Jeff is Dale Sr.’s grandson and the son of Kerry, Dale Jr.’s half-brother. Jeff has run a handful of races at Radford’s Motor Mile Speedway, according to the story by Winston-Salem (N.C.) NASCAR writer Mike Mulhern.
While Earnhardt, understandably, is the most notable name at the event, there’s not a whole lot on the line per se. Instead, Mulhern writes, it’s just a test to see who can do what with a stock car.
Think of it as one of the five-star camps for football or baseball prospects. While it’s doubtful that few scholarships will be handed out solely because of the event, it helps those in charge — be it coaches or NASCAR team owners — ferret out who is legitimately a star on the rise.
But like those camps, someone’s stock can rise quickly because of an event like this. Last year, Mulhern writes, a youngster named Stephen Leicht participated and was set to sign with Richard Childress Racing. But the deal fell through for one reason or another, and Leicht wasn’t on the market long before joining Robert Yates Racing — a Ford operation.
Among the most hyped drivers at the track was 16-year old Joey Logano. According to the story, Mark Martin has heaped high praise on Logano, saying that in two years he should be capable of driving a Cup car.
And that’s an awful lot to expect of someone so young. But that’s sports these days. Development takes different shapes as one moves from sport to sport, but it’s all a big business. Think about the money that football camps bring in to their respective universities; think about the Nike basketball camps or the myriad AAU summer tournaments; or the IMG Academies in Florida.
Perhaps the best example is Kendall Marshall, the former basketball player at Evangel Christian in Dale City. One online service ranked Marshall the very best fifth-grade basketball player at the time, which prompted Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly to write about Marshall and the need to grade players at such a young age.
Someone makes money off of this, or at the very least, gets an edge on the competition. Otherwise no one would keep doing it.
But until the practice stops being worthwhile, which doesn’t figure to happen anytime soon, the folks in charge will continue to try and find the next big thing earlier and earlier.