In most sports it can take years to become a legend, but NASCAR has some of the youngest superstars around. The organization has battled a ton of issues like low ratings, attendance, lack of sponsors. But the young guns might just be able to turn that all around.
The young stars have followings of their own across social media platforms and more. NASCAR will likely need to reach out to these young speed demons to get the sport back into the mainstream. Some of these superstars are little over 20 and competing to be the next Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon or even Dale Earnhardt Jr.
In this list we look at the 5 youngest NASCAR stars, but first, here are some honorable mentions who missed the list, just barely: Cole Whit (23 years old), John Hunter Nemechek (17 years old), Alex Bowman (21 years old), and Ty Dillon (22 years old). Alright let's get into it.
Justin Haley (20 years old)
Justin Haley is a professional Stock Car Racer Driver and is currently competing on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Xfinity series at number 11. He drives a Chevrolet Camaro from Kaulig Racing, and he also participates part-time in the NASCAR cup series at number 16.
He is perhaps one of the current youngest drivers and used to go by the nickname J.J. Haley until 2016 when he changed his name to avoid any confusion with his fellow driver J.J. Yeley.
He is yet to become a full-time cup driver, but in 2019, he won the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which was held in Daytona. This is his third career cup series. He began racing at 9 years of age in the Quarter Midgets races at Kokomo Midget club in 2008.
Erik B. Jones (23 years old)
Erik B. Jones is a professional stock car race driver, who won the 2015 NASCAR camping world truck series. He currently works full-time with the NASCAR cup series and drives a Toyota Camry no. 20, which is for Joe Gibbs Racing. His nickname is EJ, which are the initials of his name, and he was given this name by Ken Squier who is an announcer.
Jones started his racing career at only 7 years old in the Quarter-midget racing and then migrated to racing stock cars at 13 years old. He then competed in the ASA late model series which was held in 2010 and became the youngest winner of their Oktoberfest race which was held at the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
He then moved on to the Championship Racing Association, and competed in the CRA all-start tour that was held in 2011, and won the series as a rookie. He also won the Governor’s Cup that was held that year, while racing at the New Smyrna Speedway. He led the in every lap of the race and became the first-ever racer, born outside of Florida to achieve this.
Chase Elliott (24 years old)
Chase Elliott is a professional NASCAR driver who is competing full-time in the NASCAR series. He drives at number 9, on a Chevrolet Camaro ZL 1LE, which is sponsored by Hendrick motorsports. He is the only son of the Winston Cup winner of 1988, Bill Elliott.
Elliott won the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2014 and became the first rookie to ever win a national series championship. He is also the youngest champion of the NASCAR series, which is now called the Xfinity series, and in 2016, he also won the Sprint Cup, rookie of the year.
William McComas Byron Jr., (22 years old)
William Byron is a professional NASCAR driver, who is currently competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He drives at number 24, on a Chevrolet Camaro ZL 11LE. This is for Hendrick Motorsports. Byron won the 2015 pro series championship of NASCAR K&N and was the Sunoco Rookie of the year in the 2016 championship.
Joey Logano, (29 years old)
We have included Joey Logan on the list, even though he is above 25 years of age because he is the youngest NASCAR series winner of all time. His breakthrough and breakout season was in 2014. He was one of only four drivers who made it to the final championship Speedway Race at the Homestead-Miami to win the Sprint Cup. Unfortunately, he suffered a mishap on the pit road which cost him the championship. In the end, he came in fourth overall.
You, however, cannot deny the fact that Logano had an outstanding season, and finished a close second to Penske teammate Brad Keselowski.
Also Read: What The Risky World of Auto Racing Is Like
The Youngest Stars of NASCAR Conclusion
NASCAR racing is associated with plenty of risks, which makes what the above five stars are doing even more spectacular. We are hoping to see a lot more of them in the coming decade.These young drivers are proving that age isn't anything but a number.