2012 Sunoco Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Rules & Standings
Updated 11-18-2012
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SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR SCORING
SYSTEMSunoco Rookie of the Year
candidates are awarded points based on entry, competition, top-10
bonus points, and voting panel points. Points are awarded based on
his/her best 17 races in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action, 16 events
in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, or 14 events in the NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series. Points during competition are awarded based on
the following:* Attempting to qualify for a race
earns the rookies one (1) bonus point.* A 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point
system is used for scoring finishing positions. The
highest-finishing rookie in each race earns 10 points, the
second-highest, nine points, etc.* Bonus points are awarded for a
finish in the top 10. A rookie who wins a race is awarded 10
points, second place gets nine points and so on down the line with
a tenth place finish earning one point.In addition to the above, the
Sunoco Rookie of the Year panel will meet during the final weekend
of the season and reward favorable conduct in the following
categories: conduct with NASCAR officials; conduct and awareness on
track; personal appearances and relationship with the media. The
panel rates each driver on a scale of 10 to one with 10 being the
maximum. The points will then be averaged and added to the entry,
competition, and bonus points after the final race.Rookie
Stripes: rookies will be noted on the car they drive by
a yellow stripe on the rear bumper of the car.
sometimes a driver not up for the award may have yellow stripes on
tracks they have not competed on before.
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Sunoco
Rookie of the Year StandingsCar#-Driver, Races Attempted,
Races Run, Points, Total Points
Looks like if a rookie starts and parks, they get one (1) point,
haven’t seen rules posted in a few years
What NASCAR is showing on their race reports:
#33-Stephen Leicht, 120 final rookie points [was added to standings
after Darlington]
#26-Josh Wise, 111 final rookie points
(thru 11-18-2012)SEVEN races is the most a driver
can race in ONE season and still run for ROTYHIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE BY
RACE
Race, Highest-Finishing Rookie
Daytona 500, no rookies attempted the race
Phoenix, #26-Wise (40th), 1
Las Vegas, #26-Wise (40th), 2
Bristol, #26-Wise (43rd), 3
Auto Club, #26-Wise (37th), 4
Martinsville, #26-Wise (41st), 5
Texas, #26-Wise (39th), 6
Kansas, #26-Wise (39th), 7
Richmond, #26-Wise (38th), 8
Talladega, #26-Wise (42nd), 9
(Leicht added to the ROTY award candidates)
Darlington, #26-Wise (43rd), 10
Charlotte, #33-Leicht (39th), 1
Dover, #33-Leicht (35th), 2
Pocono, #33-Leicht (33rd), 3
Michigan, #26-Wise (42nd), 11
Sonoma, #26-Wise (30th), 12
Kentucky, #26-Wise (37th), 13
Daytona, #26-Wise (38th), 14
New Hampshire, #33-Leicht (32nd), 4
Indianapolis, #33-Leicht (31st), 5
Pocono(X), #26-Wise (37th-parked), 15
Watkins Glen, #33-Leicht (26th), 6
Michigan(X), #26-Wise (40th-parked), 16
Bristol, #26-Wise (38th), 17
Atlanta, none, both rookies failed to qualify for the race
Richmond, #33-Leicht (36th), 7
Chicago(X), #26-Wise (42nd-parked), 18
New Hampshire, #33-Leicht (36th), 8
Dover(X), #26-Wise (37th-parked), 19
Talladega(X), #26-Wise (43rd-parked), 20
Charlotte, none, #26-Wise failed to qualify for the race
Kansas, none, #26-Wise failed to qualify for the race
Martinsville, #33-Leicht (34th), 9
Texas(X), #26-Wise (37th-parked), 21
Phoenix(X), #33-Leicht (35th-parked), 10
Homestead, #26-Wise (37th-parked), 22
(X) = no rookie award mentioned on final official race report
Best Finishing Rookies, Times:
Josh Wise, 22
Stephen Leicht, 10
Timmy Hill, 0
Races with no rookie, 4
News and
Notes / Records / History
- Leicht running for ROTY; Circle
Sport debuts as team at CMS: Circle Sport, LLC, announced that
2012 Rookie-of-the-Year Contender Stephen Leicht will drive the #33
Circle Sport Chevy this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the
debut effort for the Sprint Cup Series organization. Joe Falk
recently acquired the #33 from Richard Childress Racing and formed
Circle Sport to operate the fledging organization. Falk, a Virginia
businessman who has been a part of the sport since the late 1990s,
is making a return to fulltime competition in NASCAR’s top series.
