Bill Elliott: Nascar Hall of Famer Retirements—Who Hung On Too Long?

Unlike other sports, Nascar can see drivers compete well into their 50’s.  While this allows for some pretty cool stories and added fan memories, it also can lend itself to some drivers staying active well past their prime.

With Jimmie Johnson being just the latest driver to announce his retirement from Nascar (effective the end of the 2020 season), I wanted to take a look at drivers who voluntarily retired from the sport to see if they hung on too long or left at just the right time (or maybe even a little too soon).  By “voluntary retirement” that means I’m not including anyone who was killed or seriously injured while driving.

Instead of looking at EVERY driver (even though interest in an analysis of Jody Ridley’s latter years could be quite high) I’m limiting it to Hall of Fame inductees—for now.

(Drivers listed in order of their Hall of Fame induction)

NOTE: Those inducted primarily or exclusively for achievements outside of driving (team ownership, crew chiefing, etc.) will not be considered.  Cup performance is all that’s considered for this piece.  Also, the more modern term “Cup Series” will be used instead of Grand National, Winston Cup, etc.

Bill Elliott

DRIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville”.  1988 Nascar Cup champion.  44 Cup Series wins.  First winner of the “Winston Million”.  Two-time Daytona 500 champion.  Three-time Southern 500 winner.  2002 Brickyard 400 winner.

LAST HURRAH: Elliott had a late-career renaissance with Evernham Motorsports, taking the flagship Dodge team to victory lane several times between 2001-2003.  After a ninth-place finish in the season points standings in ’03, he retired from full-time driving.

FINAL YEAR(S): From 2004 through 2012 Elliott drove for a slew of different teams, most-notably Evernham and Wood Brothers Racing.  Driving cars of wildly varying qualities, he failed to notch any top-ten race finishes during this time, although he remained valuable for his past-champion’s provisional starting spot.  He retired completely after 2012 to focus on developing his son Chase’s career.

DID HE HANG ON TOO LONG?: Yes, but only overall.  Elliott’s resurgence with Evernham was nothing short of miraculous, and he left full-time driving on-top.  If it weren’t for his various part-time appearances this could have been perfect.

Dale Jarrett: Nascar Hall of Famer Retirements—Who Hung On Too Long?

Unlike other sports, Nascar can see drivers compete well into their 50’s.  While this allows for some pretty cool stories and added fan memories, it also can lend itself to some drivers staying active well past their prime.

With Jimmie Johnson being just the latest driver to announce his retirement from Nascar (effective the end of the 2020 season), I wanted to take a look at drivers who voluntarily retired from the sport to see if they hung on too long or left at just the right time (or maybe even a little too soon).  By “voluntary retirement” that means I’m not including anyone who was killed or seriously injured while driving.

Instead of looking at EVERY driver (even though interest in an analysis of Kevin Lepage’s latter years could be quite high) I’m limiting it to Hall of Fame inductees—for now.

(Drivers listed in order of their Hall of Fame induction)

NOTE: Those inducted primarily or exclusively for achievements outside of driving (team ownership, crew chiefing, etc.) will not be considered.  Cup performance is all that’s considered for this piece.  Also, the more modern term “Cup Series” will be used instead of Grand National, Winston Cup, etc.

Dale Jarrett

DRIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1999 Cup Series champion.  32 Cup Series wins.  Three-time Daytona 500 champion.  Two-time Brickyard 400 winner.  First driver to win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

LAST HURRAH: After a dip in performance in 2003, Jarrett bounced back with two 15th-place points finishes in 2004 and 2005—the latter of the two featuring his final Cup race win as well.

FINAL YEAR(S): After a winless 2006 Jarrett left Robert Yates Racing for the brand-new Toyota team of Michael Waltrip Racing.  With UPS sponsorship and his past-champions provisional in tow, Jarrett was unable to overcome an early-season penalty and failed to qualify for a slew of late-season races.  He would run the first five races of the 2008 season (plus the all-star race) before retiring, failing to notch a single top-ten race finish for MWR, then go into broadcasting.

DID HE HANG ON TOO LONG?: Yes.  Jarrett’s winless 2006 was probably the best sign that it was time to retire, and his year-plus with MWR was a disappointing end to a popular driver’s successful career.

Rusty Wallace: Nascar Hall of Famer Retirements—Who Hung On Too Long?

