NASCAR Rookie of the Year


The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year.

History of the Award

The Rookie of the Year award for NASCAR's premier series was first presented to a driver named Blackie Pitt by Houston Lawing, NASCAR'S Public Relations director, in 1954. While it wasn't an official award, it would help set the standard for the top rookie prize. An official award started with the 1958 season.
From the 1958 through the 1973 seasons, NASCAR did not have an official points system to determine the Rookie of the Year, so NASCAR's officials merely gathered together to select a winner. Some years were straight forward, such as James Hylton's selection in 1966, when he finished second in the overall championship, the highest ever finish for an eligible rookie. In other years, the system came under controversy, as officials didn't consider former champions from rival racing series and there were no transparent and consistent criteria for selecting the winner. Since 1974, the Rookie of the Year points system described below has been used, even if it meant the winner was not the highest finisher in championship points.
As of the 2018 season, the rookie of the Year points are the same as the championship points.
The award is currently sponsored by Sunoco. Drivers competing for the award must display the Sunoco contingency decal.

Eligibility

Drivers must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible to run for or receive the Rookie of the Year award.
  1. Must have run no more than five or seven, and have been declared to race for driver points in that series, races in any previous season.
  2. Drivers who compete in more than five races in a higher NASCAR-sanctioned series are not eligible for the award in a lower series if they have not declared for the higher series.
  3. In the Truck Series, must be 18 years of age or older by the start of the Las Vegas playoff race.
  4. #A Truck Series driver who is 16 or 17 as of the Las Vegas playoff race may participate in all nine eligible races without losing rookie eligibility.
  5. #Truck Series drivers who turn 18 before the Las Vegas playoff race may participate in up to ten races without losing rookie eligibility.
  6. ##A driver who turns 18 after the second Las Vegas race will be declared a 17-year old driver for purposes of rookie eligibility.
  7. ##The final Truck Series round with a minimum age of 18, Talladega, contains unique restrictions because of pack racing and being the fastest circuit on the series. NASCAR will not allow a driver to participate at Talladega without having participated in an intermediate track and passed proficiency standards because of safety issues.
  8. If a driver who is 18 at the first race of the season does not start eight races before the end of Race 20 on the schedule, they will immediately become ineligible to earn rookie points for the rest of that season and starting in 2011, remained declared for that series. Drivers may change series declaration in order to avoid this.
  9. A driver may not receive rookie points if they start a race for a team that they did not qualify with. However, they are still eligible for championship points in that race.
There have been a few cases before the 2011 rule change where aspiring Cup drivers have sacrificed their future eligibility to be Rookie of the Year candidates by driving part-time schedules including more than seven Cup races. For example, in 2009, Brad Keselowski ended up running 15 races, including a win at Talladega. Two other famous drivers who did the same thing are Carl Edwards, and Marcos Ambrose.
On the other hand, 2007 Rookie of the Year winner Juan Pablo Montoya was eligible even though he had previously been the 1999 Rookie of the Year in the CART series
The 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year was Johnny Sauter, who was a veteran of both the Nationwide and Cup Series. He had never run more than three Truck races in any previous season, and made no 2009 starts at all in either of the two higher-level series, hence he was eligible for the truck series' rookie award. The 2006 Busch Series ROTY runner-up John Andretti was a veteran of the Cup Series but had made only one prior Busch Series start, making him eligible for the award.
In 1992, Ricky Craven, the Busch Series Rookie of the Year, actually had run seven races when the limit was five in 1991. However, Craven was only credited with two Busch-only starts, as the other five starts were in combination races with the Busch North Series, which he was a full-time regular at the time. Since he was a full-time regular in the North Series, he was declared a North Series driver, so he could enter the combination race in that series and not compromise his eligibility in the "South" series under combination rules.
Beginning in 2011, drivers that are ineligible for points in one series cannot earn Rookie points in that series. For example, Trevor Bayne ran 18 races in 2011; however, due to him declaring to run for the Nationwide championship, Bayne was also ineligible to declare for ROTY in 2011. Bayne therefore retained the right to declare for Rookie eligibility at a later date. However, when Bayne finally declared for Sprint Cup points in 2015, a previously little-known provision came into play that places a limit on the cumulative number of races a driver can run without declaring for points before he loses future Rookie eligibility. Bayne was confirmed by NASCAR to have exceeded this limit and is therefore ineligible to run for Rookie of the Year in 2015. Danica Patrick ran 10 races in 2012 in Sprint Cup, though she declared she would race for the Nationwide championship, allowing her in 2013 to declare in Sprint Cup, and race as a rookie. This also allows lower-tier drivers to substitute for injured drivers in higher-tier series without risk of losing rookie eligibility. Erik Jones did that in 2015 twice for four races to replace Cup teammates who had fallen ill, been injured, or suspended.
Furthermore, in 2013, NASCAR added rules where drivers 16 and 17 years of age may race in the Camping World Truck Series and not lose rookie eligibility because a driver can only race 10 of the 23 races on the schedule. In 2015, two rookie contenders in the series – Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek – were declared rookies though they had exceeded the seven-race limit because of age restrictions. Cole Custer was declared a 2016 Truck Series rookie despite having raced two seasons because of age eligibility. Starting in 2018, the restrictions were tightened, since one driver-eligible track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, was removed from the schedule in favour of a second race at a driver-ineligible track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 2020, one new driver-eligible track, Richmond Raceway, was added.
Currently, drivers under 18 can only compete at nine tracks in that series – Eldora Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Iowa Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Gateway Motorsports Park, and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

