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Marc Davis drives the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Oil Chevrolet. JGR Exclusive Photo by Robert McCarty |
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 16, 2007) – If you live on the East Coast, the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series’ stars of tomorrow might be racing today at a track near you as part of NASCAR’s Busch East Series. The Busch East Series and its West Coast counterpart – the NASCAR West Series – make up the top level of NASCAR’s development series.
While Busch East and NASCAR West compete for separate championships, the Grand National Division as the two series are known as a whole, has been a win-win for NASCAR drivers, owners and fans alike. With a minimum age of 16 for participation in Grand National events, drivers are getting experience and exposure at a younger age. NASCAR owners and teams are using Grand National as a stage for grooming future Nextel Cup drivers to be a part of their organizations for years to come. And fans get to see these young drivers develop right before their very eyes at local tracks and on television.
According to Jason Christley, manager of communications for NASCAR’s development series, the vision behind Grand National is nothing less than to aid in the growth of the sport’s future drivers. Once owners started signing racers at a younger age to long-term contracts, NASCAR wanted to provide teams with a competitive place for them to train before they graduated to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Busch Series or Nextel Cup Series.
“We lowered the Grand National age limit from 18 to 16 this year to provide an age-appropriate schedule for these younger guys to run,” Christley said. “They’re not only improving their racing skills, they’re also getting media exposure and learning what it’s like to be on the road every weekend racing a full schedule. Grand National is essentially the ‘Triple-A’ of NASCAR.”
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| Joey Logano has received national attention since joining the Busch East Series. JGR Exclusive Photo by Robert McCarty |
The Grand National Division is earning high marks from the team owners as well. Christley has spoken with several who are already reaping the rewards of the series. And he also knows of several other owners who can’t wait to get their drivers into the development program. Christley used Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) as a prime example of a team already seeing results.
JGR, headed by President J.D. Gibbs, has signed two young drivers to long-term development contracts – Joey Logano, a 17-year-old from Middletown Conn., and current point leader of the Busch East Series, and his hard-charging teammate Marc Davis, another 17-year-old, from Silver Spring, Md. Should the current crop of JGR Busch and Nextel Cup drivers be looking over their shoulders at these young drivers? In due time, yes.
“Both Joey and Marc have been driving for us since they were 15, and they have tremendous talent compared to other drivers their age,” Gibbs said. “We think the world of both our guys and the great families that surround them. If all goes according to plan, Joey and Marc will be making their way up the JGR ranks from the development program to Nextel Cup.”
Davis is well aware of the giant leap from Busch East to the professional level, but that is the reason he is treating every race as a learning experience and taking each lap seriously. His record shows it too. After a rough start to his season, Davis has picked up speed and is now sitting sixth in the standings, 324 points behind first-place Logano and just 136 points out of second.
To Davis, the wins are nice, but he sees a bigger picture in terms of learning from his experiences.
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Marc Davis is a fan favorite everywhere he races. JGR Exclusive Photo by Robert McCarty |
“Early on, we had a couple of races with some bad luck, but I think the wins might be coming for us now,” he said. “I studied the bad races, and having to battle back and race from behind made me want it even more.”
Davis also knows that if he takes full advantage of the Grand National Division, he could be the one years from now steering a JGR Nextel Cup car to victory. That’s a win-win situation for fans as well. If drivers like Davis and Logano do make it to the Nextel Cup level, fans in the stands at Busch East races can say, “I remember him when …”
“The fans get to see these rising stars and that is another reason why you can compare Grand National to Triple-A baseball,” Christley said. “There is also a lot of benefit to the tracks because it’s good for their marketing purposes. They get to host these young drivers, who around 2010 might be racing Cup. It’s a big event at a local track for a reasonable price.”
For those who can’t make it to a Busch East or NASCAR West race, Grand National has made its way onto television. HDNet is broadcasting the first half of the West Series races and the second half of Busch East, while several of the races will also be rebroadcast on SPEED. The television contract means more exposure for the drivers, more chances in front of a camera, and more money all around.
And that brings up a question that has plagued other pro leagues, like the NBA, for years. After seeing several teenagers fail in the NBA, is it good to offer big contracts to these young athletes? Christley understands the concerns, but sees NASCAR as a very different atmosphere for the young drivers who sign big-money contracts.
“I actually think the contracts are good for the sport because the young drivers are now part of a larger organization, such as Gibbs,” Christley said. “JGR brings in a kid like Joey or Marc and they make sure the family is still a vital part of their lives.”
Judging by the overwhelming thumbs-up that Grand National is getting from drivers, owners and fans, the series will be a part of NASCAR’s development series for years to come.