Youth movement: Jarrett's retiring represents changing of the guard

Saturday night in the All-Star Race, 32-time winner Dale Jarrett is set to officially retire from Sprint Cup racing. And when he hangs up the helmet for good, the sport will have all but finished off a seismic shift from an image of gray-haired glory to that of 20-something superstars.

For Jarrett, 51, the move comes after a few down years of limited success. He got tired of running near the back of the pack with Michael Waltrip Racing, and is looking forward to transitioning into his new career as a broadcaster.

He had nothing left to prove: three Daytona 500 wins, two Brickyard 400 trophies and the 1999 Cup title sealed his legacy as one of the best drivers to ever get behind the wheel. But it used to be that a pending AARP card didn't automatically lead to retirement for stock car racers.

As recently as a decade ago, men like Harry Gant, Dick Trickle and even the late Dale Earnhardt never let getting older keep them from getting better. At 51, Gant won four races in a row in the Cup Series, tying a modern-era record that stands to this day. Trickle won the Rookie Of The Year title at 48, and Earnhardt was runner-up to Bobby Labonte for the title at 49 -- mere months before his tragic end at the 2001 Daytona 500.

With drivers reaching the Winners' Circle at around 50 back then, you can only imagine what the 40-something crowd was accomplishing. Jarrett won his first and only Sprint Cup championship at 42, headlining a list of five drivers 40 or older in '99 who finished in the Top 10 in points (see table, above). Age proved no barrier to on-track success, and that success, in turn, allowed them to keep their financial support.

There was no hesitation to hire these veterans for the best rides on the circuit, as image was never viewed as a proper substitute for racing experience. Defying middle age served as yet another way to make NASCAR unique during its growth period: while stick 'n' ball athletes retired at 40, drivers were just reaching their peak, allowing fans to believe that they, too, could stay at the top of their profession when their own hair turned gray.

But as Jarrett prepares to leave the stage for good -- just nine years after that coveted title -- he's leaving behind a totally different landscape. Forget contending for a win at 50; right now there's just one Cup driver age 40 who's eligible for the 12-man Chase: Jeff Burton. One month shy of his 41st birthday, he's currently second in points, the sole driver in his age group within the Top 15. Behind him there are a handful of others who could contend for a win every now and then -- Mark Martin at 49 comes to mind -- but for the most part, age 40 has gone from "Cup champ" to "over the hill" in just under a decade.

Meanwhile, the "young gun" movement has moved full speed ahead, giving a new generation its shot at ages previously unheard of in the Cup Series. With sponsors looking for the total package, drivers now need more than experience to survive in the sport. A young, marketable face can make all the difference in securing a Cup ride; in the past few years, veterans like Sterling Marlin have been released in favor of 25-year-olds that meet the approval of advertising bigwigs. Of course, many of those selections have eventually backed up success in the boardroom with success on the track, making 30 the new 40 -- and anything older all but unmarketable.

That's why Jarrett's relationship with UPS was such a rarity -- it survived NASCAR's popularity boom and subsequent pressure to align with young blood. But even the most age-indifferent of companies couldn't resist forever; as I mentioned last week, UPS is surveying its options to leave Michael Waltrip Racing and 38-year-old David Reutimann in favor of a "rock star" young driver with broad-based appeal. Carl Edwards, 28, is among those drivers reaching their short list.

So, where will this youth movement lead the sport? For one, we're unlikely to see the next generation of drivers race into their 50s, as drivers are already reaching the peak of their careers at 28, 29, 30 (see the current Top 10 in the standings for proof). Instead, the trend we're likely to see is drivers beginning to mimic the careers of other major sports; in a few years, you'll be hard pressed to find any Cup driver in the series older than 45, and men like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart might hang up their helmet with careers that spanned less than two decades -- far less than the 30-year careers of recent semi-retirees Ricky Rudd and Terry Labonte.