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 heading into Talladega:
1. Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing). Best finish: 1st (Daytona Road Course). PRETTY grade: B+. Bell takes sole possession of first place thanks to his advancing into the next round of the Playoffs. Goes to show you the importance of regular-season wins…well, unless you’re Kevin Harvick, I guess.
2. Tyler Reddick (Richard Childress Racing). Best finish: 2nd (Homestead). PRETTY grade: A-. A mediocre first round of the Playoffs eliminated Reddick from any chance at the championship. On the plus side, I mean, lets be real—RCR hasn’t contended for a championship since Nascar was popular.
3. Cole Custer (Stewart Haas Racing). Best finish: 10th (Talladega/Dover). PRETTY grade: D+. Things keep getting worse for Cole, who is the worst-running driver for a top-level team. He’s even behind the JTG-D cars AND Bubba Wallace for crying out loud.
4. Quin Houff (StarCom Racing). Best finish: 22nd (Indy Road Course). PRETTY grade: D-. Sounds like Houff is losing his ride next year—quite literally, as the StarCom team will be shutting down and selling its Charter. On the plus side, he DID waste everyone’s time for two years.