Rookie Of The Year Battle
Dateline: 1/25/99By my quick count there are six drivers who are going to be eligible to compete for Rookie Of The Year in Winston Cup for the 1999 season. Three of them in underfunded, outgunned teams and three drivers with a legitimate shot at getting invited to the banquet in New York City.
First let's look at the unfortunate trio of rookies who just don't have the good fortune of being with a quality race team for the 1999 season. Stanton Barrett is going to give up his rookie eligibility by running 15 races in the #84 owned by PBH Motorsports. The combination of underfunded (the team has not to my knowledge named a sponsor) and running a short season makes Stanton the undisputed long shot in this group.
The next driver up the ladder is Dan Pardus who will be driving the Hal Hicks and Mike Witters owned number 50. Again some concerns on the funding, and also only scheduled to run 15 races in 1999. The reason I'm favoring Dan over Stanton is that they have named a sponsor (Midwest Transit) and the fact that the #50 will be sporting Hendrick engines.
The last of the longshots is Mike Harmon who will take over Dick Trickle's seat driving the Junie Donlavey #90. Although running a full season with a seasoned team and a full time sponsor (Big Daddy's BBQ) I just can't mentally picture Junie consistently getting a rookie in the field, although I'd love to see him prove me wrong.
Now we move in to the top half of the contenders. Buckshot Jones is going to move his team up from BGN to attempt to go Winston Cup racing full-time. Even though there is bound to be a steep learning curve from BGN, there is no arguing the fact that Buckshot is a talented (if a bit overaggressive) driver who can take a car to the front if given the right equipment. Unfortunately, his rookie team is rarely going to give him the right equipment.
Elliott Sadler is going to be joining the Wood Brothers for the 1999 season. This guy is a serious threat to win the ROTY title. He's a solid consistent driver who has a history of bringing the car home in one piece. He's the odds on favorite to complete the most miles of the rookie crop which will help him gain experience quicker than the rest. He's solid, but not the 1999 ROTY.
Without a doubt Tony Stewart is the leading contender for the 1999 ROTY race. Driving for Joe Gibbs in the new #20 Pontiac this well funded effort has the added bonus of Bobby Labonte. Bobby has a lot to give to a young driver and Tony has proven his raw driving skills in every type of car he's ever sat in. I think that Bobby can help shape Tony Stewart into a serious threat to win a few races.
Tony Stewart is your 1999 Rookie Of The Year.
Agree? Think Buckshot can qualify for every race this year? Think the Wood Brothers are a better team than Joe Gibbs'? Stop by the bulletin boards and let me know what you think. Or you can swing by the chat room Wednesday night from 8-9pm EST to talk about this and anything else NASCAR.
