Back in the 90s and the early 2000s, NASCAR was a force to be reckoned with in terms of popularity and reach. A lot of that was because the sport had superstars like Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and more, something NASCAR is currently lacking, superstars of that magnitude. Of course, the sport is trying to find the next big name. But who could that be?
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This was something that Ryan Vargas, the Xfinity Series and Truck Series driver, recently shared his opinion on during an exclusive interview with The Sportsrush. And his picks for the next superstars were two rivals who also happen to be very close friends.
“You look at some of the names that are up there right now. You look at guys like Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace. I think those two guys, right off the bat, they have a ton of personality, they have a ton of talent, and they have credibility to their name,” Vargas claimed.
“They have the wins. They have the stats to back it up. So becoming fans of them is definitely going to be what will push them into superstar status.”
Vargas also pointed to some of the new names that are coming up, names like Shane Van Gisbergen, who the young driver noted, isn’t exactly “an up-and-comer,” given his legendary background in Supercars. But still, SVG is someone who Vargas added is getting the attention of the American audience.
The 23-year-old also mentioned two of the biggest names in the young NASCAR drivers category as his picks for the next superstars. “You got people like Hailie Deegan, Rajah Caruth, the two really big names who have the platform, who have the voice, and who are very savvy on social media,” Vargas said.
“So I think that’s going to be the key moving forward in NASCAR’s future.”
Ryan Vargas tackles the complaints against Chase Elliott
One interesting aspect of Ryan Vargas’ response about the current drivers who could be the NASCAR superstars of the future was the omission of Chase Elliott’s name. After all, he is the sport’s most popular driver. Interestingly, Elliott is someone who is often accused by a section of NASCAR fans of being tight-lipped, for being reserved, for not showing enough personality.
However, in Ryan Vargas’ mind, it isn’t that all those criticisms against Elliott are true, it is that he hasn’t gotten the right opportunities to show his real self. “I think if he can get some opportunities through the Netflix show or something like that, to show off his personality more, I think he’ll be able to silence that hate in a big way,” Vargas said.
With the way things are going and the way the sport is exploring more and more avenues to attract new fans, to excite the existing ones, and to convert the excited and the new ones into loyal ones, it won’t be a stretch to say that a bright future is right up ahead for NASCAR. And getting there, just as it was back in the day, will be through the star power of the superstars.
The question now is, who could they be?
