"Everything's just shifted younger and younger" - Aric Almirola talks about why NASCAR drivers are retiring early

Since the inception of NASCAR in 1948, racers have always taken the option of hanging the helmet once age has caught up with them, and they can’t race anymore. In most sports, age is always a key factor in retirement; the same applies to racers.

Once they are in their early or mid-50s, they leave the tracks to the new generation. Some, however, decide to ignore the age factor, and they hang on until the day they feel like they can’t drive anymore.

The retirement age factor for NASCAR drivers has taken a new twist over the past few years. Instead of retiring while old, they’re hanging their helmets while young, which has caught a lot of attention. Most Cup drivers have stepped away from the tracks in their early or mid-40s.

In a media interview with CBS Sports in Nashville, Aric Almirola highlighted some factors leading to the early retirement of NASCAR racers. Comparing the old days to the recent ones, the 38-year-old driver stated that during the older days, drivers began their careers while they were a bit older, and nowadays, kids of 13 years are already driving stock cars as well as the late models.

In his statement, Almirola said:

“I think you look at the old days, those guys didn’t really get opportunities until they were much older either. You look at car owners like Junior Johnson and Richard Childress and all those guys, when they were putting people in rides … they didn’t think people were ready until they had a lot of experience even just on the road or driving cars. Now kids are driving late models and stock cars at 12, and 13 years old. So everything’s just shifted younger and younger.”

Aric Almirola recently announced that he would retire as a full-time cup driver at the end of the 2022 season. He is currently 38 years old, meaning he will retire in his late 30s, almost half of what the racing fathers retired with.

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NASCAR drivers who retired in their early years

Reflecting on the years of racing fathers like Richard Petty, most drivers during those days retired in their mid-50s. Petty himself retired at the age of 55 after a long and successful career. Harry Gant is another legend who managed to secure eight wins in his 50s before retiring at 54 with 18 Cup series wins.

Mark Martin did his final lap at the age of 54 years, and Rusty Wallace decided to step away at the age of 49 years. Looking at the recent record of NASCAR drivers who have stepped away, you’ll notice most of them are in their mid-40s. Jeff Gordon, the current Vice President at Hendrick Motorsports, retired at the age of 44. He was followed by Tony Stewart, who left the cup series ride at the age of 45 years.

In 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr., another distinguished driver, stepped away at the age of 43 years.

Three years later, Clint Bowyer completed his final lap at Phoenix at 41. If Aric Almirola steps away at the end of the season, he will stand as one of the youngest drivers to retire at 38 years.