Serial Number For Artlantis 6 News. 'We don't see big, strong men compete,' said former champion Rusty Wallace, who stands 6 feet tall. 'Right now, we've got a bunch of jockeys.' Almost 20 percent of the drivers in this year's Daytona 500 were no more than 2 inches taller than Kentucky Derby- and Preakness-winning jockey Calvin Borel - who's 5-foot-5. This year's Daytona 500 starters averaged 5-foot-9 and 167 pounds. Among the shorter drivers are Jeff Gordon (5- 7), Jeff Burton (5-7) and Mark Martin (5-6). Most o ther sports have gone the opposite way. A Palm Beach Post study found that NFL players gained an average of 25 pounds from 1970 to 2006.
The only race car driver in history to be named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, he is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, sharing the all-time record with stock car racing icons Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Johnson's appeal goes well beyond the racetrack. He was the first athlete ever to co-host.
Offensive linemen gained an average of 62 pounds during that time, with quarterbacks adding 26 pounds. A study by professors from three colleges found that Major League Baseball players grew 3 inches and gained 27 pounds from 1869 to 1983. And although NBA players have lost an inch in the past 20 years - they're down to 6-6 - they've gained three pounds to 218, according to league information. While small drivers have been a part of NASCAR for years, Martin said, they haven't always been welcomed. He recalls a conversation about his size with one crew chief in 1981. 'I was too little to drive these cars,' Martin said he was told. Drivers often were bigger in previous generations because the cars were more difficult to drive and did not have the amenities that today's drivers enjoy.
Mass mattered. Gtwin Usb Driver. '(David) Pearson and I came up with no power steering,' said Cale Yarborough, who, although listed at 5-7, was stocky with, as one person put it, a neck as thick as a rear tire.
'Big John' Sears earned his nickname during that era. He stood 6-2 and weighed about 270 pounds. Sears competed in 318 Cup events from 1964-73 but never won.
Some recall Tiny Lund as being in that weight category, maybe even larger. Ken Bouchard, who finished 16th in the 1989 Daytona 500, a spot ahead of Richard Petty, was listed as weighing 240 pounds. Today, the combined weight of Martin and AJ Allmendinger (both 125 pounds) would barely surpass Bouchard's size. Power steering, disc brakes and other upgrades have made the cars easier to drive, compared with years ago. Because brute force isn't needed as much, drivers don't need to be as large.
That makes competitors such as 6-5 Michael Waltrip essentially an endangered species. The 1989 Daytona 500 featured 10 drivers taller than 6 feet.
This year's Daytona field had five such drivers: Waltrip, Elliott Sadler (6-3), Carl Edwards (6-1), Bill Elliott (6-1) and rookie Joey Logano (6-1). Logano, who turns 19 on Sunday, was championed by Martin years ago and says it has been about five years since he last stood eye-to-eye with Martin. Coincidence or not, size seems to be a factor in the Coca-Cola 600, which celebrates its 50th running Sunday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. No driver taller than 6 feet has won this race since 1996, when Dale Jarrett (6-2) did. Five of the past eight races have been won by a driver who stood 5-8 or shorter. Buddy Baker, who stands 6- 5, said size plays a factor even when children are beginning to race in go-karts. 'You don't see huge guys racing then,' said Baker, known as 'The Gentle Giant' during his career.
The need to be physically fit has trimmed the fat among drivers. Martin was one of the first drivers to begin a regimented workout program about 20 years ago. Now, just about every driver has such a program. Except Tony Stewart. 'I'm probably not the biggest health-food nut in the group,' Stewart said.
'Drivers are in better shape than they've ever been, excluding myself.' Three-time defending cham-pion Jimmie Johnson admits his workout routine has changed since his rookie season in 2001. He has shed about 20 pounds since then, and now the 5-11 driver weighs about 165 pounds.
'I've been hit-or-miss with it over the years,' Johnson said of his workout program. 'I'd say, over the last three or four years, I've been doing well with. I think the extra stuff you do for tracks that are higher on intensity and on hot summer days. I've really buckled down since the start of the year.' It also can be an advantage to be light. NASCAR's rule book states that if drivers weigh less than 200 pounds, teams have to add weight to the car - up to 50 pounds.
For a driver such as Martin, even with the 50-pound add-on, his car weighs 25 pounds lighter than that of a driver who weighs 200 pounds. That's not why Martin tries to stay physically fit, though. 'I spend everything I have every race, so if I can get more fit, I believe I will spend more,' he says. 'If I get less fit, then I have less to give.'