They're the guys who have become household names, on whose backs NASCAR built much of its phenomenal success in the last 15 years. They've become so identifiable that folks have come to know and refer to them by either their first names, nicknames, car numbers or initials -- as if they're close personal friends.

There's Rusty, DJ, Awesome Bill, the late Intimidator and clean-cut Jeff, among others, driving with numbers 2, 88, 9, 3 and 24. You don't need to mention their last names because every rabid NASCAR fan immediately knows who you're talking about (for the record, it's Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon).

But as NASCAR goes forward with a new series sponsor next season, ending a 33-year relationship with R.J. Reynolds/Winston and beginning a new 10-year marriage with Nextel, the older veterans are slowly giving way to their eventual successors.

Several drivers will be retiring in the next three to five years, some perhaps sooner. Rumors have Elliott calling it quits as early as after next Sunday's race at Homestead, Fla., or perhaps after one more full season in 2004 as Evernham Motorsports' lead driver. Wallace told ESPN.com that he will be racing for at least two more years, and Jarrett is locked in to a new contract through the 2006 season, which likely will wrap up his driving career. And popular veteran Ricky Rudd, 47, is nearing the end of his career.

And as for Gordon, at just 32 years old, he's already a 10-year veteran of Winston Cup, but if he manages to maintain his health and motivation, there's no reason why he shouldn't still have another 10 to 15 years left in him.

With so many high-profile drivers getting ready to move onto the next phase of their lives, NASCAR is starting to undergo a catharsis. The old guard is gradually giving way to the young guns, both on and off the racetrack.

They're the Faces of NASCAR, the latest generation of drivers who have already made a big impact in a relatively short period of time. They, too, have become household names -- Ryan, Junior, Jimmie, Kurt and Kevin (with respective surnames of Newman, Earnhardt, Johnson, Busch and Harvick).

They're the ones NASCAR and Nextel will build the future of stock car racing upon.

Perhaps the most recognizable of this new group is Earnhardt Junior. With his famous legacy, hip-hop lifestyle and laid-back personality, it's no wonder he's making this season's Most Popular Driver competition a runaway, ending Bill Elliott's long stranglehold on the annual honor (Elliott elected to pull himself out of the running this year).

Yet Earnhardt Jr. respects Elliott and his past accomplishments.

"I know Bill pulled himself out of the running this year, but I guess I'd still consider myself the second-most popular driver," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It means a lot to me that it means that much to the fans, that so many people voted. And it says how much they really do care. They don't just tune in to see us hopefully win on Sunday, they really, genuinely care about their drivers. I feel like I'm in a unique situation. I feel have a good connection with my core fan base. I think we have a lot of similar tastes, and there's always something about me that they can relate to. It means a lot."

	Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson could be two of NASCAR's prominent faces in the future.

Earnhardt Jr. has come very far in such a short period of time. Ever since he moved into Winston Cup full-time racing three years ago, he's gone from somewhat of a country bumpkin to a polished, refined, media-conscious superstar. Obviously, he learned a lot of those lessons from his famous father -- perhaps the most popular driver in NASCAR history -- but don't make the mistake of placing Junior on the same level as Senior.

"I think that anybody that would consider me to ever become larger than my father doesn't know anything about auto racing," he said. "I hope to win a championship, but I'll never accomplish the same feats my father did. I'll never consider myself a better race car driver than he was."

It will be upon Junior's face and shoulders, along with Newman, Johnson, Busch and the others that NASCAR will stake its future on. Matt Kenseth could also stake his claim as being one of the faces of the sport by wrapping up the 2003 Winston Cup championship.

The big question is how far will these young superstars help the sport grow to even greater heights of popularity.

"I don't know (how far it can grow)," Earnhardt said. "Things seem to keep changing year in and year out. It's just pretty amazing to be a part of it. Hopefully, the thing that seems to be hard for most of the drivers that I'm trying to learn and to be observant, is it's hard to keep up with change. That's going to be the hard part for everybody."