Unlike other sports, Nascar can see drivers compete well into their 50’s.  While this allows for some pretty cool stories and added fan memories, it also can lend itself to some drivers staying active well past their prime.

With Jimmie Johnson being just the latest driver to announce his retirement from Nascar (effective the end of the 2020 season), I wanted to take a look at drivers who voluntarily retired from the sport to see if they hung on too long or left at just the right time (or maybe even a little too soon).  By “voluntary retirement” that means I’m not including anyone who was killed or seriously injured while driving.

Instead of looking at EVERY driver (even though interest in an analysis of Jeff Green’s latter years could be quite high) I’m limiting it to Hall of Fame inductees—for now.

(Drivers listed in order of their Hall of Fame induction)

NOTE: Those inducted primarily or exclusively for achievements outside of driving (team ownership, crew chiefing, etc.) will not be considered.  Cup performance is all that’s considered for this piece.  Also, the more modern term “Cup Series” will be used instead of Grand National, Winston Cup, etc.

Rusty Wallace

DRIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1989 Nascar Cup champion.  55 Cup wins.  “King of the Short Tracks”.  Runner-up finish in his first Cup start.  Legendary rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr.

LAST HURRAH: Wallace went winless for two years (although still contending) before revisiting victory lane at Martinsville 

in 2004.  Later that year he’d announce his retirement effective the end of the 2005 season.

FINAL YEAR(S): Although Wallace went winless in his final season, he would still manage to finish eighth in the final points standings.  Rusty then went immediately into broadcasting, where his contract forbid him from racing any sort of part-time schedule.

DID HE HANG ON TOO LONG?: Obviously not.  While Wallace was getting up in age, he was still a contender despite the sport entering arguably its most talent-rich era of the mid-00’s.  Wallace has since said that he regrets retiring so early and wished he had raced at least two more years.

Spade Racing Shopping Network--Tangential Earnhardt Connection

An offseason journey through the best buys, premiere products, and special specials for Nascar fans.

Tired of being just a cog in the machine?  Feeling like nobody knows or cares who you are?  Want to stand out from the crowd?  Well, have we got a deal for you!

Get your very own Tangential Earnhardt Connection today!  That’s right—earn the support and fandom of aging Nascar fans everywhere!  YOU can be the next Michael Waltrip, Ron Hornaday Jr., or even Josh Wise!

Here’s how it works—we secretly create a connection between you and either Dale Earnhardt Sr. or Dale Earnhardt Jr.  It can be anything—maybe you substituted for an injured driver at DEI, your uncle could’ve been one of the Flying Aces, or even just being a pretty good friend of Andy Petree*.  Then just sit back and watch the blind support come in!

You’ve seen how people automatically bash iK9 for letting Jeffrey Earnhardt go despite him never showing any improvement.  Well now YOU’LL be the one with people taking your side no matter what!  You’ll also have a built-in fanbase should you ever enter Nascar as a driver, team owner, or broadcaster—just look at how it helped Darrell Waltrip, even though Earnhardt fans hated him for decades!

Look, we could all use a little help now and then.  But with the Tangential Earnhardt Connection, you’ll get more help than you could ever need all the time.

*—does not include the secret to Andy Petree never aging.

NEXT TIME ON SRSN: Fashion and grooming tips from Derrike Cope

Cale Yarborough: Nascar Hall of Famer Retirements—Who Hung On Too Long?

Unlike other sports, Nascar can see drivers compete well into their 50’s.  While this allows for some pretty cool stories and added fan memories, it also can lend itself to some drivers staying active well past their prime.

With Jimmie Johnson being just the latest driver to announce his retirement from Nascar (effective the end of the 2020 season), I wanted to take a look at drivers who voluntarily retired from the sport to see if they hung on too long or left at just the right time (or maybe even a little too soon).  By “voluntary retirement” that means I’m not including anyone who was killed or seriously injured while driving.

Instead of looking at EVERY driver (even though interest in an analysis of Mike Skinner’s latter years could be quite high) I’m limiting it to Hall of Fame inductees—for now.

(Drivers listed in order of their Hall of Fame induction)

NOTE: Those inducted primarily or exclusively for achievements outside of driving (team ownership, crew chiefing, etc.) will not be considered.  Cup performance is all that’s considered for this piece.  Also, the more modern term “Cup Series” will be used instead of Grand National, Winston Cup, etc.