Falk previously fielded the #91 Sprint Cup entry for drivers Dick
Trickle, Greg Sacks, Kevin Lepage, Mike Wallace and Todd Bodine,
which included a top-five finish in 1998 season finale at Atlanta
Motor Speedway.
“When the opportunity was presented to acquire the #33 owner points
from Richard Childress Racing, we felt this was the way to build a
solid foundation for our emerging Sprint Cup operation,” Falk said.
Leicht, the 25-year-old former development driver for Robert Yates
Racing and winner of the 2007 Nationwide Series race at Kentucky
Speedway in his only fulltime season of NASCAR racing, has been
selected to pilot the #33 Circle Sport entry in Sunday’s Coca-Cola
600. Leicht enters the weekend event with three NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series starts to his credit with his debut coming for legendary
owner and engine builder Robert Yates in 2006. Leicht was recently
approved for the NASCAR ROTY program and will be guided by veteran
crew chief Tony Glover. Glover � the three-time Daytona 500
championship crew chief credited with 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
victories with drivers Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin and Joe
Nemechek � joins Circle Sport after a longtime leadership role with
Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. Falk’s Little Joe’s Autos has served as a
sponsor in the races leading up to the Coca-Cola 600, while Precon
Marine, another Virginia-based company that specializes in heavy
marine constructions, joined in an associate role. Additionally,
Circle Sport welcomes marketing partners new to the sport of NASCAR
� HotTorque.com and Moon Shine Attitude Attire � for this weekend’s
race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.(CircleSport
PR)(5-26-2012) - Timmy Hill returning to
Nationwide Series: Timmy Hill, the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide
Series Rookie of the Year, will return to the Nationwide Series
with Rick Ware Racing for the remainder of the 2012 season,
starting with the Friday, April 13th event at Texas Motor Speedway.
Hill and the RWR team attempted the move to the Sprint Cup Series
this year [in the #37]. “Rick Ware Racing has been awesome to me
throughout my entire racing career,” said Hill. “We as a team took
a chance to compete in the Sprint Cup Series and move this team to
the next level. We learned a lot from this experience, but it’s
time to take a step back and regroup on what we learned to apply
that for the future. So we are temporarily putting the Cup program
on hold. We are not out of racing and you will see myself and Rick
Ware Racing at Texas ready to go in the Nationwide Series
race.”(Hill
PR)(4-3-2012) - Hill, Wise running for Rookie
of the Year: Josh Wise and Timmy Hill are not sure exactly how
many races they’ll compete in during the 2012 Sprint Cup season,
but they plan to be racing each other for Sprint Cup’s top rookie
honors. Both Wise and Hill have registered for the rookie program
and took their first Cup laps of the season this weekend at Phoenix
International Raceway. Wise, who drove in 31 Nationwide races for
three teams including JR Motorsports last year and has four career
starts in the Cup Series, is driving the #26 car for Front Row
Motorsports, which Tony Raines qualified in for the Daytona 500.
#37-Hill, the 2011 Nationwide rookie of the year, is looking to
make his Cup debut after failing to qualify Saturday at Phoenix. He
is driving a car fielded by Rick Ware Racing and Max Q Motorsports
in a deal that came together the last few weeks. Both Wise and Hill
are not certain how many races they’ll compete in this season. Wise
and Front Row need sponsorship for that car to run the full events.
Hill hopes to be in the car every race but knows that if he misses
some, the team might put someone else in the car to try to get it
in the top 35.(Scene
Daily)(3-5-2012) - 2012 Rookie of the Year
Class: Earlier than they have been in recent memory, the
classes of Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders for NASCAR’s three
national series have been set, for the time being.
In the Sprint Cup Series, two drivers have registered for the
program, though neither is entered for the Daytona 500. Timmy Hill
will attempt to win his second consecutive rookie of the year award
for [#37 Ford] Rick Ware Racing after grabbing the Nationwide
Series honor in 2011. At this point his competition is Josh Wise,
who recently has dabbled in all three national series — with 91
starts since 2007. Owner Larry Gunselman, who is fielding a car for
superspeedway ace Mike Wallace at Daytona, had said over the winter
he wanted to run Wise for rookie of the year, depending on
sponsorship [but recently announced Ware and Gunselman’s team
joined forces].
