"I just don't think there's going to be 50 teams. Where are they going to get 50 drivers? Twenty-one of the drivers in the Busch Series race [at Michigan] were [full-time] Cup drivers, then you got another number of drivers in the Busch Series who already have been to Cup and probably won't get a second chance at Cup. Somebody's going to have to work in a petri dish to develop some drivers in the next three or four months."-- Kyle Petty on the recent influx of Cup teams and the dearth of good drivers
What more can I say? I think Kyle Petty sums it up well. It is with this reasoning that I posted my fictional Team Red Bull/Multiple Driver scenario a few days ago before reading this quote from Kyle. Just where are the drivers going to come from to fill in all of the proposed Cup cars for next year and the next few years?
With most of the Busch Series being filled by Cup regulars and Cup used-to-be-regulars, there simply is no room for developmental drivers. I mean look at the list of teams that plan to expand either next year or within the next two years, these include RYR (if they are still around), SO-BE No Fear, MB2, DEI, Red Bull, MWR, BDR, RCR, and several others that have just formed and are looking for sponsors like Gary Dehont's new group.
There are just not enough good drivers who are ready for such an experience. Not even Erin Crocker is ready yet, and given all that has happened with her and Evernham lately I would think rushing her into Cup now would be horrendous for both her and Evernham right now.
With more emphasis being placed on younger and younger drivers these days I think NASCAR and its team owners like Jack Roush and Rick Hendrick should start looking at soap box derby drivers soon because that is what it is coming to. Without a current development program and no restrictions on "developmental drivers" by any sanctioning body there will be a constant flow of very young drivers who are "wannbes" that become "usedtobes" too soon, and dissolve into the obscurity of "shouldabeens". With the proper development and and consideration of these young drivers there would be no "shouldabeens" only "manywins".