Hendrick is smart enough to know that this season is long from being over or a success. During a teleconference, Hendrick talked about many topics, including the unusual start for his teams this season.

"Between Kasey and Jeff Gordon, probably the rottenest luck I've had in racing in my career. I mean, I can't even remember as many flat tires or wrecks, or Kasey is running third on the last lap and gets shoved into the wall. We have had some freak things break on the car. But I'm not going to take away from the competition level that's out there, but I still believe that I think the momentum is going to be on our side when we get to the Chase. I think Jeff is going to win races. We have got to get to 20th in the points but I think he's going to win races, and Kasey is going to win races."

What has to be comforting for Hendrick is that his cars are typically some of the strongest cars on the track. What is astounding is how much bad luck his teams have had.

Kasey Kahne started off the season with finishes of 29th or worse in four of the first six races. Now, Kahne has five straight top-10 finishes, and he has moved from 31st to 16th in points.  

On the other hand, Jeff Gordon has had no luck at all this season. He has only two top-10 finishes and sits 24th in points. Gordon has had just about everything bad happen to him this season—from blown motors, to crashes, to flat tires, to bad pit stops. Those reasons have cost Gordon good finishes and a win or two.

Gordon's crash at Martinsville still bothers Hendrick, even after getting win No. 200.

"When you're running one, two, three and you've got three laps to go, or two laps to go, and you've got a straight way on everybody and you just kind of are cruising and then somebody stops on the track and then you've got to restart and you have a big wreck that takes out everybody. I think that one crushed me more than any one ever has, because I wanted to win at Martinsville, and that would have been a great place for the 200th win, where the accident happened. I have a lot of family there and had relatives on the plane. That one crushed me, and I don't think I'll ever get over that one."

Now, Hendrick has to look ahead to the All-Star Race this weekend to have his teams race hard for money and prepare for the Coca-Cola 600.

"Well, when you're in that All-Star Race the track does some crazy things when the sun goes down. I've seen it get loose; I've seen it get tight. It does give the guys a good reference for running the 600. I think this year, with the 600 moved back a little later in the day, it's even going to be more important to see how your car reacts on two tires and all of the other things, the adjustments you make during the race. You know, we are going to take this one race at a time. We want to win the All-Star Race because it's a lot of bragging rights. But we'll get a lot of information over there that will prepare us for the 600."

It is still a long way from the Chase starting, and with how strong the Hendrick cars can run, there is no way to count out the fact that all four of Rick Hendrick's teams can still make the Chase.

Hugo Olguin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

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A good part of the field is made up of drivers who have won races in 2011 and 2012. The remainder of the field is a driver voted in by fans and the winner and runner-up of the preliminary Showdown race.

The pace is fast on the 1.5-mile Charlotte track. It won't just be the fastest car that will be in Victory Lane, but the driver who has the fastest, most efficient pit stops as well.

Drivers in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race are the cream of the crop in NASCAR's premier series. They may race together weekly and enjoy camaraderie, but all that is out the window in this race.

For the All-Star Race, it is every man for himself and friendships or teammates mean nothing when racing for the one-million dollar check.

This slideshow will power rank the top-15 drivers ending with the highest ranked driver who is likely to win it all.

Begin Slideshow

Charlotte Motor Speedway is never a track to hold back on showmanship. The pre-race festivities recognize drivers and teams in a manner not seen at the races for points.

It is a loud, colorful and fun event for the fans and teams. The cars often sport spectacular special paint schemes that are dazzling under the lights at CMS.

The All-Star Race race honors the teams, and how they perform may make the difference between the fastest driver being a winner or contender.

This slideshow will highlight the reasons the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is a special race, and why it is an event that is not to be missed, even for those who may not be regular fans of NASCAR.

Begin Slideshow

This 40-lap race happens before the All-Star race Saturday night, and decides the final two drivers in the main event.

The last driver chosen will be voted in by the fans.

Each driver sees this as their chance to make a name for themselves, so you can expect some of the hardest driving from the youngest and most promising stars the sport has to offer.

Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC

When: Saturday, May 19, 7:00 p.m. ET

Watch: SPEED

Live Stream: TrackPass

Listen: Motor Racing Network

Starting Order: Sprint Showdown qualifying determined Friday, May 18 at 5 p.m. ET

Don’t miss the Full NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race 2012 preview here!

Full TV Schedule

May, 18, 10:20 a.m.—N.C. Education Lottery 200 final practice (TV at 10:30) SPEED

May, 18, Noon—Sprint Showdown final practice, SPEED

May, 18, 1:35 p.m.—Sprint All-Star Race final practice, SPEED

May, 18, 4 p.m.—N.C. Education Lottery 200 qualifying, SPEED

May, 18, 5 p.m.—Sprint Showdown qualifying, SPEED

May, 18, 6 p.m.—Sprint All-Star Race qualifying, SPEED

May, 18, 7:30 p.m.—N.C. Education Lottery 200, SPEED

May, 19, 7 p.m.—Sprint Showdown, SPEED

May, 19, 9 p.m.—Sprint All-Star Race, SPEED

May, 20, 2 p.m.—Pioneer Hi-Bred 250, ESPN

Entry List

Jamie McMurray

David Reutimann

Casey Mears

Joey Logano

A.J. Allmendinger

Josh Wise

David Stremme

Jeff Burton

Stephen Leicht

Tony Raines

David Gilliland

Juan Montoya

Aric Almirola

Bobby Labonte

Martin Truex Jr.

Landon Cassill

Joe Nemechek

Travis Kvapil

Mike Bliss

Scott Speed

J.J. Yeley

Predicted Winners

Jamie McMurray

With two previous wins at this track and a strong car in 2012, Jamie McMurray literally has the inside lane on most of the completion in this race. If the No. 1 car can qualify well, they have the car and the driver to stay at the front of the pack for 40 laps.

If Jamie doesn’t finish first, he will be the second-place car.

Martin Truex Jr.

While Martin Truex hasn’t had the most success over his career at Charlotte, he hasn’t been driving a car as good as the one he has with Michael Waltrip Racing.

Truex is having a strong 2012 and will look to continue to build on that with 40 laps of pure domination.

Fan Vote Winner

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As if there was ever a doubt who would win a fan vote at any point in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will get a chance to dance in the All-Star race because that’s what the fans want.

Junior is arguably the most popular driver in NASCAR history and will win every time there is a fan vote.

Check back for more on NASCAR as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NASCAR Page to get your fill of all things motorsports.

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Only money and pride are on the line in this high-stakes race, so finishing anywhere other than first isn't a desirable option for any of the drivers involved.

The race, which will take place on Saturday night, has a slightly revised format that promises to make for an exciting sprint to the finish. With drivers having to make predetermined pit stops within the race, it will truly take a team effort to come out on top in the end.

There aren't many races on the entire schedule where a second-place finish is considered to be particularly bad, but that will be the case this weekend, so there is no doubt that we will see some exciting competition until the bitter end.

Here is everything you need to know about when and where to catch the Sprint All-Star race from Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

When: Saturday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET

Watch: SPEED

Race Lineup

Marcos Ambrose

Trevor Bayne

Greg Biffle

Clint Bowyer

Kurt Busch

Kyle Busch

Carl Edwards

Jeff Gordon

Denny Hamlin

Kevin Harvick

Jimmie Johnson

Kasey Kahne

Matt Kenseth

Brad Keselowski

Mark Martin

Paul Menard

Ryan Newman

David Ragan

Regan Smith

Tony Stewart

Sprint Showdown winner

Sprint Showdown second place

Sprint fan vote winner

Drivers to Watch

Carl Edwards

One of 10 past All-Star race winners already in the field, there is no doubt that Carl Edwards will be very much in the mix on Saturday night. Edwards came out on top in an exciting race last year and will look to become the first ever back-to-back winner in the race's 27-year history.

Edwards is a guy who isn't afraid to take some chances, so this is obviously a race that is tailored to his talents. He certainly hasn't run up to his potential this season, as he is just 10th in the standings and without a victory, but perhaps the All-Star race can help propel him to some better finishes in the near future.

Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson is also a past winner of the All-Star race, and since he hasn't gone to victory lane at this event since 2003, there is no doubt that he'll be itching to win that sizable paycheck. Johnson is coming off a big win last week at Darlington, where he scored the 200th career victory for car owner Rick Hendrick.

Johnson is normally a points racer who likes to pick his spots, so the All-Star race isn't necessarily his cup of tea, but he has no trouble making bold moves if he's within striking distance of the lead. Johnson really seems to be rounding into form as of late, and will be a top contender for the points title once again this season. A win in the All-Star race would just be icing on the cake.

Kyle Busch

Perhaps the most controversial driver in the sport, Kyle Busch is precisely the type of competitor who makes the All-Star race so intriguing. Even when points are at a premium, Busch isn't afraid to risk it all in the name of a victory. That will be even truer on Saturday night as he will do everything in his power to get out in front.

This will be Busch's seventh All-Star race, and when you take into account his all-or-nothing style and his winning track record, it's hard to believe that he has yet to win this event. I have to believe that it's only a matter of time before Busch breaks through, and since he came in second last year, 2012 could certainly be his time.

Prediction

The great part about the All-Star race is that it features the very best that NASCAR has to offer, so anyone can realistically win. More often than not a superstar comes out on top, but you never know what might happen with so many good cars racing hard to the finish.

With that said, I look for Kyle Busch to add another big victory to his resume with his first All-Star race win. Busch already has the mentality it takes to be successful in this type of setting, so as long as he stays clean and his pit crew is efficient, he'll be in position to make a move for the win late.

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This particular driver is known for his aggressive racing style and has a history of in-car radio meltdowns and post-race altercations.

He drives a Chevrolet in NASCAR's top level, won multiple races a year ago and made the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Can you guess who it is?

If you guessed Kurt Busch, you are correct, as the 2004 Sprint Cup champ was one of the right answers.

Among the slew of other possible answers were fan favorites Kevin Harvick and defending Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart.

It's no secret following the 2012 season's 11th race that Busch is not popular among race fans, or really anybody, for that matter.

Known for his fiery personality, which has gotten him in trouble both on-track and off on several occasions, Busch had another run-in with a fellow Sprint Cupper Saturday night at Darlington.

Busch had an altercation with Stewart's driver, Ryan Newman, after the two tangled late in Saturday night's Southern 500.

This was the latest of an ongoing saga that dates back to last year, when Busch's in-car anger issues became evident.

Following a late wreck, a frustrated Busch, who'd just had another terrific run go for naught after a second-consecutive late-race crash, did a burnout leaving his pit stall and ran through Newman's in the process while Newman's crew was still cleaning up after a stop.

After the race, Busch ran into Newman's car on pit road in what Busch claimed to be an unintentional incident he caused while taking his helmet off.

Since that incident, as well as the ensuing shouting match between Busch and members of Newman's pit crew, fans, drivers and media alike have wasted no time taking shots at NASCAR's new favorite punching bag.

After all, it's not like any other driver in the sport has anger issues, or even any history of anger issues. Right?

Not so fast.

In this day and age of vanilla drivers, NASCAR fans have looked up and down the pit lane for somebody, anybody, who may just give the sport a little flavor. Among these favorites are drivers like Harvick and Stewart.

Both of whom have dealt with anger issues in the past, and even do somewhat to this day.

Perhaps you will remember that in the early 2000s, Stewart, who's always had a very large, dedicated fan base, was the center of media attention after he punched a photographer following a race at Loudon, and was always making headlines with soundbites of him dissing reporters.

You may remember him spinning then-rookie Kasey Kahne for the lead at Chicagoland in 2004, or running Matt Kenseth clear off the track at Daytona in 2006.

You may even remember hearing about him beating up an Australian short-track owner in the offseason prior to the 2011 Sprint Cup season.

As for Harvick, how can we forget the time he ambushed Greg Biffle after a Busch Series race at Bristol in 2002, or the time he stomped on Ricky Rudd's car after a race at Richmond in 2003?

