By MIKE HARRIS

By MIKE HARRIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Millions of fans have watched Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte and Mark Martin race to fame and wealth over the past two decades.
Slowly but surely, though, those longtime stars are being replaced in the consciousness of NASCAR's ever-growing fan base by a tidal wave of talented younger drivers.
There are the thirtysomethings that include Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Add to that "Young Guns" such as Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers, all in their 20s. And 19-year-old Kyle Busch will replace Labonte next season.
Though the time has come for the older stars to step aside, leaving is not easy.
"It is hard to walk away," Elliott said.
"Awesome Bill from Dawsonville," who turned 49 last week, got things started this year, cutting back to a limited schedule of only five Nextel Cup events.
Retirement looms
Wallace, 48, made the next move, announcing in August that 2005 will be his last season.
The 47-year-old Labonte said Tuesday he will cut back to 10 races each of the next two seasons before stepping out of the car for the last time. And 45-year-old Martin has told car owner Jack Roush he expects next season to be his last.
Of the four, only Martin made it into NASCAR's new 10-man, 10-race playoff-style championship this year, but all of them have remained competitive.
It's rarely easy for any athlete to walk away from the rush of competition, the piles of money or the adoration that comes with being a star in any sport -- and auto racing is no exception.
H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president of Lowe's Motor Speedway and a friend of all four drivers phasing out their careers, sees departure of each as a natural process.
"There's a few guys that are sort of Cal Ripken-type people that defy the odds," Wheeler said. "Two things working against them are NASCAR's youth movement and their financial condition.
"A guy's sitting there worth 15-20 million bucks -- his house is paid for and everything -- he doesn't have to do this anymore. He's had a few bad wrecks, spent some time as we say 'between the sheets,' so he can afford to walk away."
Dominance factor
From a competitive point of view, the sport's senior drivers are no longer dominant.
"If you're 45, 47 years old, you're racing against guys who could easily be your sons," Wheeler said. "It's pretty difficult to win cup races when you're over 40. When you get over 45, it really gets tough."
Sadler says there are lessons to be learned from watching the way the older drivers have raced, how they have handled themselves and how they are winding down their careers.
"I think us young drivers that are in this sport really need to open our eyes and pay attention to where these guys have taken us," he said. "We have to take the torch forward and keep carrying it down the path that they've got us going on."
Labonte, Wallace and Martin have sons starting racing careers and would like to be able to spend more time helping them reach their goals. And Labonte and Wallace pointed to Elliott's experience this year as directly affecting their decisions.
"Bill has just been so relaxed and happy this year," Labonte said. "He says all the pressure is gone and he's able to do things with his family and friends that he hasn't been able to do in years.
"You know, as much as we all love racing, it does become a grind, particularly with all the outside things we have to do -- personal appearances for our sponsors and charities and things like that."