DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Before Thursday’s Can-Am Duel qualifying races at Daytona, 10 drivers gathered in Victory Lane for a special photo.
Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Darrell Wallace Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Gray Gaulding and Corey LaJoie, along with Matt DiBenedetto, all come from different teams and backgrounds. But they all share one attribute — they are graduates of the NASCAR Next program.
The NASCAR Next program selects a group of up-and-coming young drivers each year who all share a goal to compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series one day. Sunday’s Daytona 500 40-car field includes the above 11 NASCAR Next graduates.
“We’ve all grown up a whole heck of a lot from probably the first picture that you guys have on file,” 2012 Class member LaJoie said. “… To be in that group, (with) Larson, Chase and Blaney and all these guys that are having a ton of success … it’s cool to be in the same picture with those guys.”
With an average driver age of 34.2, the 2018 Daytona 500 field is the second youngest field in the history of the “Great American Race.” Of the 40 drivers, 17 are under the age 30. For reference, the average age of the 1992 Daytona 500 field was 38.6.
The changing field represents the changing field of the sport, as more younger drivers have made their way into the Monster Energy Series.
“It’s changing a lot,” said Jones, Class of 2014. “It’s been a big change. You see guys getting started younger and younger. I think you’re just now getting to that crop of guys that really started at 6, 7, 8 years old racing and got into NASCAR at a young age, too. So you’re seeing the veterans kind of move out and the young guys come in.
“It’s a neat time in the sport really, to see that kind of influx of new talent and new guys. Just a cool time to be a part of it. “I raced with so many of these guys growing up in Late Models and early on in Trucks and Xfinity. To all be together now in the Cup level is a pretty special thing.”