Is 18 old enough ?

[south jersey girl]

found this on Jayski

No Age Change in 2009: NASCAR officials won't alter the minimum age limit for drivers in the Cup series for next season. Series officials talked before the season about possibly raising the minimum age limit from 18 to 21 but decided against it.

BTW...Joey Logano's 18th birthday is this Saturday...I wonder if he'll be in the Nationwide race?  Haven't seen the entry list yet.

[Chris]

I have mixed feeling on this...
IN a way I feel 18 is old enough...
On the other hand... I think after seeing the "young" guys come into the series,.. I can see where they could use 3 more years to mature and get more experience in the lower series.

Now of course that is gonna mean (so called) fans are gonna claim that CUP racing is boring if that happens.  Drivers will have more experience, more seat time, and be more mature.  This would lead to a lot less accidents, whick people call "boring" races.
We could actually get back to the days to when we run 400 miles at Michigan with no yellows... or 500 miles at some other tracks where the cars can spread out and race.
To me that type of racing isn't "boring".... it's all about strategy,... short pit, run a fuel strategy, make adjustments on the fly... the pit crew has to be sharp (any mistakes they make show up on the track in the driver being behind)... a race that runs from green to checkers without a yellow is NOT necessilary a bad thing.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 I think experience is the key. We have drivers well over 21 years old that don't have much experience when they're put into Cup rides. That lack of experience is painfully obvious. If you're 18 years old and have experience in lesser series, why not?

 Shayne

[KurtBuschFan]

It's not necessarily age that matters but rather experience.  But I'm still a firm believer in starting a driver who aspires to run in the Sprint Cup Series one day in the truck series then the nationwide series.

[skool]

18 is old enough. If you are old enough to fight for our country so the rest of us can enjoy NASCAR, you sure as hell are old enough to drive one if you got the talent.  Whats there to debate about?

[Chris]

18 is old enough. If you are old enough to fight for our country so the rest of us can enjoy NASCAR, you sure as hell are old enough to drive one if you got the talent.  Whats there to debate about?

Well I follow that theory.... Old enough to fight....
But still not old enough to legally drink in most states... so that could make the argument come full circle
Like I said.. I see it both ways.
Kids start earlier and earlier these days.... so experience is an important factor...
On the other hand parents and owners "rush" kids to the premier series before trhey are ready,.. so I can see something being in place to slow them down.
AT 18 most kids aren't even threw growing yet, and their brains aren't threw developing yet (decision making process is still developing).... it's a proven fact.... so like I said I can see it both ways

[skool]

Well, I don't necessarily agree with the drinking age at 21. Never did. Not that it affected me, I was always ahead of the drinking age raises anyway.
There is no age limit on other professional sports that I know of. Why should there be in NASCAR. It all comes down to talent and if the owners want to waste their time with someone that young.
I personally watched Joey Logano beat Kevin Harvick heads up, a year ago Sunday. If the kid can hold his own at the next level, there shouldn't be a rule that says he has to be 21.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb243/skoolofracing/LoganoHarvickturn4.jpg[/img]]

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb243/skoolofracing/LoganoHarvickHernandezinVlane.jpg[/img]]

And it not that I'm a big Logano fan. He just happens to be arguably the best youn talent out there right now.

[smyler]

I certainly think that the top series needs a minimum age but I also think there should be some kind of minimum number of races in allied race series, such as ASA, ARCA, Nationwide and Trucks, before they should be allowed to run with the big dogs, too.  I know it isn't fun to do but they should have had JPM and Dario, etc. run a bunch more races before putting them into Cup.  I realize these guys had "experience" but not at this level in these kinds of cars. 

It's easy to forget, what with all the safety advances, that this is still a very violent and deadly sport.  Look how many wrecks Kyle Busch was causing when he was 18.  Yeah he still causes some but not like he used to do and now he does it more strategically.  Either age or experience would have kept him racing with others who were more his equal.  Just one more year of age  or maybe a couple dozen races in the series I mentioned would have made a big difference for him as well as any other who tries to make the move too fast. 

Heck, look at Hornish right now.  He was one heck of a driver and gave up a lot to be here but he is only now starting to be ready for the opportunity that he has been given.  He may become pretty good in this series, but not this year.  He'll catch on by next year, I would think.  The point being that no matter how good you were in some other series, this is where all the best are so you have to really know what you are doing before you move up to this level.  Just my two cents.

[Chris]

Yeah.. I agree with Smyler.. and how many "young" careers have been ruined by them coming up to the CUP level too quick. 
Can anyone say Casey Atwood.

Also Skool.. To answer you question... I believe of one of the major stick and ball sports HAVE made a rule against coming right out of HS into the pros... Seems either Baseball or Basketball.

[south jersey girl]

not baseball...they draft/sign HS players all the time
but baseball has a 4 levels of minor leagues for them to move through.

if it's basketball, it's a fairly new rule. Lebron James was drafted out of HS, and I think Kobe was too

I know hockey has an age restriction before a player is eligible for the draft.  Hockey also has several minor league levels

[Fathead]

If Nascar keeps insisting that drivers can only be independent contractors, then they are going to have to allow 18 year olds.   The only reason the NFL and NBA have rules determining that you have to be a certain  age to join is because those rules are part of collective bargaining agreements.

[south jersey girl]

BTW...Joey Logano is making his Nationwide debut at Dover on the 31st...

[FSBryan]

Good point Fathead. If NASCAR is going to start worrying about eligibility rules what they need to do is reestablish how they license drivers to run Sprint Cup. Frankly after choosing to allow Jacques Villeneuve to race at Talladega with no experience whatsoever I don't see how NASCAR can deny anyone a chance to run anywhere.

Since this whole controversy is centered around Joey Logano, I'll focus on him. After seeing the kid at Rockingham, I'm a believer. If he runs the Nationwide Series as expected, and is an immediate contender there while staying out of trouble, he's got all the right in the world to be racing in Cup. That being said, if Logano makes a bunch of common rookie mistakes, spins out a lot on the bigger superspeedways, etc, in his Nationwide races, I'd wait on pulling the trigger to let him move up. The problem isn't young guys racing Cup, it's guys that are still learning stock cars racing Cup.

[charleylol]

IT IS NOT AGE THAT DETERMINES ONES ABILITY OR CAPABILITY.
18 YEARS OF AGE IS OLD ENOUGH TO BE A CUP DRIVER.
.
SOME DRIVER / PARTICIPANTS HAVE BEEN RACING FROM THE AGE OF 3 AND HAVE
PROGRESSED THROUGH THE RANKS AND SERIES TO THE POINT THEY ARE
100% READY FOR THE CUP SERIES.  I SUGGEST THERE ARE SOME YOUNGER
DRIVERS THAT ARE MORE THAN READY TO MOVE UP BUT HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN THE
OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE TO THE BIGGER SERIES.
Charley

[FSBryan]

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