Cup Series

2020 ROTY contenders

Note: Even though Quin Houff qualified for Cup points in 2019 while running 17 races, he’s still eligible for ROTY.

History

Below is a list of all winners, and known runners-up.
ROTY who later became the Series Champion

Xfinity Series

2020 ROTY contenders

YearWinnerRunner Up
2019Chase BriscoeJohn Hunter Nemechek, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Gray Gaulding, Brandon Brown, Zane Smith†, Ronnie Bassett Jr.†, Tyler Matthews†, Kyle Weatherman†, Bayley Currey¶, Harrison Burton¶, Riley Herbst¶
2018Tyler ReddickChristopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Alex Labbe, Kaz Grala, Spencer Boyd, Vinnie Miller, Chad Finchum, Josh Bilicki, Matt Mills
2017William ByronCole Custer, Daniel Hemric, Matt Tifft, Spencer Gallagher, Ben Kennedy, Tyler Reddick¶, Brandon Brown¶, Christopher Bell¶
2016Erik JonesBrennan Poole, Brandon Jones, Ryan Preece, Garrett Smithley, Ray Black Jr., B. J. McLeod, Cody Ware*, Corey LaJoie†, Martin Roy†, Todd Peck†, Matt Tifft¶, Spencer Gallagher¶
2015Daniel SuárezDarrell Wallace Jr., Ross Chastain, Cale Conley, Harrison Rhodes, Peyton Sellers, Josh Reaume, Ryan Blaney†, Ben Rhodes†, Mario Gosselin†, Dylan Lupton†, Derek White†, Jimmy Weller III†, Erik Jones¶, B. J. McLeod¶
2014Chase ElliottTy Dillon, Chris Buescher, Ryan Reed, Dylan Kwasniewski, Dakoda Armstrong, Ryan Sieg, Tanner Berryhill, Chad Boat, Tommy Joe Martins, Harrison Rhodes*, David Starr†, Carlos Contreras†, Ryan Ellis†, Ryan Blaney¶, Cale Conley¶
2013Kyle LarsonAlex Bowman, Nelson Piquet Jr., Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kevin Swindell, Dexter Stacey, Hal Martin, Juan Carlos Blum, Ty Dillon¶
2012Austin DillonCole Whitt, Jason Bowles, Brad Sweet, Johanna Long, Joey Gase, Casey Roderick, Benny Gordon, Jamie Dick†, Josh Richards†, Travis Pastrana†, Daryl Harr†, Tim Schendel†, Ryan Blaney¶
2011Timmy HillBlake Koch, Ryan Truex, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Charles Lewandoski, Carl Long†, Tim Andrews†
2010Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Brian Scott, Colin Braun, James Buescher, Parker Kligerman, Tayler Malsam†, Danica Patrick†
2009Justin AllgaierBrendan Gaughan, Michael Annett, Michael McDowell, Erik Darnell, Scott Lagasse Jr., John Wes Townley, Ken Butler III, Terry Cook, Peyton Sellers, Marc Davis*, Trevor Bayne†, Shelby Howard†, Matt Carter†, Kevin Conway†, Jeremy Clements†
2008Landon CassillBryan Clauson, Dario Franchitti, Cale Gale, Brian Keselowski, Chase Miller, Patrick Carpentier, Joey Logano†, Josh Wise†, Danny Efland†, Brandon Whitt†, Justin Hobgood†
2007David RaganMarcos Ambrose, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Krisiloff, Brad Coleman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Robert Richardson Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Justin Diercks*, Timothy Peters*, Bobby Santos III*, Alex García*, Brian Conz*, Kelly Bires†, Richard Johns†, Bobby East†, D. J. Kennington†, Brett Rowe†
2006Danny O'Quinn Jr.John Andretti, Todd Kluever, Burney Lamar, Mark McFarland, Stephen Leicht, David Gilliland, Tracy Hines, Joel Kauffman, A. J. Foyt IV*, Jorge Goeters*, Kevin Conway*, Chris Wimmer*, Auggie Vidovich II†, David Reutimann†, Steve Wallace†, Aric Almirola†, Shane Huffman†
