With the 2024 NASCAR season starting at Daytona International Speedway this weekend, new faces are in new places. This includes rookie drivers looking to make their impact known in a new series. On Tuesday morning, NASCAR revealed the drivers eligible for the Rookie of the Year awards across the three primary levels.
Josh Berry, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, and Kaz Grala will fight it out in the Cup Series. Berry appears to be in the best position to win with Stewart-Haas Racing; however, Smith and Hocevar can’t be ruled out if Spire Motorsports improves. As for Grala, he is not expected to run a full schedule, so he will be a long shot for the award.
NASCAR's Rookie of the Year contenders (2024):
– Cup: Josh Berry, Kaz Grala, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar
– Xfinity: Jesse Love, Dawson Cram, Hailie Deegan, Leland Honeyman Jr., Shane van Gisbergen
– Truck: Layne Riggs, Thad Moffitt, Conner Jones
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) February 13, 2024
The Xfinity Series is the most stacked of any level. Jesse Love, Dawson Cram, Hailie Deegan, Leland Honeyman Jr., and Shane van Gisbergen will all fight for the honor. Love and van Gisbergen are the two likeliest candidates to claim the trophy unless one of the others wins a race. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Layne Riggs, Thad Moffitt, and Conner Jones are the contenders in the Truck Series. Riggs and Moffitt are the two full-time drivers, with the former in the best situation. Moffitt drives for a new race team, while Riggs replaces Zane Smith at Front Row Motorsports. The battles in all three series should be fun as NASCAR moves to a new campaign in 2024.
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