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.
2001
Kevin Harvick
Winner: Kevin Harvick (RCR) Runners Up: Kurt Busch (Roush), Casey Atwood (Evernham), Jason Leffler (Ganassi), Ron Hornaday Jr. (Foyt), Andy Houston (PPI)
How their careers turned out: One of the biggest classes in ROTY history delivered on both quantity AND quality. The recently-retired Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were both Cup champions, succeeding for multiple teams and winning plenty of big-time races. Casey Atwood and Jason Leffler succeeded in lower series and had some brief sparks of talent in the Cup Series, but neither could break through with a win. Ron Hornaday Jr. never saw much of any results in Cup but is still one of the greatest drivers the Truck Series has ever seen. And Andy Houston somehow managed to snag the McDonalds sponsorship.
“Fun” “Fact” about the winner: “Happy” Harvick managed to total an amazing SIXTY Cup Series wins in his recently-concluded career—a number even more impressive when you realize that 60 is also the number of on-track enemies he made.
Ranking: #4 out of 50
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