2005Carl EdwardsReed Sorenson, Denny Hamlin, Jon Wood, Brent Sherman, Kertus Davis, Michel Jourdain Jr., Tyler Walker, Ryan Hemphill, Brandon Miller, Paul Wolfe, Boston Reid*, A. J. Fike*, Blake Feese*, Kim Crosby*, Donnie Neuenberger*, Jerry Robertson†
2004Kyle BuschClint Bowyer, Paul Menard, J. J. Yeley, Billy Parker, Stan Boyd, Travis Geisler, Donnie Neuenberger*, Rick Markle*, Kevin Conway*, Brian Conz*, Aaron Fike†, Andy Ponstein†, Tina Gordon†
2003David StremmeCoy Gibbs, Joey Clanton, Chad Blount, Jason White, Chase Montgomery, Regan Smith, Damon Lusk, Chris Bingham, Martin Truex Jr.†, Tammy Jo Kirk†
2002Scott RiggsJohnny Sauter, Shane Hmiel, Kerry Earnhardt, Casey Mears, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne, Dan Pardus, Larry Gunselman†, Ron Young†, Brian Weber†, Joe Buford†
2001Greg BiffleScott Wimmer, Jamie McMurray, Larry Foyt, Tim Sauter, Marty Houston, David Donohue, Ryan Newman†, Kelly Denton†, Brad Baker†, Christian Elder†, Steadman Marlin†, Ken Alexander†, Bill Hoff†
2000Kevin HarvickRon Hornaday Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jay Sauter, Michael Ritch*, P. J. Jones, Anthony Lazzaro, Mike Stefanik, Mike Borkowski, Derrick Gilchrist, Kelly Denton*, Jay Fogleman*, Dave Steele*
1999Tony RainesHank Parker Jr., Adam Petty, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Tony Roper, Andy Kirby, Jimmy Kitchens, Ted Christopher*, Kelly Denton* Phillip Morris*, Kerry Earnhardt*, Skip Smith*
1998Andy SanterreDave Blaney, Blaise Alexander, Kevin Grubb, Wayne Grubb, Casey Atwood, Mike Cope, Matt Hutter, Lance Hooper, Jason Jarrett, Kevin Schwantz, Brad Loney, Hank Parker Jr.*, Mike Stefanik*, Ashton Lewis Jr.†
1997Steve ParkMatt Kenseth, Johnny Chapman, Mark Krogh, Jeff Krogh, Lyndon Amick, Chris Diamond, Jimmy Foster, Jeff McClure, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tim Bender, Doug Reid III, Stanton Barrett, Tim Steele, David Hutto*, Tim Steele†, Scott Lagasse†, Dale Fischlein†
1996Glenn Allen Jr.Mike Dillon, Shane Hall, Mark Green, Tony Stewart, Mike Harmon, Jerry Nadeau*, Johnny Chapman*, Tim Bender*, Pete Orr*, Andy Hillenburg*, Jimmy Kitchens*, Greg Clark*, Mike Laughlin Jr.*, Elliott Sadler†, Ron Barfield Jr.†
1995Jeff FullerCurtis Markham, Kirk Shelmerdine, L.W. Miller, David Bonnett, Greg Clark*, John Tanner*, Tim Bender*, Dale Williams*
1994Johnny Benson Jr.Dennis Setzer, Kevin Lepage, Stevie Reeves, Randy Porter, Dirk Stephens, Johnny Rumley, Mike Garvey, Robbie Reiser, Chad Chaffin, Michael Ritch*, Kirk Shelmerdine*, Mike Stefanik*, George Crenshaw*, Jeff Neal*, Andy Hillenburg*
1993Hermie SadlerJoe Bessey, Tim Fedewa, Roy Payne, Nathan Buttke, Jason Keller, Michael Ritch*, Tom Hessert*, Alan Russell*, Ken Wallace*, Page Jones*
1992Ricky Craven^Shawna Robinson, Robert Huffman*, Randy MacDonald*, Greg Trammell*
1991Jeff GordonDavid Green, Tracy Leslie, Troy Beebe, Cecil Eunice, Richard Lasater, Jeff Green, Mike Wallace, Mike Oliver, Mike McLaughlin, Rich Burgess*, Shawna Robinson*
1990Joe NemechekBobby Moon, Ward Burton, Jack Sprague, Dana Patten, Davey Johnson, Dave Mader III, Ed Ferree, Frank Fleming, Clifford Allison*
1989Kenny WallaceBobby Hamilton, Jeff Burton, Dave Rezendes, Robert Pressley, Brandon Baker, Dave Simpson, Ed Ferree*, Tom Harrington*

