In the October 28 edition of USA Today, Nate Ryan wrote of NASCAR’s new environmental movement that the sanctioning body and many tracks have undertaken this season.

One of the prime tenants of the renewed Green Movement sweeping NASCAR and the nation is that of recycling. In theory, it seems to be a noble pursuit; breaking down and reusing what once were pristine, fresh, raw materials, to help conserve natural resources and reduce pollution. In the case of aluminum cans, they are reborn as essentially the same thing: new containers for soda or beer. The same goes for paper, though a lot of times it is less than it was before, the recycled product being grainy, darker colored and a little flimsy. In a more extreme and unsavory example, a horse becomes glue, but don’t tell the kids that while they’re on a pony ride.

With the criticism that some environmentalists may levy against motorsports, there is one element routinely recycled in NASCAR, and much like the efforts made to reduce and reuse other materials, the results are usually something less than they originally were in their previous iteration: racecar drivers.

It used to be that every year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as well as the Nationwide Series, there was a slew of fresh-faced rookies just getting their start on America’s premier motorsports level. I remember when I first started following auto racing closely in the late 1980s. I vividly recall the hoopla surrounding second-generation sensation Davey Allison and the sights of Dick Trickle, a 48-year old rookie from Wisconsin, smoking cigarettes under caution in his Miller High Life Buick, and later, the TropArctic Pontiac. Who can forget the 1993 class that produced two future champions in Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte, as well as the preeminent motorsports commentator of our time, Kenny Wallace?

That said, there are a few familiar drivers who continue to stick around the Sprint Cup Series despite having had limited success throughout the years, denying the future Allisons, Gordons and Labontes their shot at stardom.

Casey Mears
In seven years of full-time competition, Mears has amassed one win and 12 top-5 finishes. In comparison, his buddy and fellow desert dueler, Jimmie Johnson, had that beat by the 18th race of his rookie season. Mears’ lone win came at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2007, the result of a fuel mileage gamble that paid off big.

Mears is an interesting study, as he has the name, the pedigree and all of the tools to be regular contender for wins, however, he has never broken out and enjoyed the success that one would associate with his father, Roger, or uncle Rick, who won four Indianapolis 500s during the hey day of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. That’s not to say he is a poor driver; he stays out of trouble, is not one to start a ruckus on the track and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who has a negative word for him.

In 2009 he was chosen to take over Clint Bowyer’s No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Richard Childress Racing – a top-tier team that had made the Chase the two previous seasons. Currently they sit 20th in the point standings with Mears at the controls, following a mid-season swap of teams that saw the No. 29 crew of Kevin Harvick become the No. 07 group and vice versa.

In fairness, Mears has challenged Bowyer as the top performer at RCR as of late, racking up six top-20 finishes in the seven Chase events. Whenever his name comes up as being on the way out at RCR or in search of a ride, the performance seems to increase at about the equivalent rate. While it appears that the 07 team may be going away with the loss of sponsor Jack Daniel’s and Harvick still having one year remaining on his contract, Mears may be the odd man out.

He will likely find a home somewhere in the series, though. If a team does sign him, a one-year contract would be a good suggestion, as he seems to do just enough to not get fired, and picks up the performance level considerably when his ride is in jeopardy.

Jamie McMurray
If there was one driver in the past 10 years destined to do something special, it was Jamie McMurray. He got his big break in 2002, when chosen to finish the rest of the year out for an injured Sterling Marlin, who was contending for the championship. McMurray won at Charlotte in only his second start that fall and followed that up with back-to-back wins in the Nationwide Series in Atlanta and Rockingham.

Since then … crickets.

Between 2003 and ’06 he would not win a race, but did amass 21 top 5-finishes and consistently has had the best hair in the sport. He was initially chosen to be Mark Martin’s replacement in 2005, but could not get out of his contract with Ganassi Racing until the next year. However, when Kurt Busch jumped ship at Roush Racing, McMurray filled that seat and was able score his second career win by .005 seconds over Kyle Busch at Daytona in July 2007.

Other than that, there hasn’t been a whole lot to crow about, and a far cry from the promise that 2002 held, until this past weekend at Talladega, when McMurray put his car out front – well before many cars started running out of fuel and before the carnage ensued — leading the most laps and scoring maximum points to claim his third career victory in the AMP Energy 500.

With Roush Fenway Racing struggling as a whole this year, and with only four top 10s to show for the effort prior to Sunday’s win — combined with a four-car cap rule that Roush must adhere to in 2010 — McMurray is rumored to be returning to where it all started in ’02.

Thought to be the leading candidate for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing’s No. 1 car — assuming sponsor Bass Pro Shops agrees that he fits its “outdoorsy” bill — they might have to find a sponsor other than Vaseline For Men and Guitar Hero. But as long as his hair doesn’t start falling out and there are plate races on the schedule, he will likely always have a ride somewhere in the series next season.

Elliott Sadler
If there is to be a movie made about a NASCAR driver of this generation (no, Cole Trickle does not count), a fitting title would be The Curious Case of Elliott Sadler.

Sadler’s career path has seemingly followed that of what was Robert Yates Racing, once one of the preeminent Ford operations in all of professional motorsports. He began his Cup career with fellow Virginians The Wood Brothers in 1999 and won his first Cup race as part of the outfit in 2002 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Sadler would remain quiet for the next couple of years – his most memorable moments courtesy of a barrel roll at Michigan and an end-over-end pirouette at Talladega, which remains the gold standard of auto racing aerobatics.

A pair of wins and a spot in the inaugural Chase qualified as Sadler’s beakout season in 2004. He narrowly missed making the cut in ’05, though would get airborne yet again on the final lap at the fall Talladega race, while teammate Dale Jarrett captured his final career victory.

Sadler has yet to win again in the Cup Series, though has remained a fan favorite and parlayed his popularity into making the cover of EA Sports NASCAR 2007 video game title and landing a starring spot on SPEED’s Trackside show that is on each race weekend.

He narrowly missed winning this year’s Daytona 500 that was called for rain just one lap after he surrendered the lead to Matt Kenseth, lamenting his lot in life and racing luck on the radio to the crew as it happened. It was his most recent shot at winning, and one that almost didn’t come to fruition, had it not been for an off-season lawsuit that eventually saw him reinstated as driver of the No. 19 Dodge now labeled as a Richard Petty Motorsports machine. And it appears his seat is safe at RPM for 2010, as the company makes a manufacturer switch from Dodge to Ford.

With the sad state of the economy and racing’s economic future as a whole continuing to grow more grim with each passing day, these three recyclers have been able to maintain a role in the sport not through audacity and brash Kyle Busch-like behavior, but by being fan friendly and solid sponsor spokesmen. With the current state of affairs and uncertainty at RPM and RCR, coupled with the sponsorship merry-go-round at Roush Fenway Racing and impending team limits, each of the seasoned veterans faces an uncertain future, but likely will remain in the sport in some capacity.

They may not be contending for wins and titles anytime soon, but keeping themselves relevant just by being in the action may prove to be their biggest career accomplishment to date.

But don’t cry for them; after all, a bad day being a Sprint Cup retread beats a good day at the office.

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