CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Kyle Busch was critical of how much more attention young Cup drivers receive in marketing and publicity compared to veterans, calling the gap he perceives “stupid” and “bothersome” during the NASCAR Media Tour Tuesday.
The topic arose when the 2015 Cup champion was asked if he thought there was an emphasis on the younger generation of drivers.
“Absolutely there is. Do you feel like that, too?” Busch deadpanned in response.
The 32-year-old driver for Joe Gibbs Racing was pressed on whether it bothered him.
“It is bothersome,” Busch said. “We’ve paid our dues, and our sponsors have and everything else, and all you’re doing is advertising all these younger guys for fans to figure out and pick up on and choose as their favorite driver. I think it’s stupid. But I don’t know, I’m not the marketing genius that’s behind this deal. You know, I just do what I can do, and my part of it is what my part is.
“I guess one thing that can be said is probably the younger guys are bullied into doing more things than the older guys are because we say no a lot more because we’ve been there, done that and have families, things like that, and want to spend as much time as we can at home. You know, maybe that’s some of it. ... Some of these marketing campaigns and things like that, pushing these younger drivers, is I wouldn’t say all that fair.”
The 2018 season opens next month with a growing field of drivers under the age of 30. Rookies William Byron (20) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (24) join the ranks of Chase Elliott (22), Ryan Blaney (24), Erik Jones (21), Kyle Larson (25), Alex Bowman (24), Ty Dillon (25) and Austin Dillon (27).
Busch is teammates with Jones, Daniel Suarez (27) and Denny Hamlin (37).
Jones, entering his second year in Cup, is replacing Matt Kenseth in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota. Kenseth, 45, ended last season as the oldest full-time driver in Cup.
Kenseth’s departure from the sport coincided with the retirement of 15-time most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Both had been in Cup since 2000.
Clint Bowyer, 38, also called the focus on younger drivers “bothersome,” but allowed that some of the attention is warranted and necessary for the growth of the sport.
“You have somebody getting in Jeff Gordon’s car (Byron), somebody getting in Dale Jr.’s car (Bowman),” Bowyer said. “We have to figure out how to fill that void somehow and it can’t always be the same guys that have been there. I get it.
“If they deserve it, push it now. If people are beating them -- there were drivers last year. Look at Matt Kenseth. He was outrunning them pretty much every week and not getting the limelight. Some of those things are bothersome at times. Did I deserve it (the spotlight)? I wasn’t running as good as I needed to. If I was running up front and should have been in the limelight I would have been barking back a little bit.”
Busch, who was on the cover of the “NASCAR Heat 2" video game last year, won five times in 2017 and advanced to the Championship 4. There he finished second in the race and standings to Martin Truex Jr.
Kevin Harvick, who has been in Cup since 2001, was blunt when asked about Busch’s perception.
“That is like the child that’s whining for some attention,” Harvick said. “I can’t complain about that because of the fact our sponsors have been so involved with the things that we do. NASCAR’s been very open to the things that they’re doing and involved us in. I can’t back (Busch’s comment) up to be honest with you. Honestly, you have to have a push for the younger generation drivers as well in order to help introduce them to the fans and in the end that only works if they have the success on the race track. But there has to be a push for the guys coming up to introduce them to who they are and if they happen to perform like they need to perform on the race track and start acquiring these race fans that are looking for drivers to support. That’s good for everybody.”
Meanwhile, other Cup veterans, like Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne are OK with not being the center of the spotlight
“All of us, as race car drivers or as humans, some seek attention more than others,” said McMurray, who turns 42 in June and has been in Cup full-time since 2003. “I don’t really seek attention. So I’m OK with all that. I think some want attention more than others.”
Bayne, 26, is seven years removed from winning the Daytona 500 the day after his 20th birthday. The Roush Fenway Racing feels like the “middle child” when it comes to the two major generations of Cup drivers in the field.
“I was a young guy at one point getting that attention, so I think it’s fun when you’re a young guy coming in, and I don’t necessarily want all that attention,” Bayne said. “I just want to do my job well and win races and be fast and get attention for that, not because there’s media hype or because of my age.”
What does Byron’s generation think about the dynamic between generations?
According to Byron, “it’s all relative.”
The driver for Hendrick Motorsports will make his first Cup start in the Feb. 18 Daytona 500.
“When new guys come in it’s a kind of fresh thing to talk about, but we’re ultimately going to have to prove ourselves on the race track and do the things that we’re capable of,” Byron said. “I think that’s going to show over time, and hopefully a couple of us young guys can win some more races.”
