do when they retire? I think we’ve got the answer. They’re here, they’re young, they’re aggressive, they’re fun.”
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The current group of 20-somethings — or younger — includes a diverse group of Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates in the Monster Energy Series. Erik Jones, 20, was the first to throw his hat into the rookie race with a full-time jump hitched to a newly expanded Furniture Row Racing operation. Ty Dillon and Daniel Suarez, both 25, followed with their offseason announcements.
Their task now: To become better acquainted with fans who have long-running associations of support for Gordon, Stewart, Edwards and Earnhardt. Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, said that transition and exposure to a broader stage will come in time.
“It’s something that evolves,” O’Donnell said. “That’s you getting to know them more, them being in Victory Lane more. People like winners. … As they win and compete for top fives and are exposed more, we have no doubt that people will see their personalities and then it’ll be up to them as well to take those personalities outside the sport also.”