Old school: some Winston Cup veterans are getting a lesson in humility from NASCAR's young guns

TERRY LABONTE STRODE THROUGH the garage after his victory at the Southern 500 wearing a smile as wide as the Darlington track itself. He wasn't the only Winston Cup driver with a grin on his face.

Labonte's victory was popular just about everywhere on the circuit, but most especially with NASCAR's Old Guard. Veteran drivers Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, and Ricky Rudd were, like Labonte, having indifferent seasons. Some of them hadn't come close to Victory Lane.

But Labonte's victory, breaking a four-year losing streak, gave the elderly set of racers a 1,000-horsepower boost to their confidence. "Hey, if Terry can do it, why not me?" said Wallace, who made a habit of winning every season until being blanked in 2002. "It's long overdue, I can tell you that."

Indeed, while Young Guns such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth dominate the points race, the headlines, and most of the checkered flags, the vets have struggled. In 2002, nearly all of the older drivers won races. Marlin and Elliott completely revitalized their careers, while Martin and Jarrett were fixtures in the top five.

Never has the gap between the kids and the vets been as wide as it is in 2003. Why? "A race car doesn't know how old the driver is," says Michael Waltrip, one of the few forty somethings doing himself and his team proud this year. "I keep telling people, with the equipment these young guys get into nowadays, it's not surprising they have so much success. They don't know any better. They get in the car and they get on with it."

And they get on the nerves of the vets. Rudd and Harvick have had their share of run-ins, highlighted by their screaming match at Richmond in September. Marlin has had his problems with Busch, as has Jimmy Spencer, another member of the aging driving group.

Of the veterans, Labonte might be the least likely to go into a funk over poor showings. Of course, it's helped that he's been with a quality team. In fact, nearly all of the struggling Old Guard drivers are working for topnotch owners with deep pockets.

But as his younger brother, Bobby, the 2000 Winston Cup champion, notes: "He's the Iceman. He's very cool and calm and doesn't often get too excited."

Yet his Southern 500 victory and Jarrett's win in the second race of the schedule, at Rockingham, are the exceptions. More often than not, the youngsters are smoking the older guys.

So are the Old Guard washed up? Do they need a change of scenery? Or are good times just around Turn 4? Here's a look at where these veterans are in their careers and what might be ahead for them:

BILL ELLIOTT

The perennial winner of the fans' poll for most popular driver, Elliott appeared to be on the way back to the top in 2002. He won twice in a row during that summer, including the Brickyard 400, far his most prestigious victory in years.

The lead driver for Dodge's return to stock car racing's highest level, Elliott fizzled this season. Even with the knowledge and guidance of Ray Evernham, the No. 9 has struggled to run near the lead.

Elliott, who turned 48 in October, didn't suffer the bad luck with accidents that some of his peers encountered. His cars simply weren't fast enough--except at big facilities. He certainly is no longer "Awesome Bill," and the guess is that he won't fulfill the two-year option on his contract with Evernham.

DALE JARRETT

The 1999 Winston Cup champion was a regular in the race for the overall title--as well as the races for the checkered flag each week--but he has been victimized by terrible team chemistry.

Between crew chief changes and discord at Robert Yates Racing, Jarrett slumped so badly he might as well have been driving the Big Brown Truck. Much of the blame lies with team owner Robert Yates and general manager Doug Yates. But Jarrett also moped about the deterioration of the role of Todd Parrott, his crew chief during his special 1999 season.

Too often this year, Jarrett started near the back and got involved in wrecks not of his doing. Second-rate teams can use that as an excuse for middling performances. The No. 88 can't.

Jarrett, who will be 47 next season, is too good to remain mired so far down in the standings. He needs to recapture his aggressiveness and probably would with the right supporting cast. But his days as a championship contender are probably over.

TERRY LABONTE

Labonte's win at Darlington was no fluke--his team was coming on all throughout the summer. The expertise of crew chief Jim Long has been instrumental in sparking Labonte's revival. "It's easy now to look back and see how messed up we were," says Labonte. "God knows we didn't realize we were. Jim came on board and started showing us some things that weren't being done right."

One such thing was the need for wind tunnel testing, which led to more efficient cars--and eventually back to the winner's circle. "Because we hadn't gone to the wind tunnel, we didn't realize until Jim came along we were as far off body-wise as we were," says Labonte. "We didn't take them to the wind tunnel, so we weren't taking much to the race track."