Older Drivers Hitting the Road

It happens all of the time, none of us will escape it. "Father Time" has a foreboding message for all of us, chuck out the old, and bring in the new. We usually see him with his long white beard reaching below his knees, hanging onto his crooked staff for dear life, as New Year's Eve approaches. This signals the beginning of the New Year and the closing of the old one. Out with the old, and in with the new!

NASCAR is no exception to this time honored rule. As young race drivers make their way up the ladder into the elite racing circles of NASCAR, older drivers have to make way for them, whether they're ready for retirement or not. As these drivers age they tend to lose their reflexes and rapid thought processes. They slow down on the racetrack in more ways than one. There are only 43 starting positions in a NASCAR Cup event, in order for a younger driver to move up, an older driver has to move on...

The upcoming 2005 season is also no exception. Three of NASCAR's top Cup Series drivers are preparing to make their farewell retirement tour this season; Rusty Wallace, "Texas" Terry Labonte, and Mark Martin. Each of the three has built storied careers as top flight race drivers, with two of the drivers having won Cup championships.

Rusty Wallace, aged 48 years and originally hailing out of St. Louis, Missouri, began racing in the Cup Series full time in 1984. He won the Cup Championship in 1989, placing second in 1988 and 1993. In his 21 years on the Cup circuit, he has placed top ten season finishing positions in the championship points 16 times. As he began the 2004 season he had amassed 54 wins, 191 top five finishes and 321 top ten finishes in 634 races.

Wallace has also won 37 pole starting positions and has won over $37.6 million dollars in purse money. He is the co-owner of Penske Racing South with Roger Penske and Don Miller. He has raced the #2 Miller Lite sponsored entry for several years, switching from the Ford model to Dodge a couple of years ago.

"Texas" Terry Labonte, aged 48 years and originally out of Corpus Christi, Texas, began his full time Cup racing career in 1979. Terry won the Cup Championship in 1984 and in 1996. In his 26 years in the Cup Series he has placed top ten season finishing positions in the championship points 17 times. As Terry began the 2004 season he had amassed 22 victories, 181 top five finishes, and 373 top ten finishes in 781 races.

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