When Dale Earnhardt powered his way to victory lane at the inaugural 1982 Busch Series race at Daytona, nobody could have predicted how thoroughly Cup drivers would eventually colonize NASCAR’s second tier. By the 2000s, the “Buschwhackers” had become so dominant that drivers like Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards routinely pulled double duty, leaving just two non-Cup regulars—David Gilliland and Paul Menard—to claim victories across a 35-race schedule.

Fast forward to 2025, and the pendulum has swung dramatically. As NASCAR continues to refine restrictions on Cup participation in lower series, fans are experiencing an unexpected longing. The Cup Series champs who once dominated the second tier of NASCAR racing have limited presence thanks to a structural shake-up. The next thing you know, you have a field of young and inexperienced drivers taking the stage by storm, not in a good way.

NASCAR’s gradual tightening of rules – from the 2011 requirement that drivers choose one championship to pursue to the 2016 and subsequent restrictions limiting Cup veterans to just seven Xfinity races annually – has fundamentally transformed the competitive landscape. These changes sought to address the imbalance that saw Cup-affiliated teams winning every owner’s championship between 2011 and 2015 with cars primarily driven by Cup regulars.

The pendulum, however, may have swung dramatically in the opposite direction. While the intended purpose of the Xfinity and Truck Series has always been driver development, today’s fan sentiment reveals a longing for something that might seem contradictory. Especially after the mayhem that ensued at Martinsville Speedway, were a blatant lack of respect among the drivers became the talk of the town.

So, should NASCAR allow Cup Series drivers to compete on a longer schedule in the Xfinity Series? And will this resolve the ongoing disciplinary issues within the garage? Well, the fans had their say.

Xfinity needs more drivers like Justin Allgaier

“Xfinity doesn’t need more Buschwacking, it needs more full time Justin Allgaiers,” one fan commented, referencing the 38-year-old veteran who has competed full-time in the Xfinity Series since 2016 after a brief Cup Series stint. This perspective reflects frustration with what some see as an overcorrection – while Cup drivers no longer dominate, the average age in both developmental series has dropped significantly. Data shows that in the 2024 Xfinity Series, over 60% of full-time drivers are under 25, creating what this fan colorfully describes as “NASCAR heat lobbies” – races resembling the chaotic nature of video game competition rather than disciplined motorsport.

Another fan expanded on this sentiment: “I miss the days when the Truck and Xfinity series had guys who just couldn’t quite cut it in Cup like Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday, Johnny Benson, Elliott Sadler, etc.” This nostalgia isn’t merely rose-coloured remembrance – these drivers represented a critical development ecosystem. Ron Hornaday Jr.’s four Truck Series championships between 1996 and 2009 established him as a cornerstone of that series. While Elliott Sadler transitioned from Cup to become an Xfinity Series mainstay with 13 wins after stepping back from top-level competition. These veterans provided consistent benchmarks against which young talent could measure themselves.

“I respected those guys for it too. Realizing where you fit in NASCAR, accepting that and going out giving it your all. It says a lot about a person,” wrote another fan, highlighting how career identity within NASCAR’s ecosystem carries its own prestige. This statement acknowledges the dignity in finding one’s niche rather than viewing anything below the Cup level as a failure. Johnny Sauter exemplifies this philosophy with 24 Truck Series wins and a championship despite limited Cup success, becoming a respected figure in the process.

International racing supporters view, with one fan noting, “IndyNXT and F2 don’t have guys like Allgaier.“ The international feeder series operates with specific experience limits on age to direct racer talent toward higher levels. Formula 2, for example, shows that drivers move forward to F1 racing or transition to a different category after their second or third seasons, creating an entirely different competitive dynamic than traditional NASCAR racing. If anything, the Xfinity and Truck Series drivers need to learn the tricks of the trade from the experienced drivers rather than resorting to wrecks and crashes.

We have the likes of Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Daniel Hemric, and Ryan Sieg. But as mentioned above the experienced personalities are outnumbered by the young drivers, and this, in turn, has led to an imbalance that we witnessed last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Ideally, fans would want a distinct identity for all three series, but in recent years the Trucks and Xfinity Series have grown a reputation of being compared to demolition derby. And that is indeed a concern for the racing community.