NASCAR early story lines: The youth movement has arrived

For the first time since mid-February NASCAR is coming off a weekend where its top division didn’t race. But before the Monster Energy Cup Series returns to action this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, beginning a stretch of 18 consecutive races, here’s a look back at the three biggest story lines from the opening seven weeks of the season.

Youth movement in full swing

An emerging crop of young drivers has come to the forefront over the last few years and it seemed a matter of only when, not if, that class would make its impact at NASCAR’s highest level. That time is now.

Kyle Larson, 24, has a win and four runner-ups in seven races this season and is leading the Cup standings. Second in points is 21-year-old Chase Elliott, with 23-year-old Ryan Blaney sixth, and 20-year-old Erik Jones sitting 14th and provisionally holding a playoff berth. Then there is Joey Logano, who may be a nine-year veteran but is just 26 and already a 17-time race winner and two-time championship round finalist.

NASCAR is awash with young talent and there is no reason to think this is some early-season blip. In particular, Larson and Elliott, who are two of the more heralded prospects in at least a decade, have demonstrated veteran poise and are more than capable of winning multiple times in 2017 and making a deep playoff run.

This bubbling of youth comes at a crucial juncture. Longtime mainstays Matt Kenseth (age 45), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (42), Jimmie Johnson (41), and Kevin Harvick (41) are far closer to the ends of their careers than the beginning, while, Jeff Gordon (45), Tony Stewart (45), and Carl Edwards (37) each retired over the offseason. And as NASCAR works toward marketing itself to a younger demographic, having a stable of millennials performing well on the track will be a key selling point to capture the attention of new fans.

Stage racing format is working on the track, but not off it

The idea behind sectioning races into thirds was multifaceted. By awarding points for top-10 finishes in the first two stages and allowing a driver to carry bonus points earned in the regular season into the playoffs, drivers and teams would be incentivized to give max effort in every race. No longer could a team throw away a regular season race and use it as a de facto test without consequence, and the drivers who perform best will now be rewarded for their performance come the playoffs.

Installing designated breaks into a race was also a way to help NASCAR’s television partners, Fox and NBC, combat sagging ratings. Commercial breaks in the middle of the racing action would be lessened, and with the heightened stakes at the end of the first and second stages viewers would be more apt to stay tuned in.

So, after seven races, is the new format producing the desired impact? Yes and no.

Some weeks the racing has shown to be more inspired, particularly at Martinsville and Texas where hard driving and differing pit strategies inspired some tense moments. Yet while the enhanced on-track product should be considered a positive, that hasn’t yet been reflected in increased viewership numbers, with ratings remaining flat and in many cases trending downward.

Only the season-opening Daytona 500 and the April 9 race at Texas have seen a bump in viewership totals, according to Sports Media Watch. However, Texas comes with a caveat: Even the uptick in the number of eyeballs watching is offset by that race generating just a 2.7 rating, tied for the lowest-ever Cup Series broadcast on Fox.

For a sport dependent on sponsorship dollars, lackluster ratings remain an ominous and obvious indicator that more needs to be done if NASCAR is going to return to its halcyon days -- or something even closely resembling them. Continuous efforts are expected, but in what form bears watching as the season unfolds.

Joe Gibbs Racing off to slow start

A Joe Gibbs-owned Toyota reached victory lane 26 times over the 2016 and 2017 seasons, which included a Cup championship and wins in all four majors (the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and Southern 500). That moved JGR alongside Hendrick Motorsports as NASCAR’s dominant organizations, and a sound case could be made that JGR even surpassed Hendrick as the industry standard-bearer.

But success has been fleeting for JGR in 2017. Not only are Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, and Matt Kenseth each winless, their average finishes are an ordinary 14.9, 19.3, 20.0, and 21.4, respectively. And the early lack of consistency isn’t the primary reason for concern — more conspicuous is JGR’s lack of speed shown on intermediate speedways. Considering half of the 10 playoff races are on like-sized tracks, that issue could sink the team’s title hopes.

Before pressing the panic button, it’s worth remembering Toyota’s flagship organization experienced a similar slow start two years ago. Hamlin didn’t get JGR its initial victory until the sixth race of the 2015 season, but they went on to win 10 of the next 20 during the regular season. Another such turnaround wouldn’t be surprising, especially with Bristol and Richmond, two short track JGR strongholds, upcoming the next two weeks.