The Nationwide Series has five contenders, including Jason Bowles
who’s driving for MacDonald Motorsports. The other four contenders
are Joey Gase, 2011 Camping World Truck Series champion Austin
Dillon, Cole Whitt and Johanna Long, who plans a partial schedule
of about 20 races for ML Motorsports.
As has been the case for the past few years, the Truck Series
rookie class is the largest, with 11 contenders, nine of whom are
entered at Daytona. The list includes Dakoda Armstrong, Ross
Chastain, Dusty Davis, 2011 ARCA Racing Series champion Ty Dillon
(Austin’s brother), Cale Gale, Max Gresham, Paulie Harraka, Caleb
Holman, John King, Bryan Silas and John Wes Townley, who is
currently under suspension by RAB Racing after a DUI arrest earlier
this month in Georgia. Holman is the other driver not entered at
Daytona.(NASCAR.com)(2-22-2012) - Josh Wise Eligible for 2012
Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year: Josh Wise, driver of the #37 Max
Q Motorsports Ford, will be eligible for the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series Rookie of the Year in 2012 even if he runs ten races this
year. He is only accumulating points in the Nationwide Series, thus
making him eligible. Team Owner, Larry Gunselman, stated, “Josh
Wise has proven himself. He has talent and with his performance at
Dover everyone can see that he is a serious contender for Rookie of
the Year in 2012. Our company, Max Q is positioned and ready. We
have everything in place, the people, equipment and the drive to
succeed. Our team is ready to race in 2012, and we need a sponsor
to help make it happen.” Max Q is seeking marketing partners to run
Josh Wise in the #37 in an attempt to compete for the 2012 NASCAR
Sprint Cup Rookie of the year.(Max Q PR)(10-19-2011)
- ROOKIE
HISTORY
* Joey Logano won 2009 Rookie of
the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Logano captured top
rookie honors 26 times in 36 races and officially claimed the honor
by 33 points (270-237) over Scott Speed. At 19 years of age, Logano
became the youngest driver to win Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series.* Logano scored his first NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series victory in at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (race
#17). The victory came in his 20th career start. He finished the
season with one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes and
placed 20th in the final series championship standings.* Logano is the THIRD driver from
Joe Gibbs Racing to win Rookie of the Year, joining Tony Stewart
(1999) and Denny Hamlin (2006).� Did You Know? Joey Logano is the
most recent Rookie to win a Sprint Cup Series race, capturing the
2009 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
ahead of second-place Jeff Gordon (56 races ago).� Did You Know? The most recent
Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Patrick
Carpentier. Carpentier captured the top starting spot for the 2008
LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (92
races ago).* Did You Know? The most recent
Rookie to score a top-five finish is Logano, who placed third in
the 2009 AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (41 races
ago).* Regan Smith (2008) became the
first Rookie of the Year in the 52-year history of the program
without a DNF (did not finish). He was running at the finish in all
34 starts he made and captured top rookie honors over Sam Hornish
Jr. by just seven points (236-229).� The 2008 season marked the first
time in NASCAR�s modern-era (since 1972) that THREE drivers shared
the lead in the Rookie standings. After the second race of the
season, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith were all
tied at the top of the standings.* Ryan Newman holds the all-time
Rookie record for most poles (6), most top-fives (14) and most
top-10s (22).* Denny Hamlin is the only Rookie
to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup since the
program was created in 2004.* The record for most earnings by
a Rookie Hamlin holds the record for most earnings by a Rookie
($6.6 million in 2006).* The record for most wins by a
Rookie is THREE, shared by Tony Stewart (1999) and Jimmie Johnson
(2002).* A Rookie has posted multiple
victories SEVEN times in NASCAR Sprint Cup:
1987: Davey Allison, two
1999: Tony Stewart, three
2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr., two
2001: Kevin Harvick, two
2002: Jimmie Johnson, three
2005: Kyle Busch, two
2006: Denny Hamlin, two* More than one Rookie has posted
victories during their first season only three times:
1981: Morgan Shepherd (one) and Ron Bouchard (one)
2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two) and Matt Kenseth (one)
2002: Jimmie Johnson (three) and Ryan Newman (one)* The way to the NASCAR Sprint Cup
championship is to win Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, six Rookie
of the Year drivers have gone on to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup title:
Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986),
Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999, 2005) and Matt Kenseth
(2000).* The longest streak for a Rookie
to be in the top-10 in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings
during the sport�s modern-era is 60 races (2001 MBNA Platinum 400
through 2002 Ford 400).(1-11-2011)
- Logano first Rookie to win in
71 races: Rookie #20-Joey Logano rallied from a lap down and
stretched his fuel mileage to perfection to win the rain shortened
LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway. Logano scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory
in just his 20th start and his first in two starts at New
Hampshire. He became the first Rookie [Keselowski is not a Rookie
Candidate] to win in 71 races, dating back to Juan Pablo Montoya�s
victory at Infineon Raceway in 2007. He joined Ryan Newman (2002)
as the only Rookies to win in 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at
New Hampshire. He won in just his second start at New Hampshire and
led the race just once, covering the final 10 laps. Logano leads
Scott Speed by 31 points (199-168) in the overall Rookie standings.
