Sunoco Rookie of the Year Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ryan Preece’s road to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is extraordinary as he came from the Whelen Modified Tour, a series he believes he can open a lot of avenues in the future as he’ll be the first former champion to compete for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors since Jeff Fuller in 2000. “To be the first Modified driver in 20 years basically in a way, hopefully it’s going to open a lot of avenues for people to look atRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s 61st annual running of the Daytona 500. Age: 28 Years in Cup: Rookie Career Wins: Two Xfinity Series wins and 22 Whelen Modified Tour wins Biggest Accomplishment: 2013 Whelen Modified Tour champion It’s rare seeing a successful NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver making the transition from arguably the most exciting regional tour to national and lasting a long time. For 2013 championRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer An after thought all season, Tyler Reddick stands alone among the JR Motorsports trio with a shot of capturing the Xfinity Series title. The rookie finished sixth in Saturday’s Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix to get the fourth and final spot in the Championship 4. Entering the NASCAR playoffs, no one would’ve expected him to make a legit run for the title as teammates Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler were in a different zip code. That all changed when it reallyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The 2018 ARCA Racing Series champion Sheldon Creed officially announced during Friday’s qualifying session at ISM Raceway in Phoenix that he’ll make the big move into the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series on a full-time basis next season, driving for GMS Racing. Creed, who’s driven for the Gallagher family-owned operation since Oct. 27 at Martinsville Speedway, where he finished on the lead lap in 19th, has quickly garnered success since shifting his focus from off road racing, where he notably won back-to-back Speed Energy Formula Off-RoadRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer From the bottom performer at ThorSport Racing to once again being the highest finishing entry, Myatt Snider’s late-season charge continued in Saturday’s Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway, finishing third after leading seven of 250 laps. The highest rookie driver in points backed up his career-high runner-up finish at Talladega two weeks ago with yet another strong run in the No. 13 Louisiana Hot Sauce Ford F-150, especially when his crew opted for a different pit strategy, which turned out to be beneficial and extendedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Rookie phenom William Byron hasn’t had the results fans, critics and the team would’ve hoped for after three races, but that all changed after scoring a career-best 12th in Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway. More importantly than a top-15 effort, Byron led his first-ever laps in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. The collegiate driver put his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on top of the scoring pylon for 15 laps. Byron’s road to the lead started on Lap 190, when theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Hendrick Motorsports didn’t have its finest performance in recent memory after the four-car stable was unable to lead a lap during Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dating back to last season, it marked the second time in three races they’ve failed to put their cars in front of the field. Despite an off performance, it didn’t stop William Byron from having fun on the worn out surface, beating Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, Jr. as the highest finishing full-time rookie in 18th.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was relatively quiet for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five ROTY contenders only Gray Gaulding has no previous experience at Charlotte. Erik Jones started a career best fifth in his No. 77 5-Hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota Camry. Jones hit some of the debris that came off Jeffrey Earnhardt’s car, forcing him to pit for repairs on lap 22. Jones finished StageRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was an adventure for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five ROTY contenders, two drivers, Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding, have no previous experience at Talladega. Gaulding has no previous experience at any restrictor plate track. Ty Dillon placed his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS 28th on the starting grid. A caution midway through Stage 2 allowed Dillon to take an alternate strategy. he moved up toRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor 17 years ago Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a talented, young up-and-coming driver, fresh off of a championship in the NASCAR XFINITY (then Busch) Series, who had a very famous last name which helped push expectations to an unreasonable level. Sound familiar? If so, it’s probably because it’s nearly the exact same scenario that Chase Elliott finds himself in as he heads into his maiden voyage in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On Tuesday at Daytona 500 Media Day, Earnhardt hit the topic of his newRead More