The End of Eras at Homestead

When the checkered flags flies at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday night it will not only signal the end of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season but possibly the careers of a few notable drivers.

Eight years after initially announcing his retirement while driving the #6 Viagara Ford for Roush Racing, Mark Martin finally appears to be entering his final Cup series race.

Martin has really had two careers. After nineteen seasons with Roush Racing, Martin had a wonderful burst of success as he moved from Ford to Chevrolet and even a few races for Toyota. He has added the names Earnhardt, Hendrick, Waltrip, Gibbs and Stewart to the list of owners he has driven for but unfortunately did not add a championship or Daytona 500 victory to his résumé but he sure came as close as anyone to both. A memorable second place in the 2007 Daytona 500 to Kevin Harvick, a second-place finish in the 2009 championship with four wins to his name after two years of running a part-time schedule and not to forget mentioning finishing second in the championships at the age of 50.

Let's not forget Martin's 49 Busch Grand National/Nationwide Series wins, still good for second all-time behind Kyle Busch, 7 Truck Series wins and is the all-time leader in the the dearly missed International Race of Champions in wins with thirteen and championships with five, including three in a row from 1996-1998.

Martin's career ends driving as a substitute for the injured Tony Stewart. He came close to winning the Daytona 500 again this year finishing third. He has four other top tens this year but it feels as if Martin's career is ending on a much quieter note than it should and may that is the right thing. Eight years ago he was getting retirement presents. He could've ended on a high note after 2009 or after he left Hendrick in 2011. But the other reason Martin's career ends almost without a sound is the fact it is ending not because of his choice. Martin can't find a ride for 2014. Eight years ago, Roush still wanted him. Four years ago Hendrick wanted him. Now, no contender wants him. It's not that Martin can't drive anymore, everyone is ready to move on.

Don't get me wrong, I would not be surprised if Martin was at Daytona in February giving the Daytona 500 one final shot. But as of now, the best way for Martin to end his career with a bang would be to get the win at Homestead.

It's been twenty-two years since Ken Schrader took his fourth and so far final career Cup win at Dover driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Now it appears Schrader will be making his final career start at Homestead. Schrader hasn't gotten a top ten since 2006, a top five since 1998 and both those results came at Richmond. The last twenty plus years of Schrader's Cup career has seen him land rides with Andy Petree, MB2, BAM, the Wood Brothers and he even made a start with Richard Childress. Now Schrader ends with FAS Lane Racing, a team whose best finish is fifteenth.

While Schrader hasn't been successful in Cup, he did win two ARCA races this year and seven in the last ten and won pole position for the first ever Truck Series race on dirt at Eldora earlier this year. Even though Schrader is nearing sixty, he can still find the speed to compete on a competitive level on the short tracks and dirt. Hopefully Schrader will be able to continue racing in late models and ARCA which I am sure we'd all like to see.

When the announcement was made on July 9, 2006 that Juan Pablo Montoya was leaving McLaren F1 midseason and would be running stock cars for Chip Ganassi full-time in 2007 my jaw was on the floor. Seven years later, Montoya is making his final start for Ganassi and probably in NASCAR as a whole as he will be returning to IndyCar to driver for Roger Penske. He didn't light the world on fire but Montoya did have his success, scoring two career Cup wins, a Nationwide Series win and a career best eighth place in the Cup Series standings in 2009.

While he hasn't had great success in the standings, since 2007 Montoya has just as many Cup wins as Dale Earnhardt, Jr., just as many as Martin Truex, Jr., just as many as Brian Vickers and more than Bobby Labonte, all drivers who competed regularly against Montoya in Cup and have won Busch/Nationwide Series championships, proving how difficult it is to win in Cup, even for the talent drivers coming from a stock car background.

Speaking of Bobby Labonte, it appears the 2000 Cup Series champions Cup career may have ended a race earlier than the rest. Labonte is not on the entry list for Homestead and just like Mark Martin, Labonte does not have a ride for 2014.

Labonte's career hasn't been the same since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. He hasn't won since Homestead in 2003 and has been stuck driving for mediocre teams since 2005. From Petty Enterprises when they were the low-man on the totem pole with Dodge to Hall of Fame Racing to The Racer's Group foray into NASCAR to JTG Daugherty. It hasn't all been bad. In his three seasons with JTG, Labonte did amass four top tens, including a fourth in his first career start with the team in the 2011 Daytona 500.

Labonte has said he is open to full-time Nationwide and Truck Series rides. If Labonte does run Trucks, he would have a shot to become the first driver to win a championship in all three NASCAR national touring division, with his 1991 then-Busch Grand National Series and 2000 Cup titles (and before I go on, let's not forget Labonte won the 2001 IROC championship). So the end of Labonte's Cup career could open the door to history.

And finally there is Jeff Burton. Burton, just like Martin and Labonte doesn't have a ride for 2014. The last few years have seen a decline from Burton. He has not won since 2008 but had many good chances in 2009 and 2010 but the last three years have seen Burton slide from a top ten driver in the points to a driver barely inside the top twenty. He has only seven top fives in the last three seasons driving for Childress and appears to be out the door with the arrivals of Ryan Newman and promotion of Austin Dillon.

Burton, just like Martin and Labonte has seen their fair amount of success in the Cup Series. While Martin has 40 wins and over 400 top tens, Labonte and Burton both have 21 wins and over 200 top tens. Labonte's Nationwide Series numbers are currently at the nice round numbers of 10 wins, 100 top tens and 10 poles while Burton has 27 Nationwide Series wins.

For twenty seasons, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton have been staples on the Cup Series grid. And now that appears to be coming to an end. All four of them and Montoya appear to be done in Cup but they still appear eager to stay in racing and compete. How comforting? After all these years, these guys still have the fire and love of racing inside of them. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors and wish them all the best at Homestead.