When did drivers exit strategies become as important as their pit strategies?
The so-called “victory tour,” a driver’s pre-emptive announcement that next year will be his last, is a fairly recent development with a new twist. Instead of leaving racing entirely, popular veterans are semiretiring to run part-time schedules. Bill Elliott went into semiretirement this season and at last check seemed thrilled with a new lifestyle that includes, of all things, free time. Elliott will be followed next season by Terry Labonte, who announced Tuesday that he will run only 10 races per year for the next two seasons. And Mark Martin announced on Thursday that 2005 will be his last full-time year in Cup. After that, he might drive in the Craftsman Trucks series. Martin called himself “too young to retire,” but said, “I’ve had enough of this full schedule, this battle. It’s been really tough on me, on my family.” The exception to the trend is Rusty Wallace, who doesn’t seem particularly interested in driving after he retires at the end of next season. Forty-something veterans
