Did You Notice? … Martin Truex Jr. is weighing whether or not to retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing?
Truex turns 42 years old in June 2022 and is in his 17th full-time season running in the sport’s top division.
Even if Truex does extend his contract, it seems unlikely he’ll race beyond the 2023 season (when he’ll turn 43). That follows the trend of stars like Jeff Gordon (44), Tony Stewart (45), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (43), Matt Kenseth (45) and Jimmie Johnson (45), all of whom retired in the same age range. Carl Edwards (37) and Kasey Kahne (38) were surprise departures that left the NASCAR grind even sooner.
It’s a far cry from a generation ago, when NASCAR drivers would often hit their peak in their early 40s. Dale Earnhardt Sr. won four of his seven titles between the ages of 39 and 43. He was runner-up in the standings at 49 years old, building toward a potential record-setting eighth title before the 2001 Daytona 500 tragedy.
Bobby Allison won his only NASCAR title at 45, the oldest champion in NASCAR history. Dale Jarrett, in 1999, won his lone NASCAR Cup title just before turning 43. The examples from late last century go on and on.
Success also spilled over into victory lane. Why this topic came up for me is listening to a replay of MRN’s Dover Motor Speedway broadcast from September 1991, part of 51-year-old Harry Gant’s streak of four straight Cup wins. The following year, Gant was in contention for the championship entering the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 50-year-old Mark Martin won five races with Hendrick Motorsports in 2009, then nearly won the Daytona 500 four years later.
But Martin, it appears, will serve as the end of an era. It’s the other side of this youth movement, where yes, all but one race this year has been won by drivers under 30. But look on the flip side: there’s now just one full-time Cup driver running over the age of 45 (46-year-old Kevin Harvick). Only three others: Truex, Kurt Busch (43) and Denny Hamlin…
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