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When you think about some of NASCAR Sprint Cup's rookie winners, it's almost like a "Who's Who" in stock car racing:
Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Ken Schrader, Davey Allison, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and Kevin Conway.
Kevin Conway? We've turned a corner regarding rookies in the sport and it may not be for the better.
Other than being known for his PG-13-rated sponsor, his statistics in NASCAR's top three premier
divisions have been lackluster at best. In his 56 previous starts, whether Sprint Cup, Nationwide, or Truck Series
vehicle, his best finish is 14th in the 2010 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
Considering how rookies in recent years have performed, especially with the likes of Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman,
Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, and Kasey Kahne, to say the least, a freshman Cup effort usually carries lofty expectations.
In other sports, it may seem like a lot for a rookie to perform well in a competitive series. Certainly, they
have a lot to learn, adapt, and master the elements around them whether it's communication with their teammates or
achieving the right mindset for tackling a tricky short track.
In NASCAR racing, a first year driver is usually surrounded by the finest resources at their disposal.
Such factors include the cars prepared at the shop to the sponsors who shelve out the millions of dollars necessary to
stay competitive in a sport that constantly changes.
However, that line of thinking may be the reason why there's been a relative shortage of success with Sprint Cup rookies.
That's not to take anything away from racers like Joey Logano or Regan Smith, who went through some reasonable teething
pains in their initial campaigns.
Why the shortage of Cup rookies, or the sudden disappearance of the rookie sensation?
Simply put, sponsors and team owners want the next big thing ...IMMEDIATELY.
From a business standpoint, where dollars alongside intangibles such as appearance and fan appeal dictate how fresh talent
are brought to the Cup series, it's somewhat understandable that such expectations are made.
When all is said and done, stock car racing is truly a game of chance.
Think of some of the drivers who, despite their immediate success in the Nationwide or Truck Series, were brought into Cup
too soon over the past few years.
Remember when Casey Atwood was Ray Evernham's protege, or how David Stremme was that overlooked raw talent racing
second-rate equipment?
How about more recently, with a racer like Colin Braun, whose talent is apparent, but his struggles last season as a
Nationwide rookie left him without a full-time ride in NASCAR this year?
Or Scott Speed -- America's most recent hope in Formula One in the mid 2000's -- who raced in the Cup series for the past two
years with mediocre results?
If a driver came up any of the top three series and performed like Jeff Gordon in his rookie year, they're probably going
to be scrutinized and have their performances deemed as "middling."
It's a sign of the times, where teams and sponsors want that young talent who may not necessarily have the winning
background, but the potential to sell their product and awe fans for a few years.
Maybe the search for that next Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson is a bit unreasonable, if one were to presume that teams and
sponsors pursued freshman talent in such fashion. After Gordon won rookie honors in 1993, save for Jeff Burton the
following year, racers like Ricky Craven, Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner, and the late Kenny Irwin, Jr. had lukewarm success
in Sprint Cup racing.
Instead of grooming racers in the weekly stock car divisions or holding them pat in the Trucks or Nationwide ranks,
it's "shut up and drive" time for Cup rookies or prospects. More often than not, it's like drafting NFL busts,
but in stock car racing parlance, it's promoting an unprepared but talented driver far too soon.
Does NASCAR need to tinker with the rookie requirements? Consider the fact that Brad Keselowski, who raced his first
full-time campaign in Cup cars last year, wasn't eligible for the award. Why? Because he raced the maximum allotted
number of races for a rookie prospect in 2009.
A ridiculous rule is partly to blame, perhaps equally as much, as the logic and reasoning behind the rapid fire promotions
of young drivers who aren't exactly ready for primetime.
Another intangible to consider is the "choose a series" rule implemented this year in the top three touring series,
in which a driver must declare one racing division to run for a full championship points run. Good intentions aside in
efforts to produce a true series winner, in turn, this hurts the efforts of a racer like Trevor Bayne, who captured this
year's Daytona 500 in only his second career Cup start.
Bayne scored 0 points, essentially making him ineligible for rookie honors this season because of his intentions to run the
full Nationwide Series schedule. Although we most likely will not see a rookie running the full schedule in 2011,
all hope isn't completely lost. Head to your nearest short track and perhaps then, you just may see a future Cup champion
who's just awaiting their opportunity to climb up the racing ladder. Or, perhaps, look beyond technicalities and
realize that given the right opportunity and time, a fan may be lucky to witness a Trevor Bayne moment.
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