^ Craven started seven races in 1991 but was charged with only two starts. The other five starts were in combination races with the Busch North Series, where he raced as a regular. Both 1991 Busch Series wins were in combination races as a North driver.

Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

2020 ROTY contenders

YearWinnerRunner Up
2019Tyler AnkrumSheldon Creed, Harrison Burton, Tyler Dippel, Gus Dean, Spencer Boyd, Brennan Poole, Natalie Decker, Anthony Alfredo
2018Myatt SniderTodd Gilliland, Dalton Sargeant, Justin Fontaine, Bo LeMastus, Robby Lyons
2017Chase BriscoeAustin Cindric, Grant Enfinger, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala, Justin Haley, Cody Coughlin, Stewart Friesen, Wendell Chavous, Austin Hill†, Josh Reaume†, Camden Murphy†
2016William ByronChristopher Bell, Cole Custer, Ben Rhodes, Rico Abreu, Austin Wayne Self, Matt Tifft, Grant Enfinger*, Cody Coughlin*, Ryan Truex†, Tommy Joe Martins†, Brandon Brown†
2015Erik JonesJohn Hunter Nemechek, Cameron Hayley, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, Spencer Gallagher, Ray Black Jr., Korbin Forrister, Austin Theriault, Justin Boston, Wendell Chavous*, Cody Ware*, Jordan Anderson†, Tyler Tanner†, Ryan Ellis†
2014Ben KennedyTyler Reddick, Mason Mingus, Tyler Young, Jimmy Weller III, Chase Pistone*, Justin Jennings†
2013Ryan BlaneyDarrell Wallace, Jr., Jeb Burton, Germán Quiroga, Brennan Newberry, Ryan Truex*
2012Ty DillonCale Gale, Ross Chastain, John Wes Townley, Dakoda Armstrong, Bryan Silas, Max Gresham, Paulie Harraka, Caleb Holman*, John King*, Jeb Burton*, Dusty Davis*, Tyler Young*, T. J. Duke*, Tim George, Jr.†, Jeff Agnew†
2011Joey CoulterNelson Piquet, Jr., Cole Whitt, Parker Kligerman, Miguel Paludo, Johanna Long, Craig Goess, Jeffrey Earnhardt*, Justin Johnson*, Dusty Davis*, Chase Mattioli*, Chris Eggleston*, Blake Feese†, Josh Richards†
2010Austin DillonJustin Lofton, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Brett Butler, Chris Eggleston*, Dillon Oliver*, Landon Cassill*, Narain Karthikeyan†, Brad Sweet†, Mike Garvey†, Clay Greenfield†, Carl Long†, Chris Lafferty†
2009Johnny SauterTayler Malsam, James Buescher, Ricky Carmichael, J. R. Fitzpatrick, Brian Ickler, Brent Raymer, Chris Jones, Chase Austin*, Ryan Hackett*, Mario Gosselin†, Ryan Sieg†, Nick Tucker†, Chris Fontaine†
2008Colin BraunBrian Scott, Scott Speed, Donny Lia, Justin Marks, Marc Mitchell, Andy Lally, Phillip McGilton*, Michael Annett†, Ryan Lawler†, Keven Wood†, J. C. Stout†, Norm Benning†
