Former NASCAR driver and winner of the 2002 Daytona 500, Ward Burton, has criticized young drivers in the sport for the lack of respect towards competition, particularly drivers in the Xfinity Series. He stressed that the early opportunities they receive cause them to skip the learning experience, leading them to be more disrespectful towards other drivers.
The topic surrounding young drivers’ behavior in NASCAR has been a hot one in the past few weeks, and the Xfinity Series clash from Martinsville last weekend seems to have fueled the debate even more. Kyle Petty recently said that young drivers “got no skin in the game,” pointing out the lack of respect.
The Xfinity race from last Saturday saw Sammy Smith crash into the back of race leader Taylor Gray in the last lap, with both losing top positions. The incident triggered a chain reaction behind them, causing multiple drivers to crash. After the incident, Gray confronted Smith outside the care center, and the two nearly came to blows. Fortunately, security prevented the two drivers from getting physical.
Burton highlighted that he used to earn the respect of NASCAR veterans during his time in the sport, and that wasn’t done by crashing into them. He said on his Crossroads podcast:
“The young men coming into these series don’t show the ones that’s been running these series the respect that I used to show when I first got to the Busch Series or I first got to the Winston Cup Series. I wanted those older gentlemen’s respect, and I had to earn it. And by running over them, I wasn’t going to earn it. Now, again, I’m not going to call names.”
Burton entered the Xfinity Series when he was 29 years old, much before his Cup Series debut at 33. But times have changed, with 22-year-old drivers like Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs competing in the Cup Series. Burton added:
“Particularly in the Xfinity Series, in the Cup Series, they just don’t have that kind of respect. For somebody to run over you or for somebody to run over the 11 car, or people that’s been in the series for a long time. That used not to happen when I was racing. So, that level of respect ought to return, but I’m afraid that the way it – and the age of a lot of these kids that getting the opportunities and how they’re getting the opportunities, they haven’t gone through the learning experiences that we did in the past.”
Will NASCAR make changes to the rules to ensure young drivers maintain a line of respect? Only time will tell.
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