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CONCORD — NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers are shrinking.

They're an inch shorter and nine pounds lighter than their counterparts from 20 years ago, bucking a trend in sports where athletes often grow larger.

"We don't see big, strong men compete," says former champion Rusty Wallace, who stands 6 feet tall. "Right now we've got a bunch of jockeys."

He's close. Nearly 20 percent of the drivers in this year's Daytona 500 were no more than two inches taller than Kentucky Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel. And he's 5-foot-5.

This year's Daytona 500 starters stood an average 5-9 and weighed 167 pounds. Among the shorter drivers are Jeff Gordon (5-7), Jeff Burton (5-7) and Mark Martin (5-6).

Other sports have gone the opposite way.

Although NBA players also have lost an inch in the last 20 years — they're down to 6-6 — they've gained three pounds to 218, according to league information. A Palm Beach Post study found that NFL players gained an average of 25 pounds from 1970-2006. A study by professors from three colleges found that Major League Baseball players grew three inches and gained 27 pounds from 1869-1983.

While small drivers have been a part of NASCAR for years, Martin remembers that they haven't always been welcomed. He recalls a conversation with one crew chief in 1981 about his size.

"I was too little to drive these cars," Martin says he was told.

Drivers often were bigger in previous generations because the cars were more difficult to drive. Girth mattered.

"(David) Pearson and I came up with no power steering," says Cale Yarborough, who, although listed at 5-7, was stocky with, as one person said, a neck as thick as a rear tire.

"Big John" Sears earned his nickname during that era. He stood 6-2 and weighed about 270 pounds. Sears competed in 318 Cup events from 1964-73, but never won. Some recall Tiny Lund as being in that weight category, maybe even larger.

Ken Bouchard, who finished 16th in the 1989 Daytona 500, a spot ahead of Richard Petty, was listed as weighing 240 pounds. Today, combining the weight of Martin and AJ Allmendinger (both 125 pounds) barely surpasses Bouchard's size.

Because brute force isn't needed as much, drivers don't need to be as large. That makes competitors such as 6-5 Michael Waltrip an endangered species.

The 1989 Daytona 500 featured 10 drivers taller than 6 feet. This year's Daytona field had only five such drivers: Waltrip, Elliott Sadler (6-3), Carl Edwards (6-1), Bill Elliott (6-1) and rookie Joey Logano (6-1).

Logano, who turns 19 on Sunday, was championed by Martin years ago and says it's been about five years since he last stood eye-to-eye to Martin.

Buddy Baker, who stands 6-5, says size plays a factor even when children are beginning to race in go-karts.

"You don't see huge guys racing then," says Baker, known as "The Gentle Giant."

The need to be physically fit has trimmed the fat among drivers.

Martin is considered among the first drivers to begin a workout program about 20 years ago. Now, just about every driver has such a program.

Except Tony Stewart.

"I'm probably not the biggest health-food nut in the group," he says. "Drivers are in better shape than they've ever been, excluding myself."

Three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson said his workout routine has changed since his rookie season in 2001. He's shed about 20 pounds since then and now the 5-11 driver weighs about 165 pounds.

"I've been hit or miss with it over the years," Johnson says.

It also can be an advantage to be light.

NASCAR's rule book states that if drivers weigh less than 200 pounds, teams have to add weight to the car — up to 50 pounds. For a driver such as Martin, who weighs 125 pounds, even the 50-pound add-on leaves his car 25 pounds lighter then a driver who weighs 200 pounds.

That's not why Martin tries to stay physically fit, though.

"I spend everything I have every race, so if I can get more fit, I believe I will spend more," he says. "If I get less fit, then I have less to give."

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com