Over the last decade, we, as NASCAR fans, have noticed a change in drivers’ career longevity. Gone are the days of drivers racing for 20 to 30 years. In the 2010s and the 2020s, drivers careers seem to be shrinking. Gone are the days of talent reigning supreme, and now we sit in an era of “who you know” and not what you can do. Newman is gone, Kurt is gone, Biffle is gone. Title contending drivers whose careers were cut shorter than hoped.
However, standouts such as Truex, McDowell, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and a select few others hold strong. But there are drivers currently in Cup or just now dabbling into NASCAR who you will be seeing a lot more of over the next decade-plus.
We look past Part one, once again the drivers on this list are not in any order, and of course, there are many others we can mention. Maybe a part 3 will come in the future?
Carson Hocevar
A fellow Michigander, we would be doing the racing world a disservice by leaving him off of this list. The 21 year old from Portage, MI scored four victories in the Craftsman Truck Series and was a Round of 4 contender last season. He had a very limited run in the Xfinity Series where he scored two top-10s in only five starts before impressing in a Spire Motorsports Cup car while filling in for Corey LaJoie, his current teammate and in his rookie season, he is even actively outperforming LaJoie in the standings.
Corey Heim
It’s Heim Time! Corey Heim has shown immense amounts of talent behind the wheel in the Craftsman Truck Series, even becoming the youngest driver ever to reach 10 career victories in the Series. He has made a handful of starts in the Xfinity and even Cup Series’ as well, impressing in both. Heim is even rumored to be in the running for a Cup ride as early as next season.
Austin Hill
Austin Hill is an up and coming Superspeedway legend. In his three Xfinity Series starts at the opening race at Daytona, the Georgia native is undefeated. Six of Hill’s 16 National Series victories have come on superspeedway type tracks, including the new Atlanta configuration where he has two. Austin has made several Cup Series starts as well for Richard Childress Racing and RCR affiliated teams. You can count on Austin to be around for a long, long time.
Riley Herbst
Fresh off of a very impressive victory at Indianapolis, Riley Herbst is showing he belongs in the sport. The rumored driver of the potential third 23XI Racing car (So long as the charter agreement goes through), Riley has the backing and the talent to go far in this sport. Herbst has even impressed in his few Cup Series starts for Rick Ware Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
Jesse Love Jr.
Jesse is in his rookie season in the Xfinity Series racing for Richard Childress Racing. The three time ARCA Champion (2 West, 1 National) made the jump from TRD to Chevrolet with RCR by skipping over the Craftsman Truck Series in 2024, and it has paid off. Love won his first Xfinity race at Talladega earlier this season during a run where he went 7 of 8 races with a top 10 finish. Love is showing the racing world right where he belongs!
