"Rookie of the Year”. Its a term that can portend future success—or flash in the pan. Sometimes its a fierce
battle between several talented drivers—sometimes a walk-over by a single person. So looking back, how have the overall careers of Nascar Cup’s various Rookies of the Year stacked up against each other?
That’s where I come in!
While a “Rookie of the Year” award has been given out in Nascar Cup since 1954, its only since 1974 that some sort of points system was implemented—prior to this it was merely agreed upon by “the media”. So we’re going to only count ROTY award winners from 1974 onward. Also, the previous three Rookies of the Year (Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, and Brett Moffitt) are not going to be considered since their careers are so young. Drivers will only be judged on what they did in the Cup Series, with added weight toward “major” races and season championships.
Now, on with the rankings!
(*—active in Cup; win totals through Chicago 2018)
31. Earl Ross (1974)—1 Cup win. Best-known as the only Canadian driver to post a Cup Series win, Ross had a brief Nascar career before returning north to compete in lower regional series. Despite winning by a lap at Martinsville in his ROTY season, Ross only competed in 25 other Cup Series races before leaving it behind.
32. Kenny Irwin (1998) A USAC sprint car star, Irwin was one of a number of drivers tabbed as “The Next Jeff Gordon” upon ascending to Cup Series competition. After a promising partial schedule in 1997, Irwin ran the full 1998 and 1999 seasons for Robert Yates, winning the Rookie of the Year award in the process. Though Irwin showed flashes of talent, he was released by Yates and signed with Felix Sabates for 2000, where he would tragically die mid-season in a crash.
33. Ronnie Thomas (1978) After edging out Roger Hamby for the ROTY award Thomas (son of fellow driver Jabe Thomas) would go on to a mostly pedestrian career. Thomas’s best overall points finish was 14th in 1980, and he would leave the Cup Series after running a single race in 1989.
34. Bruce Hill (1975) The Kansan independent (usually running his own equipment) ran nearly the whole schedule only twice in his 100 Cup race career, including his ROTY season. After retiring, he returned to Kansas, raising quarter horses in the Topeka area.
35. Skip Manning (1976) Manning competed in only 79 Cup Series races in his Nascar career. While his best Nascar Cup race finish was a third at Talladega, he’s probably better-known in racing circles for his exploits in super-modified cars.
36. Jimmy Hensley (1992) Hensley won the 1992 ROTY award—despite missing the first seven races of the year—mostly due to no other racers attempting anything near a full schedule. Failing to win in 98 Cup Series starts, he fared better in Nascar’s other touring series, posting nine wins in the Xfinity Series and two in the Truck Series.
37. Rob Moroso (1990) After winning the 1990 Busch (now Xfinity) Series championship, Moroso and his family-owned team moved to Cup for 1990. 25 races into his rookie year, however, Moroso was killed in a drunk driving accident. Moroso would make tragic history, becoming the only driver to win the Rookie of the Year award posthumously.
38. Ken Bouchard (1988) Ken Bouchard (brother of Ron) had one of the shortest careers of any ROTY in Nascar Cup history, making only 33 starts in Nascar’s premiere series over his brief career. Outside of his Rookie of the Year title, Bouchard is likely better-known for his exploits in modified racing.
39. Andy Lally (2011) The road racing ace Lally made all 38 of his Cup Series starts for TRG Motorsports, a team best-known for its road racing prowess. In his rookie year Lally ran unopposed for ROTY honors after no other drivers made the minimum number of starts (Trevor Bayne won that year’s Daytona 500 in his second-ever Cup start, but didn’t declare as a Cup rookie). Never posting a single top-ten, Lally has since gone back to road racing.
40. Kevin Conway (2010) Despite racing for two different team owners in five different cars, Kevin Conway clinched the ROTY award early on in the season by virtue of being the only driver to declare for the award and run the minimum races. Essentially gone from the Cup Series after this single year due to sponsorship payment issues, Conway’s best Cup finish was a 14th in the summer Daytona race. Conway finished in last place in three plate races the following year and ended his Cup career after 31 total starts.
41. Stephen Leicht (2012) A former developmental driver for Robert Yates and RCR, Leicht only competed in 15 races in 2012 for the underfunded Joe Falk team, but still managed to “win” the ROTY award over Josh Wise. Leicht only made three other starts in his Cup career, and continues to drive in the Xfinity Series part-time.