X-Nico

11 unusual facts about NASCAR Rookie of the Year


Coy Gibbs

In 2003, he replaced Mike McLaughlin in the NASCAR Busch Series, nailing down two top-ten finishes and was named runner-up in the Rookie of the Year honors, despite running the full Busch Series schedule unlike award winner, David Stremme.

Danny O'Quinn

2006 Busch Series Rookie of the Year

David Ray Boggs

Boggs made his debut in NASCAR competition in 1970, winning Rookie of the Year in the Grand American series.

Dennis Setzer

By the end of the year, he was 9th in points and was runner-up to Johnny Benson for Rookie of the Year.

Erik Darnell

He had twelve Top-10 finishes in 25 events, and he was the series' Rookie of the Year.

James Hylton

Things improved dramatically in 1966, as Hylton finished second in the points chase and won the series' Rookie of the Year award.

Jimmy Hensley

With a career spanning 27 seasons in all three of NASCAR's elite divisions, Hensley may be best remembered for his Rookie of the Year award won in 1992, his 15th season in the series, and for his nine career Busch Series wins.

Kentucky 300

The first time that this race was run at Kentucky Speedway was in 2012, and it was won by the contender and winner of the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award, and pole winner, Austin Dillon.

Richardson-Haas Motorsports

Fukuyama made an attempt at Rookie of the year honors in the #66, but that was soon aborted due to a lack of funding.

Ryan Blaney

Blaney returned to the Camping World Truck Series in 2013, driving the full schedule for Brad Keselowski Racing and competing for the series' Rookie of the Year award.

Trent Owens

Starting in 2006, Owens worked for Braun Racing, later Turner Motorsports and then Turner Scott Motorsports as a crew chief in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, scoring wins with five different drivers and assisting Kyle Larson in winning the 2013 series Rookie of the Year title.


Impact Motorsports

Compton and Impact ran the entire season, and finished third behind Kenny Irwin Jr. and Rick Crawford for Rookie of the Year.