Opinion Editorial by Jason “Stix” Buckley, founder and owner of Legends Nation
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this opinion editorial column are the views and opinions of the author of the article. These views are not necessarily those of LegendsNation.com, its sponsors or other contributors.
One of the most talked about rule changes for Bandolero and Legend Car racing occurred in September of 2022. For the first time in nearly three decades since they were formed, INEX changed the age requirements to race in their sanctioned cars. But, is it time to make another change just a few years later?
I think so… maybe. Let me explain.
When INEX initially launched their Legends, the age requirement for a driver to race one was at least 12 years old. When the Bandolero product launched a few years later, the age requirement was a driver needed to be at least eight years old. In 2022, the age requirement lowered for Legends to 10 while Bandoleros dropped to seven. Pretty well everyone in the Nation knows why this change was made. Even though INEX won’t specifically point to this as their main reason, most people feel the reason was for seven-year-old Brexton Busch, son of NASCAR champion Kyle Busch, to race Bandoleros, and 10-year-old Keelan Harvick, son of NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick, to race Legends. I wrote more on this earlier this year (click here). Even though there are some that like the rule changes, some do not. Regardless, this is the Nation we live in.
At the 2024 Bandolero Nationals at Hawkeye Downs Speedway (IA) during the LN Event Coverage, I talked to some teams there as well as after getting back to the LN HQ about their future careers. The natural progression for Bandolero drivers is to “graduate” up to Legend Cars once they reached the age requirement. And now that it is 10 years old, drivers can move up sooner than they used to be able to. But that isn’t what some are doing. There are some drivers opting to skip Legends completely and go race full size Late Models at their local track. With tracks and touring series altering their age limits that allow younger drivers to race the big cars, these kids are pushing their careers forward quicker, thus leaving the INEX sanctioned cars behind sooner.
Now, I do not think INEX should alter the age limit once again for Legends to lower and keep drivers in their world of racing. I also do not think they should lower the Bandolero age. But I do think within Bandoleros, an age change should possibly be made.
There are currently two divisions of Bandolero racing based on age: Bandits and Outlaws (technically at some tracks there is a third called Beginner Bandoleros, however, that is generally for any age of driver that is just starting out and opts to race in that to get track time and learn). Bandits is for drivers seven to 11 years of age, and Outlaws is for drivers 12 years of age and up (a driver can technically race in Outlaws at 11 years old if their 12th birthday falls within that year’s calendar year). In 2024 there are 162 licensed INEX Bandits drivers and 150 licensed INEX Outlaws drivers. For the 2024 Summer Shootout, there were 20 total Bandits drivers in the points standings with 23 in the Outlaws division. So, on paper, it sounds pretty balanced. But that doesn’t take into count of the Beginner Bandolero drivers as they do not receive points at the Summer Shootout, for example. In the final round of the Shootout, there were 26 total Beginner Bandoleros that raced in their two features (A and B). And while I do not have the age stats on those 26 drivers, just from experience, most are probably within the Bandits age group of seven to 11.
Where am I going with this?
I think it might be time to alter the age restriction for the Outlaws division. Instead of a driver needing to be at least 12 years old (or 11 in calendar year of 12th birthday), maybe it is time to bring it down to 10 years old. That would force the Bandits division to be more for really young drivers and split out the slightly older drivers to the Outlaws a bit sooner. If they can get in a Legends Car at age 10, the age group for the Outlaws should match that.
Yes, this brings in a few new challenges.
First, what about the older Bandolero drivers? Remember, there is pretty well zero age cap on racing a Bandolero. A 70-year-old active driver can race in an INEX Bandolero race if they are INEX licensed to do so. And while the first-ever Bandolero race (that I was at in 1997 and filmed) featured adults racing the cars, they were mainly developed for younger drivers to race, and there are very few drivers that race them as an adult, or even drivers in their mid-teens to late teens. Even with that, in Legends across the country, many tracks lump all divisions together, so there are 10-year-old Legends drivers racing against 60-year-old Masters drivers. I know, some will argue 10 and 11-year-old drivers, by INEX rules, have to have two years of racing experience to race in Legends whereas Bandoleros do not have experience requirements. Still, the point stands. 12-year-old Legends drivers with zero experience can race within the same race with a 60 year old.
Another challenge this brings in is a potential lower car count in Bandits as it will require a huge chunk to move up to Outlaws based on age. Without having the data of each drivers’ age, I don’t know what that would do. But maybe that is where there is more of a progression bonus out of the Beginner class to encourage drivers enter the Bandits division.
One option would be to bring back the Young Guns division. For those that do not know, there was a division between Bandits and Outlaws to split the fields into three age groups. That was eliminated years ago though with Young Guns and Outlaws merged into one total age group. Splitting that back off could address any older kids and adults being in a division with 10 year olds at a split-division event. But that brings in more problems, including the points system and drivers trying to get their full maximum points at tracks where they do not get enough of their division drivers.
Or, maybe the system isn’t broke. Maybe what we have is exactly what it should be. Maybe there is really no fix or cure to keep drivers from skipping Legends when they get of age and moving from Bandoleros direct to Late Models. Even my suggested idea doesn’t prevent that. But maybe it would allow a driver to compete as a Bandit for a few years for a championship, then an Outlaw for a championship, then maybe Legends sooner, or if they are going to Late Models, they at least have “progressed” in two divisions of Bandolero racing.
Yes, I am biased. While I have been a race fan for more years than I can count and follow many local divisions all the way up to NASCAR and IndyCar (and some F1), it saddened me to hear some drivers are moving from Bandoleros direct to Late Models. Even if only a few, and even though I do wish them luck as a “graduate” of Bandoleros, I hate seeing them leave our Nation of racing.
So, should the age rule within the Bandolero divisions be changed? I think so… maybe. If it would make sense and keep more drivers in INEX racing, absolutely. But would it? Not sure.
What do you think? Drop your opinion on the Legends Nation Facebook page on this topic by clicking here.