Perhaps you can recall him confronting Kahne following the race at Phoenix in 2004, or spinning Joey Logano out of a sure Top 5 at Pocono in 2010.

Maybe you even remember him turning Trevor Bayne head-on into the wall in the Nationwide Series race at Richmond last September.

When you look at life recently for these fan favorites, you'll notice not a lot has changed. Sure, they've toned it down just a bit, but that same care-free attitude the fans so love is still there.

Just last week, Stewart made a few sarcastic comments to reporters following the race at Talladega, essentially calling out the fans for wanting to see pack racing instead of two-car tandems.

As for Harvick, he still goes after drivers like he did a few years ago. Just ask Kyle Busch after Darlington last May.

There's nothing wrong with fans taking such a liking to the Harvicks and Stewarts of the sport. In this day and age of cookie-cutter tracks and cookie-cutter drivers, a little something different is nice to see.

But if Harvick is revered for his aggressive driving, and Stewart is admired for his less-than-gentle approach toward media members, why is it that a guy like Kurt Busch is not treated with the same adoration from all parties involved in the sport?

After all, when you compare the drivers, there are few differences to be found. 

Sure, at the present time Busch may be the most fiery and unpredictable driver in the garage area. And perhaps that's something fans find a little intimidating.

But if it's burning competitiveness and an unmatched drive to perform that draws fans to guys like Harvick and Stewart, perhaps it's time for some to take a closer look at Busch.

For all three drivers, those traits come with a side of anger. And while Busch's may be hot off the grill, Harvick's and Stewart's are still simmering.

It is for that reason these three drivers have more in common than you may think.

Even if that reality may be hard to swallow.

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The field is made up of drivers who have won races in 2011 and 2012, a driver voted in by the fans and the winner and runner-up from the preliminary Showdown Race.

The race consists of four 20-lap segments and a final 10-lap race for the big check. The winners of each 20-lap race line up in positions one through four coming down pit road for the final mandatory pit stop.

NASCAR is a team sport and the All-Star Race not only emphasizes winning, but the error-free performance of the pit crews. How they leave pit road is how they line up.

The pit stop prior to the final 10-lap run is critical for the driver who will eventually be celebrating in Victory Lane. The fastest driver with the best car may sacrifice the win with a less-than-perfect pit stop.

The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is a dress rehearsal for the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27.

Carl Edwards is the defending winner of the race, but there are many other storylines surrounding the event. Could this be the turning point for Jeff Gordon, who has won this race three times?

Once again it will be up to the fans to vote Dale Earnhardt Jr. in, so we wait to see if Junior Nation gets the job done for the driver of the No. 88. If they don't, he will need to win or place in the Showdown.

There are some wild-card drivers, including Trevor Bayne, Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose, who will make their first All-Star Race appearance.

Kurt Busch will be in contention with his No. 51 out of Phoenix Racing. He is the last driver to win the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600, in 2010.

Martin Truex, Jr. should make a strong showing in the preliminary race; he is the favorite to grab the win in the Showdown or at least finish second and make the All-Star show.

The top five drivers based on average finishes are as follows:

Matt Kenseth has one win, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes, two poles and an average of 6.5.

Tony Stewart  has one win, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes with an average of 7.1.

Ryan Newman has one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes, one pole and an average of 9.2

Jeff Gordon has three wins, six top-five and nine top-10 finishes with an average of 9.3.

Carl Edwards has one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes with an average finish of 9.3.

The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is always an event full of unexpected twists, when drivers have nothing to lose and everything to gain in the non-points race.

The pre-race festivities are colorful and loud with the introduction of the drivers and teams being presented on a stage.

The entire evening is a spectacle under the lights and presented with typical Charlotte Motor Speedway showmanship.

Date: Saturday, May 19

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: SPEED 7:00 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

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Currently, he is sharing the championship lead in the 2012 Formula One season and no one can adequately explain why.

Or can they?

Okay, a guy with two world championships under his belt is obviously not a complete dud, but I suspect we can all name drivers who secured a world championship more by virtue of the car they were in, rather than their ability to drive it.