Logano scored his first top-five and fourth top-10 of the 2009
season.(PR)(6-29-2009) - NASCAR to implement rookie
orientation program: NASCAR will implement a one-day rookie
orientation seminar next February for newcomers to its three
national touring series. The annual program will be designed for
rookies and drivers 22 and under, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston
said Wednesday. It will focus on NASCAR rules and policies as well
as the adjustment to competing on the national stock-car circuit.
�It�s something we�ve been looking at for the last two or three
years,� Poston said. �We looked at what all the other leagues do,
and one thing we realized is all the other leagues do this, and
there seems to be a lot of benefit both for the league and their
participants.� The program will include University of Central
Florida professor Dr. Richard Lapchick of the Institute for
Diversity and Ethics in Sports to address professional and personal
conduct and Aegis Laboratories� Dr. David Black to address the
NASCAR substance-abuse policy. NASCAR Chairman Brian France also
would be one of the presenters with other NASCAR executives,
NASCAR�s medical liaisons, series directors, veteran drivers and
track operators. �We want to do this to touch base with drivers
that are new to the national series and make sure that they have an
opportunity at their very start to get face-to-face with NASCAR
executives, to understand the sport and who we are,� Poston said.
�It�s really to welcome to the national series, welcome them to the
sport and also to answer any questions that they have.� NASCAR has
an 18-year-old age limit for its three national touring series and
has toyed with the idea of increasing the age minimum for the
Sprint Cup Series. Poston said that is still under
consideration.(SceneDaily)(11-4-2009)
- 1957 Ken Rush
- 1958 Shorty Rollins
(1) - 1959 Richard Petty
- 1960 David Pearson
- 1961 Woody Wilson
- 1962 Tom Cox
- 1963 Billy Wade
- 1964 Doug Cooper
- 1965 Sam McQuagg
- 1966 James Hylton
- 1967 Donnie Allison
- 1968 Pete Hamilton
- 1969 Dick Brooks
- 1970 Bill Dennis
- 1971 Walter Ballard
- 1972 Larry Smith
- 1973 Lennie Pond – Darrell
Waltrip - 1974 Earl Ross (1)
- 1975 Bruce Hill
- 1976 Skip Manning
- 1977 Ricky Rudd
- 1978 Ronnie Thomas
- 1979 Dale Earnhardt (1) –
Joe Millikan, Terry Labonte, Harry Gant - 1980 Jody Ridley (1)
- 1981 Ron Bouchard (1), Tim
Richmond - 1982 Geoffrey Bodine
- 1983 Sterling Marlin
- 1984 Rusty Wallace – Phil
Parsons - 1985 Ken Schrader – Eddie
Bierschwale, Don Hume - 1986 Alan Kulwicki –
Michael Waltrip, Chet Fillip, Pancho Carter, Kirk Bryant, Davey
Allison [listed 4 races], Derrike Cope [2 races], Jerry Cramer [3
races], Rick Baldwin [2 races], Jonathan Edwards [2 races], Wayne
Slark [1 race] - 1987 Davey Allison (2) –
Dale Jarrett, Steve Christman, Rodney Combs, Derrike
Cope - 1988 Ken Bouchard – Ernie
Irvan, Brad Noffsinger, Jimmy Horton - 1989 Dick Trickle – Hut
Stricklin, Larry Pearson, Jimmy Spencer, Rick Mast, Ben Hess, Chad
Little - 1990 Rob Moroso – Jack
Pennington, Jerry O’Neil, Jeff Purvis - 1991 Bobby Hamilton – Ted
Musgrave, Stanley Smith, Wally Dallenbach Jr. - 1992 Jimmy Hensley – Dave
Madar III, Andy Belmont - 1993 Jeff Gordon – Bobby
Labonte, Kenny Wallace, P.J. Jones - 1994 Jeff Burton – Joe
Nemechek, Steve Grissom, Loy Allen, John Andretti, Jeremy Mayfield,
Mike Wallace, Ward Burton - 1995 Ricky Craven – Robert
Pressley, Randy LaJoie, Steve Kinser, Davy Jones - 1996 Johnny Benson – Stacy
