Kurt Busch
It's hard to believe that an unsponsored team could appear this high on the list but this is
no ordinary team. Kurt has signed on to take over the #97 car owned by Jack Roush.
Finishing second last year driving for Jack in the truck series Kurt will be bringing his crew
chief along with him to Winston Cup. Together these two will have a lot to learn but the
Roush organization has extremely deep resources to help Kurt through his rookie season.
If Kurt qualifies for every race and ends up with eight top ten finishes then he will have
had a successful year.
Casey Atwood
Ray Evernham had his pick of young drivers to fill the seat of his second team along side
veteran driver Bill Elliott and Ray picked Atwood. This young driver caught the eye of the
legendary crew chief with his smooth driving style and his ability to bring the car home
in one piece. Many people have predicted great things for Casey in the future, Ray is
the first to take advantage of his potential and give him a ride.
Add Casey's natural driving talent to Ray's uncanny ability to set up a car, Bill Elliott's
years of experience to guide him and Dodge's big-money sponsorship deal and you've
got a combination with the ability to win a race during the 2001 Winston Cup season.
And The Winner Is...
This year's rookie class has more variables than most any other in the history of NASCAR.
Two of the rookies will be driving a rookie car too as both Jason Leffler and Casey Atwood
will be driving Dodge Intrepids. Along with that NASCAR itself will be experiencing many
new things as two new racetracks are on the schedule for this year as the Winston Cup
boys will be visiting Kansas Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway for the first time ever.
And finally, who knows how the network television package will affect the sport.
Clearly 2001 is a breakthrough season for NASCAR and it's rookie class will have no easy
time of making it in the world's top stock car racing series. But looking over the group
of 2001 newcomers there is one team that clearly stands above the rest.
There is no doubt about it, Casey Atwood is the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie Of
The Year.
Next page > Page 1, 2
Vote In The Poll!
Who will win the 2001 Rookie of the Year?
