As drivers like Gordon, Dale Earnhard Jr., Tony Stewart and
others continue to reach large audiences and create followings akin to movie
stars, the future of NASCAR looks as bright as its present. With automobile
technology improving each year, NASCAR officials are endlessly tinkering with
racing rules to provide the safest, most competive races and seasons as
possible. Still, the success that is NASCAR seems based mostly on its ability
to combine past with present. Older drivers like Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett
still have huge fan bases that want to see their aging hero beat a young gun.
Finally, with a nine-month season, the Nextel Cup is a novella of sorts. Fans
follow their drivers both personally and professionally from town to town. With
Nextel Cup races now the highest-rated sports events in the U.S. and fan
accessible, one can only imagine great things to continue for America’s premier
stock-car racing organization.