Compton [listed as a candiate for 1 race], Randy MacDonald [3
races] - 1997 Mike Skinner – David
Green, Jeff Green, Robby Gordon - 1998 Kenny Irwin – Kevin
Lepage, Jerry Nadeau, Steve Park - 1999 Tony Stewart (3) –
Elliott Sadler, Buckshot Jones - 2000 Matt Kenseth (1) –
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2), Dave Blaney, Scott Pruett, Stacy Compton,
Mike Bliss - 2001 Kevin Harvick (2) –
Kurt Busch, Casey Atwood, Jason Leffler, Ron Hornaday Jr, Andy
Houston - 2002 Ryan Newman (1) –
Jimmie Johnson (3), Carl Long, Shawna Robinson
- 2003 Jamie McMurray – Greg
Biffle (1), Tony Raines, Casey Mears, Jack Sprague, Larry
Foyt
- 2004 Kasey Kahne – Brendan
Gaughan, Brian Vickers, Scott Wimmer, Scott Riggs, Johnny
Sauter
- 2005 Kyle Busch (2) –
Travis Kvapil, Stanton Barrett, Mike Garvey, Eric
McClure
- 2006 Denny Hamlin (2) –
Clint Bowyer, Martin Trux Jr., David Stremme, Reed Sorenson, Brent
Sherman
- 2007 Juan Pablo Montoya
(1) – David Ragan, Paul Menard, David Reutimann, A.J.
Allmendinger
- 2008 Regan Smith – Sam
Hornish Jr., Michael McDowell, Patrick Carpentier, Dario
Franchitti
- 2009 Joey Logano (1) –
Scott Speed, Max Papis, Dexter Bean
- 2010 Kevin Conway (0) –
Terry Cook
- 2011 Andy Lally (0) – no
other drivers ran for the award
- 2012 Stephen Leicht (0) –
Josh Wise(NOT a 2002 candidate but won –
Jamie McMurray (1) and ran and won ROTY in 2003)
(NOT a 2009 candidate but won a race – Brad Keselowski (1), didn’t
run for the award in 2009 or 2010)
winner bold; wins if any in parens() – rest of rookie class listed
if known - ROTY Finishes In Final Top 10
of Drivers Standings
Driver, Rank, Year.
James Hylton, 2nd, 1966
Denny Hamlin, 3rd, 2006
Shorty Rollins, 4th, 1958
Tony Stewart, 4th, 1999
Jimmie Johnson, 5th, 2002
Ryan Newman, 6th, 2002
Dale Earnhardt, 7th, 1979
Jody Ridley, 7th, 1980
Earl Ross, 8th, 1974
Kevin Harvick, 9th,2001
Walter Ballard, 10th, 1971
SOME ROTY
NEWS and RECORDS - Rookies: #48-Jimmie Johnson
tied Tony Stewart’s rookie record for most wins by a Sprint Cup
Rookie of the Year candidate with three in 2002. #12-Ryan Newman
holds the rookie record [Modern Era 1972-present] of top fives,
with 14, Hylton holds the all time record with 20. The top ten’s
record [Modern Era 1972-present] is held by Newman with 22, which
is 10 below the all rtime record of Hylton in 1966. Some
comparisions (all were Rookie of the Year except Earnhardt
Jr):1958 Shorty Rollins
29 (of 51) races, 1 win, 12 top 5’s, 22 top 10’s, 0 poles, final
points postion was 4th1959 Richard Petty
21 (of 44) races, 0 wins, 6 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 0 poles, points
pos 15th1962 Tom Cox
42 (of 53) races, 0 wins, 3 top 5’s, 20 top 10’s, 0 poles, points
pos 19th1966 James Hylton
41 (of 49) races, 0 wins, 20 top 5’s, 32 top 10’s, 1 pole,
points pos 2ndModern Era 1972-present:
1979 Dale Earnhardt
27 (of 31) races, 1 win, 11 top 5’s, 17 top 10’s, 4 poles, points
pos 7th1987 Davey Allison
22 (of 29) races, 2 wins, 9 top 5’s, 16 top 10’s, 5 poles,
points pos 21st1999 Tony Stewart
34 races, 3 wins, 12 top 5’s, 21 top 10’s, 2 poles, 4th in
points2000 Matt Kenseth
34 races, 1 win, 4 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, no poles, 14th in
points2000 Dale Earnhardt Jr
34 races, 2 wins, 3 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 2 poles, 16th in
points2001 Kevin Harvick
35 (of 36) races, 2 wins, 6 top 5’s, 16 top 10’s, no poles, 9th in
points2002 Jimmie Johnson
36 races, 3 wins, 6 top 5’s, 21 top 10’s, 4 poles, 5th in
points2002 Ryan Newman