Even Felipe Massa almost achieved it in 2008!

On the flip side, we can all name drivers who should have won a championship, but never did—Stirling Moss being the obvious example.

So world championships are not a perfect measure of driver ability although, to be fair, the best drivers do get the opportunity to drive the best cars.

A better measure is perhaps how they perform in a substandard car.

Ayrton Senna made his name wrestling his Toleman to points and podium finishes in his inaugural 1984 season thus securing his seat in a Lotus.

Michael Schumacher secured third place in the 1992 championship with a conventional Benetton-Ford against Williams cars with the superlative Renault engine, semi-automatic gearboxes and active suspension.

This year Alonso is doing the same with a car that arguably isn’t worthy of the prancing horse badge on its nose.

This season, he has finished every race in the points, a feat only equaled by Lewis Hamilton, and has managed to win the rain affected Malaysian Grand Prix and pulled a brilliantly driven second place in Spain.

The car that he is driving is far inferior to the McLaren and Red Bull cars and has been outperformed by Mercedes, Renault, Sauber and Williams. Ferrari made a big step forward in Spain, but still Alonso is not competing on a level playing field.

While his talent is on show for all to see, he is not without some rough edges.

He can be something of a prima donna, and it’s not uncommon to see him gesticulating wildly at anyone who gets in his way—as Charles Pic found out at the Spanish GP.

And who can forget him driving around Abu Dhabi behind Vitaly Petrov in 2010? His frustration was on public display as his championship chances simply evaporated as the then Renault driver held him at bay and he finished four points behind Sebastian Vettel.

He brake-tested a Red Bull test driver Robert Doornbos in free practice at the 2006, but recently had the gall to complain that F1 drivers don't show each other enough on-track respect.

Alonso has managed to get himself caught up in some of the sports’ biggest controversies over the past few years. From “crashgate” in Singapore, to “spygate” (why do we insist on putting “-gate” on the end of anything with a hint of conspiracy about it?) between McLaren and Ferrari, Fernando has been front and centre, but no mud has managed to stick.

Perhaps having Flavio Briattore as a manager doesn’t give him the best role model to aspire to.

He also has a reputation for not playing well with others. His 2007 season at McLaren was overshadowed by his rivalry with a glamorous rookie by the name of Lewis Hamilton. Alonso maintained that Hamilton was receiving preferential treatment from the team.

His personality seems to demand that he be the undisputed No. 1 driver in whatever team he blesses with his presence. He had that at Renault and has it now at Ferrari.

Perhaps that’s the reason that there is a huge disparity between himself and the other driver in the team. For the past two seasons, Alonso has finished over 100 points ahead of teammate Felipe Massa.

Okay, Massa’s performance doesn’t set a particularly high benchmark, but this year he is 59 points ahead after only five races!

And that, after all, is the point.

He may have almost no chance of maintaining his lead too far into this season, but he won’t stop trying and no-one on the grid will underestimate him.

Despite being lumbered with what is unquestionably an inferior car, he manages to get the very best possible performance out of it every race.

That’s what teams need, that’s what makes a champion and that’s what makes Fernando Alonso one of the most formidable drivers ever to sit in an F1 car’s cockpit.

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Just one week removed from running the popular Ricky Bobby "Me" paint scheme from 2006's Talladega Nights, Kurt Busch was back to his old self in the Sprint Cup race at Darlington. After rocketing by half a dozen cars in the first few laps, he faded, eventually spinning with six laps to go in the Southern 500 and collecting Ryan Newman.

After doing a burnout on pit road that startled the crowd—and Newman's crew, whose stall Busch passed through while they were still in it—and bumping Newman on pit road at the end of the race, the two teams had an altercation. That ended with a NASCAR official falling onto Busch's hood and a busy NASCAR hauler after the race.

In a lot of ways, Busch resembles the fictional Bobby, from the loss of a top ride to the divorce of his first wife to a less-than-stellar handle on his temper. The difference, of course, is that by the end of the movie, Bobby figured it out and put together a happy ending. Busch, on the other hand, is turning the end of his movie into a farce.

