| |  | | CIA Stock Photo | Throw in Clint Bowyer, who won at Richmond and stands fifth in points, and the season has been dominated by four drivers. | | | | NEW GUY IN TOWN | Is NASCAR witnessing a changing of the guard? | |
| | Jeff Owens / FoxSports.com It happens about every three to five years, this unsettling upheaval of the NASCAR world as we know it.
Every few years, a new, young, hot driver — or drivers — emerges, changing the landscape of NASCAR's Cup series and the hierarchy of things at the top.
A changing of the guard in NASCAR's top series seems to be a regular cycle, and it's clearly upon us again.
It's happened several times in the past 20 years.
In the late 1980s and early '90s, this was Dale Earnhardt's world. Occasionally, he would share the glory with Bill Elliott or Rusty Wallace or Mark Martin. But mostly, NASCAR was seen in black and white — mostly Earnhardt black.
Earnhardt won championships in 1986-87, 1990-91 and again in 1993-94. In between, Wallace and Elliott reigned.
During that time, things shifted only slightly. And, unfortunately, it was short-lived because of the tragic deaths of 1992 champion Alan Kulwicki and rising star Davey Allison, both in 1993.
The early '90s belonged mostly to Earnhardt, Wallace and Martin.
Then came 1995, when Jeff Gordon took NASCAR by storm, completely changing the balance of power.
Gordon dominated the next few years, winning 40 races in four years and championships in '95, '97 and '98.
By '97, Jeff Burton, another young star, was becoming a threat, as was Bobby Labonte (along with veterans Martin and Dale Jarrett). But mostly, NASCAR was seen in bright, vivid colors — the rainbow colors of Jeff Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Then came 1999, when rookie Tony Stewart exploded onto the scene. Stewart won three races as a rookie and then led the series with six wins in 2000.
By 2002, Stewart had his first championship and was firmly entrenched as a perennial championship contender and NASCAR's next great driver. It looked as if the next decade would be a showdown between Stewart and Gordon.
Then suddenly, another changing of the guard occurred as a new wave of "young guns" began to emerge, led by Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch. Soon, they were joined by Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
Suddenly, NASCAR's top series was being overrun by fresh faces. Gordon and Stewart were still leading the parade, but they were quickly losing ground to the likes of Kenseth, Junior, Busch and Johnson.
By 2004, there was clearly a new sheriff in town. Though Kurt Busch won the inaugural Chase that year and Stewart bagged the second one, Johnson was in the midst of a Gordon-like march to the top.
When he won back-to-back titles in 2006-2007, he had clearly established himself as NASCAR's next big star. When he won 27 Cup races in four years, he was suddenly in Earnhardt-Gordon-Stewart territory.
Now, just a year later, are we seeing yet another changing of the guard?
It would appear so.
Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have combined to win six of 11 races this season, while Busch has surged to the top of the points standings. Edwards is seventh in points, despite a 100-point penalty after the third race of the season.
They have been joined by Denny Hamlin, who has just one win, but leads the series in laps led (645) and could have at least two more victories if not for misfortune.
Throw in Clint Bowyer, who won at Richmond and stands fifth in points, and the season has been dominated by four drivers with three full seasons or less of Sprint Cup experience.
Hamlin and Bowyer look like legitimate championship contenders, but Busch and Edwards both seem poised to have dominating seasons. Both have three wins already, and there is little reason to doubt their streaks will continue.
Together, they have won all five intermediate-track races and will be heavy favorites the next two weeks at the 1.5-mile Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.
The way their seasons have started, both could reach the six- to eight-win mark and could battle to see who leads the series in victories.
Edwards has been building toward such a season since he entered the series full-time in 2005. He won four races his first full season and three more last year. His three early-season wins this year have already put him in elite company.
Busch's rise to the top has been a bit more gradual, but he did just turn 23-years-old.
He won two races his first season in 2005 and one each the last two years. This year, after moving from Hendrick Motorsports to Joe Gibbs Racing, he has exploded with three Cup wins and eight victories in NASCAR's top three series.
He is already ahead of the early-career pace set by Gordon, who had two Cup wins by his 23rd birthday and seven by the time he was 24.
Busch and Edwards are dominating this season the way Hendrick teammates Johnson and Gordon did last year.
The only difference is that they haven't been the leaders of the pack before.
Now they are, representing perhaps another changing of the guard
| | Posted May 13, 2008 , 8:34 pm EST
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