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.
1993
Jeff Gordon
Winner: Jeff Gordon (Hendrick) Runners Up: Bobby Labonte (Bill Davis), Kenny Wallace (SABCO), P. J. Jones (Melling)
How their careers turned out: Jeff Gordon—four Cup championships, three Daytona 500 wins, honors across the sport, and is arguably the most-important driver in the sport’s modern-era. Bobby Labonte—the 2000 Cup champion, 21 race wins, the lynchpin of Joe Gibbs Racing’s ascendency from occasional race winner to championship team. Kenny Wallace—um, he’s a good interview during rain delays. PJ Jones—his dad was pretty good.
“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: Both Jeff and Bobby raced for Bill Davis Racing, which made for a pretty odd progression of Jeff Gordon (somewhat refined Californian) to Bobby Labonte (professional but lighthearted Texan) to Randy LaJoie (New England partier) to Ward Burton (unintelligible outdoorsman who lived in the woods).
Ranking: #2 out of 50
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