2007Willie AllenTim Sauter, Joey Clanton, Jason White, Blake Bjorklund, Aaron Fike, Tyler Walker*, Kelly Bires*, Peter Shepherd*, Kevin Hamlin*, Casey Kingsland*, Brian Sockwell*, Ryan Mathews†, Clay Rogers†, Josh Wise†, Scott Lynch†
2006Erik DarnellChad McCumbee, Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola, Bobby East, Kerry Earnhardt, Erin Crocker, Boston Reid, Joey Miller, Robert Richardson, Jr., Kraig Kinser, Scott Lagasse, Jr., Ryan Moore, Michel Jourdain, Jr.*, Sean Murphy*, J. R. Patton*, Tam Topham*, Chase Miller†
2005Todd KlueverTimothy Peters, Shigeaki Hattori, Regan Smith, Clay Rogers*, Jimmy Kite*, Nick Tucker*, Kerry Earnhardt*
2004David ReutimannTracy Hines, Robert Huffman, Brandon Whitt, Chase Montgomery, Shane Sieg, Kelly Sutton, Ken Weaver, Chris Wimmer, Shelby Howard, Brad Keselowski, Hank Parker, Jr.†, Deborah Renshaw†, David Ragan†
2003Carl EdwardsJody Lavender, Randy Briggs, T. J. Bell, Tina Gordon, Doug Keller, Teri MacDonald*, Kenny Hendrick†, Roland Isaacs†
2002Brendan GaughanBill Lester, Jason Small, Dana White, Trent Owens*, Rodney Sawyers*, Loni Richardson*, Aaron Daniel*, Randy Briggs*, Angie Wilson*, Donnie Neuenberger*, Eric Jones†
2001Travis KvapilRicky Hendrick, Matt Crafton, Billy Bigley, Jon Wood, Willy T. Ribbs, Brian Rose, Nathan Haseleu, Larry Gunselman, Chuck Hossfeld, Ricky Sanders, Jason White*, Jason Small*, Bill Lester*, Mark Petty*, Tom Carey, Jr.†, Jonathon Price†
2000Kurt BuschCarlos Contreras, Scott Riggs, Jamie McMurray, Rick Ware, Wayne Edwards, Coy Gibbs, Kenny Martin, Donny Morelock*, J. D. Gibbs*, Andy Genzman†
1999Mike StefanikScott Hansen, David Starr, Marty Houston, Tim Steele, Ryan McGlynn, Phil Bonifield, Ernie Cope*, Mike Clark*, Nipper Alsup*, Randy Nelson*
1998Greg BiffleAndy Houston, Scot Walters, Wayne Anderson, Kevin Cywinski, Dominic Dobson, Rob Morgan, Rick McCray, Randy Nelson*, David Starr*, Joe Gaita*, Billy Pauch*, Joe Bush*, Tommy Archer*, Mike Hope*, Freddie Query*, Andy Michner*, Dave Stacy*, Jimmy Davis*, Monty Klein*, Randy MacDonald†, B. A. Wilson†, Tom Hubert†
1997Kenny Irwin, Jr.Rick Crawford, Stacy Compton, Tony Raines, Boris Said, Tony Roper, Tammy Jo Kirk, Randy Tolsma, Terry Cook, Kevin Harvick, Rob Rizzo, Lonnie Rush, Jr., Kelly Denton, Mike Cope, Andy Genzman*, Toby Porter*, Brandon Butler*, Kenny Hendrick*, Bob Schacht*, Mike Colabucci*, Dave Smith*, Brian Cunningham†, Barry Bodine†
1996Bryan ReffnerDoug George, Lance Norick, Bobby Gill, Jay Sauter, Lonnie Cox, Charlie Cragan, Ron Barfield, Jr., Butch Gilliland, Joe Gaita*, Kevin Harvick* Dave Smith*, Joe Madore*, Steve Mendenhall*, Rodney Combs, Jr.*, Terry McCarthy*, Jerry Robertson*, Doug Thorpe, Jr.*, Rick Markle*, Mark Gibson†, Ricky Johnson†, Randy Renfrow†, Dan Press†