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Four drivers are in contention for NASCAR‘s 2024 Rookie of the Year. With the season now a quarter of the way finished, which rookie has performed the best so far?
All four candidates had Cup experience prior to this season. Josh Berry, Kaz Grala, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar are not driving for powerhouse teams, but each has had a highlight moment already this season. Nine races in, Hocevar sits highest (22nd) in the driver standings.
Hocevar scored his first Top 10 result on April 14 at Texas. His 10th-place finish for Spire Motorsports was impressive, as was his 15th place result earlier in the year at Phoenix. Carson was collected in a crash on Lap 5 of the Daytona 500, but since then he has had an average finish of 19th. That is much better than his 24.6 average last season with Legacy Motor Club.
Berry was perceived as the favorite to win the ROY award this season, even with Stewart Haas Racing’s struggles. The organization is still trying to climb out of a massive hole, but Berry finished 11th at Richmond and was 12th at Bristol, where he led 25 laps. He did well substituting in eight races for Hendrick Motorsports last year, finishing runner-up at Richmond.
I think Josh Berry deserves a good amount of recognition for the job he did in the No. 9 car during Chase Elliott’s injury.
Berry had 1 top-5 and 2 top-10s with a best finish of 2nd place at Richmond. I thought he did well and should have a full-time ride in the Cup Series soon.
The bar was set fairly low for Grala and the Rick Ware Racing team. He has done well, though, finishing 14th at Atlanta and 19th at Bristol. Grala has finished every race since Daytona, but he will not be driving this weekend at Talladega. The team announced that Cody Ware will make his return to the No. 15 ride on the superspeedway.
The season started well for Smith with a 13th-place finish at Daytona. But it has gone downhill from there. Zane has just one other top 25 finish this year (19th at COTA) for Spire. There is optimism, though, as the team is still trying to get its arms around its third car. Smith scored a top 10 in the Coca-Cola 600 last year with Front Row Motorsports and was 13th in the Daytona 500.
In terms of the highest-finishing rookies in each race, Hocevar leads the way. He has been the top finisher in three of the nine races. Berry and Smith have each done so on two occasions. There is no clear-cut favorite, which means this will be an interesting race to monitor as the season progresses.
Carson Hocevar Versus Josh Berry
This award will likely come down to a two-man battle between Hocevar and Berry. These two experienced drivers are only going to get better. Berry has some big shoes to fill, replacing Kevin Harvick. The SHR organization is trying to revitalize itself, and Ford overall has been dreadful this year.
What Hocevar has been able to accomplish with Spire is impressive. Based on pure talent, he is likely the best of this bunch, but the stuff in between the ears has been his biggest obstacle. If Carson can home in mentally, the future will be very bright.
Rookie of the Year Equals Success?
It sounds as though winning ROY honors would easily translate to on-track success. However, That has not been the case in the last handful of years.
The last five ROY winners have combined to win just three Cup races. Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer have each won one race. Ty Gibbs and Daniel Hemric are still searching for that first win, though it is only a matter of time for Gibbs.
The five years before that (2014-2018) have garnered much different results. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and William Byron all won ROY and went on to have massive success. The three Hendrick drivers have already combined to win 56 Cup races. Two have won championships, and Byron could very well join them this season.