Picture are Alex Haase (17-years-old), Jamie Dick (18), Marc Davis (16) and Joey Logano (16) as they head to the autograph session prior to the AlphaTrade.com 150 at Phoenix International Raceway last week. Logano won that race, followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Davis in second. But Saturday night's race at Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) the NGND East Series opener, has proven that the teenagers are clearly a force to be reckoned with...

   Teenagers aside, the seasons for the NASCAR Grand National Divisions West and East Series are no officially in full swing when the Greased Lightning 150 went off at 8pm April 28th, 2007, and what a season it'll be - one that all teams, new and old waited for in the long off-season to finally have underway.

Teenagers verses the veterans

   When NASCAR announced  that it was lowering the driver age to 16, there were concerns expressed by veterans that allowing 16-year-olds might be a challenge, in that, many believed they didn't want the teenagers to learn the ins-and-outs of the series by using the veterans cars for target practice. But the 1st and 2nd finish in Phoenix might have changed the minds of a few veterans, and certainly the Busch East opener demonstrated that the teenagers have come to compete and are here to stay.

   Repeating his performance in Phoenix, Logan brought home the win, with his teammate Davis finishing in a respectable 12th - and the inaugural 2006 winner at Greenville-Pickens, Sean Caisse, Finished 2nd.

Veterans' expressed their views regards 16-year-olds

  Interviewed on Program 2 of Showdown, the audio cast found here on the official website for the NASCAR Grand National Division, Eric Holmes 2006 Series West Champion, Mike Olson 2006 Busch East Series Champion and Matt  Kobyluck 2006 Toyota All-Star Champion all shared their views regard the 16-year-olds - they did not want their cars used for training purposes by the teenagers, but all agreed [their] entry into the series was good for the NASCAR Grand National Division.

   Of particular interest to the veterans however is the entry of Cup teams with their development programs, that not unlike the Busch Series, which has become dominated by Cup teams, the NASCAR Grand National Division may share the same fate whereby victories go to those with multifaceted resources. We'll soon see if that's to be the case.