Recently the announcement was made that Austin Dillon will drive the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy in the Sprint Cup race at Michigan. I have read online that one thought as to why Dillon was allowed to fill in for Tony Stewart is because Richard Childress wants to see if Dillon is ready to make the step to Sprint Cup in 2014, even though Dillon’s Nationwide resume shows he can run consistently in the top ten. Dillon is being fast tracked to Sprint Cup, but has the support of his car owner behind him. Some drivers were fast tracked to Sprint Cup, but did not have the support of their owner to develop them as a driver. Let’s take a look at four drivers, and see how their careers unfolded. Two of the drivers being discussed in this column were given more than one season to adapt to Sprint Cup cars, while the other two were given a pink slip within two years of being brought to Sprint Cup racing. Let’s look at what happened to each driver and how their careers turned out up to this point.
The first driver that we are going to look at today that was rushed to Sprint Cup and not given a chance to develop was Casey Atwood. Casey Atwood stormed into the NASCAR spotlight by winning the pole at the Nashville Fairgrounds in April of 1998. He ran a smart race, led 104 laps and finished second to Mike McLaughlin, in only his second start in the Busch Series. This helped Atwood to get a full-time ride in 1999 to drive the No. 27 Castrol GTX Chevy for Clarence Brewer. Atwood drove two seasons for Brewco Motorsports, and earned two wins and seventeen top ten’s. In the summer of 2000, Atwood was chosen by Ray Evernham to drive a second car as a teammate to Bill Elliott in Dodge’s return to NASCAR. Atwood struggled in his first season in Sprint cup with one top five and three top tens, along with six DNF’s and at the end of the year was cast off to Ultra Motorsports to drive the No. 7 car. This car was not equal to the Evernham Motorsports cars, which caused Atwood to struggle and be let go with two races to go in the season. Atwood ended up fading into obscurity as he never had another shot in Sprint Cup, and ran for second and third tier teams in Nationwide, until finally leaving NASCAR in 2009, after driving as a start and park driver. Atwood was basically given one season to perform, and when he did not meet expectations, he was cast away.
The next driver was given less than one season to perform in Sprint Cup. This driver is known as the ‘King of Start and Parks’, Michael McDowell. Before he earned this title, he was a MWR developmental driver. When Dale Jarrett retired after Bristol in 2008, MWR needed a driver for the No. 00 car, after moving David Reutimann to the No. 44 car with sponsor UPS. McDowell was promoted to Sprint Cup, from just over one year in ARCA, and with no prior Nationwide or Cup experience. Needless to say, McDowell did not perform for the second year MWR team and was let go after twenty races with MWR. From there, McDowell has stayed in Sprint Cup, driving for start and park teams, along with being given a part-time ride with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series on the road courses, and some of the short tracks. McDowell has since shown that with the right equipment that he can contend for wins, however getting a chance with a top Sprint Cup team is not going to happen for this driver anytime soon, if ever.
What would NASCAR look like if Rick Hendrick had given up on Jeff Gordon after one season?
We all laugh and scoff at this idea now, but after Gordon’s 1993 season, Hendrick would have been able to justify releasing Gordon. Gordon did earn eleven top tens in thirty Sprint Cup races, but Gordon also had eleven DNF’s with most of them being for complications from crashes. With those stats, some owners would have released Gordon, due to him wrecking many cars in that season. The 1994 season was better for Gordon, but in 31 races, he had ten DNF’s to go with his two wins. In today’s NASCAR, a driver with 21 DNF’s in two seasons would be looking for a new job; however Hendrick stuck by his young driver. It paid off well, as Gordon learned how to finish more races and since has become a four-time Sprint Cup Champion.
Another driver who benefitted from their owner having patience with their driver was the current Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski. Keselowski ran the full season for Penske Racing in 2010, and only had two top tens in thirty six races. For those paying attention, Keselowski had less top tens than Casey Atwood in his first full season in Sprint Cup. Keselowski was also moved to a different team in his second season. He was moved to the No. 2 team with full support from his car owner. Keselowski responded by improving and winning three races in his second full year, and the Sprint Cup championship in his third year. Not too bad for a driver that at one time was replaced on his family’s truck team with Deborah Renshaw.
The reason to address this topic is due to all the talent in the Nationwide series. With the announcement of Juan Pablo Montoya not being re-signed by Ganassi, there has been speculation that Kyle Larson will be moved to Sprint Cup next year to drive the No. 42 car. Larson is a talented driver, but if the team is not willing to give the driver a chance to develop, Larson will become this generation’s Casey Atwood. With owner support Larson can become the next Jeff Gordon or Brad Keselowski. We all know that Dillon will have the support of Richard Childress behind him, so if Dillon does not succeed, then it comes back to the driver not having what it takes to make it in Sprint Cup.
What do you all think? Do you think the drivers mentioned above will be given a chance to develop? Or will they be let go without having a chance to fully prove they can race in the top NASCAR series? What other drivers do you think were not given a chance to develop in Sprint Cup? Please share your thoughts below.
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