So, which year is most embarrassing? 2012, with Stephen Leicht's 15 starts and Josh Wise's start-and-part efforts; 2011, with Andy Lally's uncontested bid; or 2010, with Kevin Conway's wonderful personality, beloved car owner, and scintillating results?
It's weird - the rookie classes from 2001 to 2006 included Harvick, Kurt Busch, Newman, Johnson, McMurray, Biffle, Kahne, Vickers, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Bowyer, Truex, and a few other guys with semi-okay Cup careers, plus Edwards, who never officially qualified as a rookie under the technical definition. Since then, the shining beacons have been Montoya, Menard, Ragan, Reutimann, Allmendinger, Smith, Hornish, and Logano. Keselowski, Almirola, and Ambrose were never officially rookies. Say what you will about the potential of any of these drivers, but the fact is that with the exception of Keselowski, the success of most of the 2001-2006 rookies was both more immediate and more sustained and had a higher peak. I think the problem is that for some reason, there's been almost no driver turnover in the past few seasons. Almost nobody important has retired, so there aren't many good seats opening for new guys. Are we looking at another wave of new faces approaching in five or ten years, when Gordon, Biffle, Kenseth, Stewart, and maybe Johnson and Earnhardt, among others, all decide to step aside?
Click to expand...