NASCAR ROTY RANKINGS 1980: Ranking the Rookie of the Year Classes Through the Years

Runner-up Kyle Petty

Join me as we take a look at every NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year class from 1972 (the start of the modern era) through 2021, going from the worst to the first in terms of overall careers of each year’s rookie class.

1980

Winner: Jody Ridley (Donlavey).  Runners Up: Runners Up: Lake Speed (Speed), Kyle Petty (Petty/RahMoc), Slick Johnson (Slick Johnson).  Aborted Attempts: none

How their careers turned out: Jody Ridley is best-known for taking Junie Donlavey’s car to its lone win in 1982…and not much else.  Lake Speed was a solid independent arguably better-known for his odd name, while Slick Johnson is best-remembered for his gruesome death in an ARCA race in 1990 (featured on Rescue 911).  That means that Kyle Petty had the best career out of this class, punctuated by eight Cup wins, two top-five points finishes, and one hell of a ponytail.

“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: Jody Ridley got a random Busch Series start in one of Dale Earnhardt’s cars, one of approximately 89 drivers to do so.

Ranking: #25 out of 50

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