A Sign of Times - Matt Kenseth Departure Just the Beginning

Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. before their final race in the MENCS
(Photo-Chris Graythen/Getty Images/NASCAR Media)
In the last few seasons, a driver would walk off into the sunset, ending his career at seasons end and hanging up the helmet one last time. Though Matt Kenseth was able to do that in 2017, he was still pushed out of his ride by a younger talent in the form of Erik Jones. With the farm systems of NASCAR building stronger and stronger year after year, more of the drivers from the early 2000's are having to leave the sport to make room for the new and it's just simply a sign of the times.

Danica Patrick announced the end of her full-time career at Homestead
(Photo-Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images/NASCAR Media)
Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Darrell Wallace Jr., and a few others have made their presence known, all of which will compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next season full-time. The new age of NASCAR is here and though many of these drivers aren't ready to walk away they manage to get replaced by the new "thing". Don't blame the younger guys either, there are a few ways for NASCAR to fix this problem but it would be going back on things that were just changed for what was supposedly "best" and those things won't change.

Rick Hendrick has signed William Byron and Alex Bowman, two Next-Gen Drivers
(Photo-Chris Graythen/Getty Images/NASCAR Media)
A performance-based sport means you have to perform every single weekend or else you'll get pushed to a ride that isn't competitive or pushed out of the sport altogether, just ask Danica Patrick. No one says she isn't a good driver but she doesn't win races. Yes, only one driver wins a race a weekend but in her career, she only had seven top-10's and one pole. It would be kind of like if the Minnesota Twins signed a baseball player who never hit the ball and caused errors on the defensive side of the field. That baseball player may hit the ball once in a blue moon but is he really ready for the big leagues? In this sport, if you aren't ready, you shouldn't be moved up.
Christopher Bell moves to the XFINITY Series next season. Another future Cup Star
(Photo-Chris Trotman/Getty Images/NASCAR Media)

Like in the real world it's all feast-or-famine. Brian France, CEO of NASCAR, spoke about this process in his annual end of the season address at Homestead last month.

"If it's difficult for anybody -- this is not picking on any one driver, but if you're not performing at a high level, it may be difficult for you to stay in this sport.  It will be difficult for you to stay in the sport, for any driver.  That's not picking on anybody."

The transition stage of the sport is a rough one, especially when many fan favorites either walk away from the sport, retire or just pushed out. In the end, it's the sign of times and it's something every generation of NASCAR fans and drivers have had to live through and as the past generations have done, NASCAR will continue to thrive and produce some of the best motor racing you will see here in the United States. These new drivers will be here for a long time and someday they will face the same thing today's veterans are facing. (Koelle,2017)

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