New for 2020, Spade Racing will take a monthly look at the heralded Cup Series rookie class to determine who’s hot and who’s not. First off: Preseason Rankings
1. Christopher Bell (Leavine Family Racing). Pedigree: Truck Series Champion. 16 Xfinity Series Wins. 7 Truck Series Wins. Three-time Chili Bowl Champion. Tends to win whenever Kyle Busch isn’t racing. Team Strength Grade: B- Sponsorship Grade: A Overall Outlook Grade: A-
2. Cole Custer (Stewart Haas Racing). Pedigree: Two-time Xfinity Series Points Runner-Up. 9 Xfinity Series Wins. 2 Truck Series Wins. Second-most famous driver named “Cole” and second-most famous human named “Custer”. Team Strength Grade: A Sponsorship Grade: B Overall Outlook Grade: B+
3. Tyler Reddick (Richard Childress Racing). Pedigree: Two-time (and defending) Xfinity Series Champion. 9 Xfinity Series Wins. 3 Truck Series Wins. Already has a ninth-place Cup race finish and it wasn’t even due to a rainstorm! Team Strength Grade: C+ Sponsorship Grade: B+ Overall Outlook Grade: B-
4. John Hunter Nemechek (Front Row Motorsports). Pedigree: 1 Xfinity Series win. 6 Truck Series wins. Son of Front Row Joe, running for Front Row Motorsports—that HAS to mean something, right? Team Strength Grade: C- Sponsorship Grade: C- Overall Outlook Grade: C-
5. Brennan Poole (Premium Motorsports). Pedigree: 6 ARCA Series wins. 37 Xfinity Series top-ten finishes. Seems unusually adept at pissing people off. Team Strength Grade: D- Sponsorship Grade: C Overall Outlook Grade: D
6. Quin Houff (StarCom Racing). Pedigree: none really. Unless you count “Seemed to come out of nowhere” and “Reminds people of Daria’s sister”. Team Strength Grade: D Sponsorship Grade: D- Overall Outlook Grade: D-