Yes, we're doing this again.
Anyone who watched even five minutes of a NASCAR Cup Series broadcast this past year _ and yes, those people are becoming increasingly more difficult to find _ knows who dominated the 2018 season.
Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Busch. Kevin Harvick. Joey Logano.
That's it. That's the full list.
And really, Logano's only on there by virtue of his championship win at Homestead in November. Before that, it was all Truex, Busch, and Harvick, dubbed the "Big 3" months ago to both save us all time and make for a catchy marketing ploy. Fair enough.
But here's the thing: That's not what NASCAR promised its fans back in February, before the season began. Back then, there was little mention of the sport's elder statesmen (Harvick, Truex, and Busch are 43, 38, and 32 respectively) as potential champions.
Instead, all the hoopla revolved around the "young guns," everyone touting the "next generation of drivers" as appropriate heirs to the recently retired Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
Yep, go ahead and cue that laughing soundtrack whenever.
In all seriousness, expecting NASCAR's talented crop of young drivers to suddenly flip the switch from "potential" to "complete and utter dominance" was probably (definitely) unfair. Sure, that turn will eventually be made, but counting on competitors like Busch and Harvick to just willingly hand off the baton was never going to happen.
That all said ... there's still a sticking point here, and an argument to be made that NASCAR should be doing everything it can to hasten that changing of the guard.
As NASCAR's television ratings and attendance continue deteriorating _ "dwindling" is too minor a descriptor for the dramatic fall-off stock car racing is enduring _ there has to be some way to slow the decline. One way NASCAR has actively attempted to do that in recent years is by focusing more on appealing to younger fans, the 18-30 demographic that has perpetually eluded them.
And to do that, NASCAR has integrated better pre-race concerts into its schedules, established a fantasy sports system that mirrors the always-popular fantasy football, and even become one of the more social media-savvy sports leagues in the nation.
All good steps, of course ... just not as good as, you know, having some of those young drivers actually winning?
Young fans will relate to young drivers, that much is obvious. But to what degree they relate, care, become invested in, and then back those drivers is inherently tied to Top 5s and wins.
So, which under-30 drivers have the best chance to truly compete for a NASCAR championship in 2019? An early look at five of the favorites, ranging from fringe winners to legit stars:
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