Newman is a polar opposite of Earnhardt Jr. As brash and high-profile as the driver of the No. 8 Chevy can be, his counterpart in the No. 12 Dodge is equally quiet and low-key, letting his actions on the racetrack do the talking for him. And he's obviously been quite vocal this season, with 11 poles and eight wins.

"It's just a natural progression of time, no matter what it is or who it is, whether it's in NASCAR, football or in life in general," Newman said of being among those that will shepherd the future of the sport. "It happens to everybody. People die and people are born on the same day, and to me, it's something I can't change and I have no effect on it, so I do what I can the best way I can.

"I don't care what anybody calls me. I just go out and do the best job I can. I also try to be as factual as possible and non-deceiving. That's who I am. Whether I'm a 45-year-old in Winston Cup or a 25-year-old young gun, it doesn't matter to me."

Someone who has a deep concern about how well the young drivers will represent the sport in the future is Newman's veteran teammate, Rusty Wallace. Even though he's become one of the most popular and successful figures to ever climb behind the wheel of a stock car, Wallace has never lost sight of the inherent respect the sport both commands and deserves.

"I think those personalities will grow into it, but they just have to realize how they have to act and how they have to treat and carry and represent the sport," Wallace said. "There's a lot of (young) guys out there now who say 'Hey, I'm a great race car driver, I'm fast and I don't have time for all that media stuff, I don't have time for all the fans. I just want to lay the numbers on the board, and if I do that, everything else will follow in line.'

	"	I feel like there's so many loyal people that we're shunning, and all we're looking for is new business. And I think that's going to lead us down a dirt road if we don't wake up and start taking care of what we've already got. "
		— Rusty Wallace

"Well, I'm here to tell them, you've got to do both of that, managing the media and the sponsors. I can't slow the gain of the sport down, and the sport's become real, real good, but I'm very temperamental to that fan that's been around for a long time. I tell you what, if Dale Earnhardt Sr. was still alive, we wouldn't be going through this problem."

One of Wallace's other big concerns is how NASCAR is marketing itself. To him, the sport is getting away from its roots in return for higher TV ratings, more revenue and larger attendance figures. But for all the good, Wallace is fearful that some of the emphasis on the present and future may be at the expense of the past.

"The personalities nowadays are so different that I can hardly keep up with them," Wallace said. "I remember when the country/western fan was the grassroots style of race fan that we all catered to. Dale Earnhardt, he was that kind of guy. His son, though, is 180 degrees different. I was always kind of middle of the road, a classic road, country kind of guy. I liked everything.

"But now, all of the networks are shunning anything country and western. In fact, they've even made very vocal statements that they 'don't want to be involved in that style, that we want to go to the new hip-hop, young genre. That's our new demographics. That's what we want go grow.' I mean, I love the networks, but man, I take offense to that because I feel like there's so many loyal people that we're shunning, and all we're looking for is new business. And I think that's going to lead us down a dirt road if we don't wake up and start taking care of what we've already got."

Wallace is not only a link between the old and new of NASCAR racing, he potentially will also have a big say in the development of the next batch of young guns, perhaps starting with son Steven. At the age of 16, the younger Wallace recently won his first major late-model race, and took part in Sunday's pre-race ceremonies for the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at North Carolina Speedway with the son of another racing legend, David Donohue, son of the late Mark Donohue.

Given the season he's had thus far, Newman will unquestionably be considered one of the top favorites for the first Nextel Cup championship in 2004. Whether he can come even close to repeating the success he's enjoyed this season -- or potentially do even better -- remains to be seen. But you better believe Newman won't soon forget the veteran cast of characters that paved the way.

"People like Rusty and Dale Sr. took the sport a long way, and probably never thought how much it would change while they were here," Newman said. "It's going to be interesting to see what the next 15 years or even the next five years will be in NASCAR, or the changes that may happen in the world. We may not even be here five years from now. You never know."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Motorsportwriter@MSN.com.