With Gordon and Stewart gone, NASCAR has a void to fill

Jeff Gordon and now Tony Stewart. More to follow….

Tony Stewart today will formally announce his plans to retire after the '16 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and that move combined with Jeff Gordon's departure after the '15 campaign means this generation’s "star power drain has begun," according to Jeff Gluck of USA TODAY. Other top names "aren’t getting any younger" — Dale Earnhardt Jr. turns 41 next month, Jimmie Johnson is 40, Kevin Harvick turns 40 in December and Matt Kenseth is 43.

In all, six of the top nine active drivers on the all-time wins list "could be gone" by '20. The new NASCAR "will feature battles between drivers like Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch," but none of those drivers "currently enjoy the fan following of a Stewart, Gordon or Earnhardt." It also "doesn't seem like many drivers coming up through the ranks have the charisma or personality to fill those shoes."

The spotlight "will increase on the remaining drivers, to be sure, with NASCAR’s powerful marketing efforts behind them." Gluck: "But will fans be as interested and loyal to the sport without drivers they spent 15 or 20 years following?" USA TODAY.

In Charlotte, Tom Sorensen writes it is "difficult to imagine a driver who's anything like Stewart." Sorensen: "When he walks into a room, you know it. When he drives onto a track, you know it, too. NASCAR’s popularity took a hit when drivers who appear to be working class, drivers who just want to race, began to disappear. They’ve lost one more" CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,