For the last two seasons the NASCAR Winston Cup series has welcomed some of the
greatest rookies ever into the series. Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth
all lived up to their hype by winning races in their debut seasons. While this year's crop
looks promising for the future can they match the wild success of recent rookies?
Ron Hornaday, Kurt Busch, Andy Houston, Casey Atwood and Jason Leffler will all try but
who will be crowned the 2001 Winston Cup Rookie Of The Year? Here they are in order
from worst to first.
Ron Hornaday
Let me say this right up front, I believe that Ron Hornaday is a talented driver who will
have a long career in NASCAR Winston Cup racing. This two-time Craftsman Truck series
champion spent the 2000 season in the ultra-competitive Busch series where he won two races
and finished fifth in the points.
However, Ron has accepted a ride from one of the most impatient, volatile car owners in the
history of motorsports. AJ Foyt was an instant success in everything he ever drove and has
zero patience for any driver who isn't able to do the same. There is no driver on the planet
(other than AJ himself) who is good enough for AJ.
Ron will be out by midseason as AJ simply does not have the patience to keep a rookie driver
in the seat.
Andy Houston
Finishing third in the 2000 Crafstman Truck series points battle was enough for this second
generation driver to get a ride in the big show. Andy will drive for Cal Wells in the McDonalds
Ford #96 with Yates power under the hood.
It's a huge jump from the truck series up to Winston Cup and Andy's teammate Ricky Craven
doesn't have the huge success stories to share to help shorten his learning curve. Andy just
has too much to learn and his team too young to overcome weakness in the drivers seat.
This team is bound to struggle through the first half of the season just trying to get into the show
and will not be a factor in the rookie battle. The only reason Andy will finish in front of Ron Hornaday
is that Cal Wells is way more patient than AJ Foyt and will likely let Andy run
the full season.
Jason Leffler
This is the greatest wildcard in the rookie crop this year. Jason won three straight USAC National
Midget championships from 1997-1999 and then moved up to the Busch series last year where he
managed only two top five finishes and a twentieth place points finish.
His lack of stock car experience is bound to hurt him but he has good support available.
Car owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates and teammate Sterling Marlin have the potential
to play a major factor in the success of Jason's rookie campaign.
However, this team's fate rests squarely in the driver's seat. If Jason proves to be a quick
learner with a natural feel for the Winston Cup stock car then they can easily have a solid top
25 season. If Jason struggles with the transition then this team is sunk.
Next page > The Cream Of The Rookie Crop > Page 1, 2,
Vote In The Poll!
Who will win the 2001 Rookie of the Year?
