HAMPTON, Ga. --- Like bell bottom pants and pet rocks, the youth movement that was so prevalent in NASCAR five years ago was little more than a passing fad.
Sponsors no longer want a fresh face; they want somebody who knows how to win. Corporate America's budget has been slashed, so it doesn't have the patience -- or the money -- to go through the learning process with a young driver.
Teams that base their futures on developing young talent now have to rely on older, more experienced drivers.
Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch own teams in the Camping World Truck Series, and both had plans to develop young drivers and mechanics. Both, however, have been pressed into service because sponsors aren't interested in young drivers.
"You can ask Jim Sexton (Z-Line Designs owner) when he comes to the racetrack in California what his opinions are on younger drivers and all of that stuff," Busch said. "They want to have the repertoire of a cup series driver with the coverage that they'll get on TV with that. It's not that I started that, but I think it might have actually been started back in the day when I think one of the first known guys that really started doing it more and more was (Dale) Earnhardt Sr. if I can remember correctly.
"I would love to give away my seat to a guy like Brian Ickler and have him race the Nationwide Series schedule, but there's not a sponsor out there that's going to back the guy."
Five years ago there were five drivers 25 or younger racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Last Sunday there were three.
Most of the top teams created driver development programs, but only a select few make it to the top. Joey Logano came through the ranks at Joe Gibbs Racing and Home Depot took a chance with him at the Sprint Cup Series level. But for every Logano there are 15 drivers who are still waiting on sponsorships to get their shots.
"The truth is it's been like this for years," Michael Waltrip said. "Sponsors want a name. Sometimes you're fortunate and you get an Aaron's who decided to take a chance on Trevor Bayne this year for us. Most of the time, something like that doesn't happen."
Harvick owns teams in the truck and Nationwide series. Besides driving for Richard Childress Racing on Sundays, he's now been forced into service for many of the support races. His plans to have Cale Gale take over have been put on hold.
Busch came to Harvick several times for advice while finalizing his deal to run two full-time trucks. When Busch started his team, he had sponsorship from the Miccosukee Resort. The tribal council, however, rescinded its NASCAR sponsorships before the season.
Until he replaces Miccosukee, he's going to have to do some of the driving.
"They're approaching it a little bit different than what we did," Harvick said. "They're jumping with both feet in with two teams and doing all their own (fabrication) work. So that's a big task."
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