36 races, 1 win, 14 top 5’s, 22 top 10’s, 6
poles, 6th in points2006 Denny Hamlin
36 races, 2 wins, 8 top 5’s, 20 top 10’s, 3 poles, 3rd in
points
a BOLD stat is the record holder as the end of 2006 - Some Rookie Stuff: Jamie
McMurray is the 4th driver to pick up his 1st career Cup win at
Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the modern era (The others: 2000: Matt
Kenseth; 1995: Bobby Labonte; 1994: Jeff Gordon). McMurray became
the 3rd rookie to win this year, joining Jimmie Johnson & Ryan
Newman. It marks the first time that 3 rookies have won a Cup race
in the same season in the modern era [1972-present]. Of the 13
first-time winners since 2000, 7 of those have come on Bruton Smith
(SMI Tracks). 2000: Dale Earnhardt Junior (Texas), Matt Kenseth
(Charlotte), & Jerry Nadeau (Atlanta; 2001: Kevin Harvick
(Atlanta), Elliott Sadler (Bristol); 2002: Kurt Busch (Bristol)
& Jamie McMurray (Charlotte).(10-13-2002) - Quickest wins by a driver:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in only his 12th Cup start. Ron Bouchard won
a Cup race in his 11th start in 1981 at Talladega, Mark Donohue won in
his 5th Cup start in 1973 at Riverside, the earliest in the ‘modern
era’ of Cup, he would only make one more Cup start. Others: Morgan
Shepherd won in his 15th start (Martinsville) in 1981, but wasn’t
named Rookie of the Year. Several other drivers won in their first
year, but weren’t considered ROTY candidates: Dan Gurney at
Riverside in 1963 in his third race and Mario Andretti at Daytona
Beach in 1967 in his fifth start.
BUT in 2001, #29-Kevin Harvick won his first Cup race in his
third ever start, the best ever in the modern era [1972-present].
McMurray won in his 2nd start at Lowe’s today which is the new
Modern Era record and ties the all time record, set by John Rostek,
who won in his 2nd career start in April 1960 at Arizona State
Fairgrounds.
ALSO of Note, Johnny Rutherford won a Daytona Qualifying
race in his first start back in 1963, back then the Qualifier races
counted as wins and the championship and points. And of course Jim
Roper won in his first start, the first race ever held by NASCAR in
1949 and Jack White won in his first start in 1949, the 5th race of
the season.(10-13-2002) - First time back-to-back –
Correction: #48-Jimmie Johnson’s victory comes a week after
#12-Ryan Newman won, marking the first time in series history
rookies have won back-to-back races.(News and
Record), Actually in 2000 Dale Earnhardt Jr and Matt Kenseth
won back-to-back points races, with Earnhardt Jr winning at
Richmond and Kenseth winning at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May of
2000, the Winston was run between the two races, also won by a
rookie, Dale Earnhardt Jr.(9-23-2002) - Earnhardt Jr the fastest
Correction and UPDATE: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr has won his first
two Winston Cup races faster then anyone in Winston Cup modern era.
Earnhardt Jr won his 2nd race in his 16th start. Tony Stewart did
it in his 32nd race, Dale Earnhardt in his 41st, Jeff Gordon 50th,
Darrell Waltrip 65th and Bobby Labonte 77th. Not sure what the all
time record is but Red Byron won his 2nd race in his 5th start
during the first NASCAR Grand National(Before Winston Cup) season
in 1949
Correction: Davey Allison also won his 2nd race in his 16th
start(5-7-2000)
Harvick: #29-Kevin Harvick won his 2nd Cup race in his 17th
start.
UPDATE: add #48-Jimmie Johnson ties the record as he won his
2nd race in his 16th start.(6-2-2002)
-