The 2012 season was supposed to be a time for refocusing by the temperamental Las Vegas native. After a series of incidents last year, including a well-publicized dust-up with ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch in the season finale at Homestead, Busch was dumped from a Chase-contending ride at Penske Racing.

He opted to rebuild his Cup career with Phoenix Racing, a small but popular outfit, on a one-year contract, while also splitting the Nationwide Series schedule with brother Kyle at Kyle Busch Motorsports and running superspeedway races for Phoenix.

Results have been mixed so far. Busch has been typically solid in the Nationwide equipment, scoring a solid win at Richmond with KBM and four top-10s in five starts overall. But Busch has been as far down the Sprint Cup standings as he's ever been in his career; he currently ranks 25th with a single top-10, which puts him on pace for his first season outside the top 20 in points since his rookie year in 2001.

That middling performance has led Busch's hot temper to boil over. Busch and Finch have a verbal agreement not to break their contract with one another, but Finch is a strict owner who demands performance as justification for any hiring. Kyle upholds those same expectations.

Kurt's reaction to that hasn't been great: After the Richmond event, USA Today reports that he he joked to reporters, "(Kyle) told me what to do driving at like lap 40. And I was like, 'Here we go. Here's the owner telling the driver how to drive."

On a more serious note, sponsorship concerns have arisen, with Finch hinting that it may be difficult for the team to run the full season unless somebody signs on to back the team. Kurt had been doing a solid job of promoting both Tag Heuer and Monster Energy at the start of the year, but the Darlington incident could undo anything positive to come out of the season thus far.

Newman, for one, lacks confidence in the 2004 series champion.

"It's easy to see and it's easy to say that Kurt blew a fuse again," Newman told Dustin Long after the race. "I'm not sure why he did it and tried to run over our guys and NASCAR officials. And nobody is. I think the chemical imbalance speaks for itself."

"(I think he) was so frustrated that he doesn't know how to deal with his anger."

Former teammate Matt Kenseth, on the other hand, isn't worried about Kurt, even if he knows that team owner Jack Roush will never bring him back. "Everybody changes, everybody goes through different phases of their career, different phases of their life,” he told reporters after the race. “There’s always a second chance out there.”

The question is where that chance will come from. Furniture Row Racing has talked to Kurt about establishing a second car and becoming Dodge's flagship team for 2013, but Darlington may have thrown a wrench in those plans.

Not many other quality seats are open for next year, as Penske won't bring Kurt back, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. will probably see contract renewals and Richard Petty has enough trouble attracting sponsorship for the famous No. 43 as it is.

Kenseth remains confident in his friend's ability to secure a drive with another top team—“I would be surprised if he wasn’t able to keep a ride or stay in a competitive car”—but after his latest incident, many in the NASCAR garages remain unsold on Kurt Busch.

He hasn't shown any progress in dealing with the anger issues that damage sponsorship relationships and bring home torn race cars, and Finch's patience may be running out if he continues to tear up equipment. 

And while Kurt might have seen himself as the real-life Ricky Bobby, he may be closer to a different movie character altogether: Russ Wheeler, the bad guy of Days of Thunder. And in this day and age of big sponsorship deals, being the bad guy might be enough to leave you on the sidelines.

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But the crux of his work examined the idea that “athletes die twice.” Smith credits the aphorism to comments made by longtime sportswriter John Feinstein on a Charlotte radio show in reference to the recent suicide of retired NFL player Junior Seau. From ESPN.com: 

Feinstein expounded on the comment by noting that, upon retirement, the world as a professional athlete has always known it no longer exists, and that he or she must completely relearn how to function in society. He then cited the difficulty many former athletes experience in the taxing attempt to acclimate themselves to what most of us consider normal. 

The stringent nature and structured routing required to achieve professional sporting excellence is no longer necessary. And even more dynamic than that, the doting adulation and attention from fans, media, family and most everyone else in their midst vanishes. Just like that.

