Last year Spade Racing took a look at the six drivers competing for Rookie of the Year. This year we continue to look at that vaunted class (sans John Hunter Nemechek and Brennan Poole) as they strive to establish themselves while avoiding the “sophomore slump”. Returning for 2021 is the PRETTY grade: Performance Relative to Equating Team’s Typical Year (its pretty much how well each driver is doing considering their equipment). Here’s how things look coming out of the summer break heading into Watkins Glen:
1. Tyler Reddick (Richard Childress Racing). Best finish: 2nd (Homestead). PRETTY grade: A. Things keep going great for Reddick, who’s inched ahead of his teammate Austin Dillon in the points. Now he just needs a Cup win, a Playoff berth, and respect should follow. Especially if he stays away from tacky cowboy hats on pit road.
2. Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing). Best finish: 1st (Daytona Road Course). PRETTY grade: B+. A pair of runner-up finishes at Road America and New Hampshire (“second comes right after first!”) have C.Bell in good shape with the Playoffs just over the horizon. But don’t stare at it too closely, Christopher, unless you have protective eyewear.
3. Cole Custer (Stewart Haas Racing). Best finish: 10th (Talladega/Dover). PRETTY grade: C. Cole’s still way down in the points, but its been a rough year all-around—SHR finally posted its first win of the year at New Hampshire. Apparently all it takes for Aric Almirola to win is for me to needle him in this column every month.
4. Quin Houff (StarCom Racing). Best finish: 24th (Martinsville). PRETTY grade: D-. No clue what it would take for Quin to break through with a top-twenty race finish, but it probably involves a lucky horseshoe, a blue moon, and something from Derrike Cope’s old mustache.