Cale Yarborough

DRIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Three-time Nascar Cup champion—the first to win three championships consecutively.  83 Cup Series wins.  Four-time Daytona 500 champion.  Five-time Southern 500 winner.  Modern-era record holder for poles in a season with 14 in 1980.

LAST HURRAH: After barely missing out on the 1980 Cup championship, Yarborough scaled back to a part-time schedule (in order to spend more time with his young daughters).  He would remain a threat to win whenever he showed up, particularly at big tracks like Daytona and Talladega, and his final wins came during the 1985 season.

FINAL YEAR(S): Yarborough spent his final two years as a driver starting up his own race team, Cale Yarborough Motorsports.  Although he posted two top-fives in his penultimate season, his best finish in his final season of 1989 was ninth twice (albeit in only ten races run).  Yarborough would continue to operate his team as an owner for several years.

DID HE HANG ON TOO LONG?: Probably not.  While there was a decline in Cale’s on-track results, some of that could be chalked up to his running for a brand-new team for his final two years.  Even still, three top-tens in his final part-time season is nothing to sneeze at.

Spade Racing Shopping Network--Chase Elliott’s First and Middle Names

An offseason journey through the best buys, premiere products, and special specials for Nascar fans.

Hey you!  Yeah, you over there.  Hate your name?  Stuck with something lame like Aloysius or Mortimer?  Name just don’t fit you like it used to?  Want to restart your life and don’t know what to call yourself?

Well, today’s your lucky day!

By calling now YOU can order the unused first and middle names of Chase Elliott—William Clyde!  He’s not using them for anything but legal documents and possible future trademark litigation, so they’re yours for the taking!

Just think about going through life with a brand new name like “William”—the pride and respect alone makes it a bargain.  And you can change it anyway you’d like—Will, Willie, Bill, Billy—its all up to you.

And a cool middle name like Clyde?  Nobody will be disappointed when they ask you what the “C” in your signature stands for!  And hey—feel free to use it as YOUR new nickname too—works for Walt Frazier.

Please note that by obtaining Chase Elliott’s first and middle names you will be legally prohibited from using the nickname “Chase”, although if you’re involved in Nascar you probably know that too many people use that name in the first place.

NEXT TIME ON SRSN: Intellectual property of the Slim Jim All-Pro Series

Darrell Waltrip: Nascar Hall of Famer Retirements—Who Hung On Too Long?

Unlike other sports, Nascar can see drivers compete well into their 50’s.  While this allows for some pretty cool stories and added fan memories, it also can lend itself to some drivers staying active well past their prime.

With Jimmie Johnson being just the latest driver to announce his retirement from Nascar (effective the end of the 2020 season), I wanted to take a look at drivers who voluntarily retired from the sport to see if they hung on too long or left at just the right time (or maybe even a little too soon).  By “voluntary retirement” that means I’m not including anyone who was killed or seriously injured while driving.

Instead of looking at EVERY driver (even though interest in an analysis of Phil Parsons’ latter years could be quite high) I’m limiting it to Hall of Fame inductees—for now.

(Drivers listed in order of their Hall of Fame induction)

NOTE: Those inducted primarily or exclusively for achievements outside of driving (team ownership, crew chiefing, etc.) will not be considered.  Cup performance is all that’s considered for this piece.  Also, the more modern term “Cup Series” will be used instead of Grand National, Winston Cup, etc.

Darrell Waltrip

DRIVING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Three-time Nascar Cup champion.  84 Cup Series wins.  1989 Daytona 500 champion.  1992 Southern 500 winner.  Inaugural winner of Nascar’s “Winston” All-Star Race.  Considered to be the next evolution of the “modern driver” combining on-track success with media and business savvy.

LAST HURRAH: Although Waltrip’s last race wins came in 1992 he remained a contender (despite a switch to in-house engines at his self-owned race team), finishing ninth in points in 1994.

FINAL YEAR(S): Waltrip fell out of contention in the mid-90’s and his team would become defunct early in the 1998 season.  He would have a brief resurgence running as a substitute for old rival Dale Earnhardt’s team before rejoining his old team, now under new management.  Finally, he would spend his final two years struggling to qualify for races with Haas-Carter Motorsports before retiring and moving into broadcasting.

DID HE HANG ON TOO LONG?: Absolutely.  One can’t help but wonder how DW’s reputation would’ve been improved had he left the drivers’ seat after the 1994 season, or even after his handful of races for Dale Earnhardt.