In his column, Smith noted that Wallace and Craven suddenly found themselves unable to pay for all the things they once could. Jarrett said the depression-like emotions he battled in early retirement contributed to his divorce. Waltrip struggled mightily with the idea that his late-career performance didn’t mirror the success of the 80+ wins he’d accumulated between 1975 and 1992. 

As triumphant and driven as they’d been on the track, the inability to sustain that prosperity and sense of purpose made their racing “after-lives” painfully unfamiliar. 

By comparison, former NFL defensive lineman Trevor Pryce seems to be handling the early stages of retirement with a little more skill. At 36, he’s not even 18 months removed from a three-tackle performance in the New York Jets’ loss to Pittsburgh in the 2011 AFC championship game.

But while Pryce, a father of three, can relate to feeling similarly rudderless in the open water beyond his football career, he doesn’t seem quite as troubled as some. From NYTimes.com: 

Having retired way before my time, I have started to lose focus and drive. At times, I feel ostracized. 

…Starting from scratch can be unsettling. If you’re not prepared for it, retirement can become a form of self-imposed exile from the fulfillment and the exhilaration of knowing you did a good job…

During the six-month off-seasons [during my career], I pretty much educated myself, dabbling in music, Hollywood, journalism, real-estate and everything in between, with varying degrees of success. I was able to do a lot in so little time. Now that I have all the time in the world, it’s amazing how little accomplish every day…

Don’t cry for me, though. I’m getting used to it slowly and will be content with my new life. That is, until [Jets coach] Rex [Ryan] calls.

One point made elsewhere in the Pryce and Smith pieces was the importance of age and tenure in the retirement process.

“[For] Most of us competitors... you’ve [competed] for a very long period of time, and that will and desire to compete doesn’t just go away,” Jarrett tells Smith.

But there is a spectrum to that “very long period.” A man like Waltrip, who drove amateur races as a teenager, finds himself beyond the half-century mark with the daunting knowledge that the one thing he’s been trained to do for the better part of 40 years is now no longer his profession.

He’s almost twice as old as ball-sport retirees like Daugherty and doubly tethered to his primary skill set. The older they get, the harder it is to teach dogs new tricks. 

In talking to Jarrett (age 55, retired at 51), Wallace (55/48), Waltrip (65/52) and the others, Smith made it clear that none of them really understood the impact of that lifestyle change, how it would more or less wrench the fabric of their existence right out from under their feet.

All of the men spoke to similar psychological problems that handicapped their efforts in post-retirement life: lack of focused competition, departure from community/peer group, financial losses, decreased attention from fans and, overall, a paralyzing feeling of inadequacy and not knowing how or where to ask for help.  

If there was an obvious solution to helping retirees in their second careers, the answer would seem to be education, an objective the NFL has already identified.

I’ve definitely wondered whether or not the existence of so many NFL players’ charitable initiatives is a requirement of league by-laws. But depending on how involved the player is, I suppose it could also serve to expose the athlete to a business-like infrastructure that he doesn’t see in weekly practices or one-on-one contract negotiations with the front office. I’ll have to do more digging into that to see if players’ foundations are somehow mandated by the country’s only professional non-profit sports league.  

I don’t know nearly enough about NASCAR to even begin to think of ways that its veterans might benefit from some sort of post-racing training—shoot, for all I know, such a program already exists, and the struggles of these lifers simply surpass the knowledge delivered therein.  Nonetheless, it’s distressing to read a column like Smith’s, where there is no apparent answer for dealing with a lifetime of success that seems to have suddenly fallen out of one’s pocket.

To be fair, these drivers have had their share of nights with bright lights and days with bulging wallets, far more than the average Joe who works a 40-hour week for 40 years and gets to retirement a whole lot later. 

But considering the early end met by Seau and others who battled post-career demons, the most responsible move would be putting even more emphasis on making drivers and other athletes aware of the fiscal and mental challenges that face them once their primary careers are finished. 

“The idea of doing nothing—that’s the American Dream, right? That’s called retirement?” Craven told Smith. “It’s a lonely place.” 

Nobody should feel lonely at the end.

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