NASCAR has often been the sport where youth has challenged experience. It looks for the next big star to beat the seasoned legends. But over a decade ago, things were completely the opposite. Experience won over youth.

Among others, there was one race in particular, which peaked with experience. It packed some of the oldest and most successful drivers, who came together to create the most experienced race in stock car history. It was the fall race at Martinsville in 2013.

What made that one NASCAR race at Martinsville special?

The early 2010s did not see many young drivers turn up in the Cup Series. Most of the older drivers had secured long-term contracts with their teams and sponsors. In fact, the 2013 Cup Series season was packed with experienced drivers, with an average of 305 starts per driver in every race, becoming the most experienced season of all time.

The season witnessed some of the most legendary drivers, including Jeff Gordon, step down in the field. This peaked the average experience of the entire grid. But within that season, too, the one race at Martinsville was the highlight.

This was owing to entrants like Mark Martin, who was racing part-time for Joe Gibbs, and Martinsville was on his schedule. Jimmie Johnson also marked his presence with a whopping 432 race starts. With their participation in the race, it became the single race with the most experienced drivers in stock car racing history.

The 43 drivers in the race had 14,272 combined race starts, more than any other race since NASCAR’s inception. In fact, Martin alone carried 879 race starts, and others like Ken Schrader (762), Gordon (722), and Dale Jr. (502) made the race iconic. 

While the most experienced driver did not win the race, it was Jeff Gordon who crossed the chequered flag first. Martin was involved in an incident early in the race, which saw him pitting and losing laps.

About 22% of the race was under a caution flag. And 22 was also the number for the average green flag lap runs. Apart from the race drama, it saw many penalties as well. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ken Schrader, and Kasey Kahne were all penalized for too many men over the wall.

Regardless, it was an amazing race to watch. The drivers, knowingly or unknowingly, created history, which might not be rewritten in years to come, considering the young participation now.

But why was there such a lack of young drivers on the grid in that era?

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Why did the Cup Series not feature many young drivers at the time?

As mentioned, most of the teams had drivers with long contracts locked in, which made the entry of rookie drivers rather difficult at the time. However, there were also some other factors accountable for the lack of young drivers participating.

Countries were recovering from the Great Recession of 2008, which led to teams seeking more sponsorships. Understandably, the more experienced drivers brought better sponsorships with them, and hence, they were given the long-term contracts.

Moreover, Toyota and Ford’s modern academies, which exist today, were not mature enough.

These factors hampered young drivers’ entry in the sport; as a result, the grid was packed with the more experienced drivers. While this probably wasn’t great for the sport’s future, it did enable the fans to witness the great race at Martinsville.