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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 2002
Kurt Busch's victory in Sunday's rain-shortened NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway marked the 10th straight Winston Cup event won by a driver age 31 or younger.
The young guns are back.
Six months ago, talk of a talented crop of young drivers taking NASCAR by storm irked some veterans. A mid-season surge by the over-40 set put the debate to rest. But as the 36-race schedule grinds to its conclusion, it might be fun to renew.
While four drivers age 43 or older rank among the top 10 in the standings, it's been more than two months since anyone older than Jeff Gordon reached Victory Lane.
Dale Jarrett, 45, won at Michigan on Aug. 18.
Since then, 10 races have been won by Gordon, 31; Matt Kenseth, 30; Dale Earnhardt Jr., 28; Jimmie Johnson, 27; Jamie McMurray, 26; Ryan Newman, 24; and Busch, 24.
That's not to say Winston Cup racing has become a young driver's sport. Mark Martin, 43, is second in the standings, 146 points behind 31-year-old leader Tony Stewart. Rusty Wallace, 45, is fifth; Jarrett ninth and Ricky Rudd, 46, 10th.
Is youthful exuberance playing a role at the end of a physically, mentally and emotionally draining season? With prized positions in the top 10 and big money at stake, will experience prevail in the pressure cooker of the final three races?
We'll see.
SLICK DECISIONS: Several drivers praised NASCAR for its decisions in the rain-delayed NAPA 500, saying they did not feel at risk despite the near-constant threat of rain. The race was delayed nearly 2 1/2 hours and stopped short of its advertised length.
"A couple of times we were getting ready to go back to green and I know I said some things and I think a few other guys said something, and (the officials) held off until we were all satisfied the track was ready," said Jarrett, who finished third. "I think they did a great job. We bad mouth them enough, we ought to commend them whenever they do a good job."
MOVING UP: On the strength of consecutive wins, Busch has climbed from 12th to sixth in the standings over the past five races. With three races remaining, he can reach his goal of a top-10 finish in his sophomore season.
NO EARLY RETURN: Sterling Marlin's bid at an early return from a fractured vertebra in his neck ended Monday when doctors recommended he not get back in the No. 40 Dodge until next season. Marlin, 45, who has missed four races since he was injured last month in a wreck at Kansas Speedway, had hoped to return Nov. 10 in Phoenix and compete in the final two events.
DAYTONA LIGHTS: The Budweiser Shootout, a non-points race that has kicked off the Winston Cup season since 1979, will be run at night at Daytona International Speedway beginning next season, according to the Charlotte Observer. The Shootout will swap days with Daytona 500 pole qualifying. The Shootout will run next season on Saturday night, Feb. 8, and qualifying for the 500 will be Feb. 9. The Daytona 500 is Feb. 16.
TWEAKING F1 RULES: Formula One instituted a series of rules changes to make races more competitive, including barring teams from telling their drivers to finish in a certain order.
Teams rejected radical proposals for weight handicapping and switching drivers, and approved changes for qualifying (on Friday and Saturday), testing (voluntary system), points (top eight finishers instead of top six) and tires (two different dry tires at each event).
The rule forbidding teams from determining the finish of their drivers resulted from Ferrari instructing Rubens Barrichello to let five-time champion Michael Schumacher pass him to win the Austrian Grand Prix, and Barrichello winning the U.S. Grand Prix when Schumacher slowed.
The FIA Formula One Commission turned down a proposal that would have added weight to the fastest car and a plan to have drivers switch teams for the first 10 races.
-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.