Rookie Report: Week 16

2014 Season Rookie Report

Week 16

By Richard Tix

It has been awhile since NASCAR Behind the Wall has taken a look at how the 2014 rookie class has been doing. In fact, we haven't taken a look since week 5 of the NASCAR Season. As I did back in week 5, I like letting the rookies get a bunch of races in before taking a look at there season. They now have 15 races under the 2014 belt so it is safe to say they're starting to settle in. Just around the corner of the 2014 season will be NASCAR's loop back to some tracks it's already been to. We will learn a lot about what the rookies learned the first time around.

But, first up is the 2014 rookie classes first look at turning right. NASCAR heads to Sonoma Raceway which can be a lot for a driver to take in, but also a drivers opportunity to steal a win and maybe a Chase birth. 

**Rookies listed by highest in Sprint Cup Standings**

• 7th- Kyle Larson
• 17th- Austin Dillon
• 29th- Justin Allgaier
• 30th- Michael Annett
• 31st- Cole Whitt
• 35th- Alex Bowman
• 37th- Ryan Truex

#42 Kyle Larson

After week 5 Kyle Larson's stock was at an all time high for himself. He had just finsished 2nd at Auto Club to Kyle Busch and talk was all about him. Well since then he has bought a house, announce he is having a child, oh, and he has been racing pretty well too. Since week 5 he has 5 top 10's and 2 top 5's in 10 races. Even his poor finishes in the last 10 haven't been that bad excluding his 27th at Martinsville (11, 18, 12, and 16). I think the people who said he needs more time before being in Cup are either hiding under a rock hoping he starts to fail or all turned into believers. Oh, and he is 7th in points, highest guy in points without a win other then Matt Kenseth.

#3 Austin Dillon

Last time we took a look at Dillon he was 9th in the points standings. After 5 races he had a 9th and two 11th place finishes. Since then he has only done that once (11th at Darlington, which is a very quality finish). Also during this stretch since week 5 he only has 3 top 15's (10 races). Even though those stats look like he isn't progressing, the fact that he has had a good handful of recent races where he logged over 100 laps in the top 15 is a good sign. His best tracks have been the two Super Speedways (Daytona and Talladega) but he has been learning along the way. 

#52 Justin Allgaier

After Dillon and Larson we start getting into rookies with lesser equipment so it is a bit harder to judge. I will start with this about Justin, he has had some pretty impressive runs unfortunately most have not resulted in great finishes. After week 5 he was 29th in the standings and after the last 10 races he has stayed still at 29th. He has has 5 top 25 finishes since week 5 (10 races) and just finished a career best 16th at Michigan. In fact Michigan was the first time this season his driver rating was above 70 after running 71% of the race in the top 15. 

#7 Michael Annett

Allgaier stayed still at 29th in points in the last 10 races but Annett came a bit closer. After week 5 he was 31st in the Cup standings and in the last stretch he moved up to 30th. In the last 10 he has four total top 25's with two of those being top 20's. Annett had a career best finish of 16th at Talladega but I would argue his 20th place finish at Pocono was one of his better races. At Pocono he ran a season high 24 laps in the top 15 and a season high average running position of 23rd. 

#26 Cole Whitt

A lot has happened since week 5 of the NASCAR season for Cole Whitt. After week 8 Swan Racing folded under financial pressure. But BK racing was quick to pick up Cole and add a third rookie to there team (Bowman and Truex). Cole has only has one top 25 since his career high finish 18th in week 5 (Fontana). However, 7 times in his last 10 races he has finished in the top 30. In my mind BK racing is not ready for three cars, let alone 3 rookies. But, they were good enough to give Cole a shot (I would also argue that Cole Whitt is the best rookie on the BK Team). So, times are rough for Whitt but he should stick around if he keeps showing he can compete in lower equipment. He is currently 31st in points.

#23 Alex Bowman

When I see a car in the wall my first thought is Alex Bowman.... Alright, he has had some rough outings lately, but I don't actually immediately think its Alex (though I'm not surprised when it is).  Unlike my thoughts on Larson, I did believe Bowman needed more grooming in lower levels (I really liked Larson, so I had no problem giving him a shot). He only had 6 career top 10's in 36 career starts in Nationwide and most of Bowman's work has been done in the ARCA series to this point. But, I don't blame Alex, because NASCAR does not have a lot of opportunities when you look it as a whole, so he had to jump on it. I only hope he can stick around long enough to actually get some time behind the wheel and a decent ride. Currently he is 35th in points, having started all 15 races with no top 10's.

#83 Ryan Truex

Not a lot to see here. I like Ryan Truex, but he really should be getting more experience in lower levels. He has only run 40 total laps all season in the top 15 (28 of those coming at Talladega). BK Racing really shouldn't be running 3 cars, let alone 3 rookies right now. If they are going to run 3 car's they really should fill the third car with a veteran to help out the young guys. You have to wonder how long BK Racing will be able to keep this up. Right now he is 37th in points, running 12 of the 15 races and a high finish of 30th.

Past Rookie Reports:

• Week 5
• Week 1
• Preseason

Rookie Report: Week 5

2014 Season Rookie Report

Week 5

By Richard Tix

NASCAR Behind the Wall took a preseason and post Daytona 500 race look at the 2014 Rookie class. I have been waiting to let the rookies settle in a bit before taking another look at how there season is going. Well, after the results of Auto Club Speedway and how a few drivers finished I thought their is now better time then now to take a look back at them.

#3 Austin Dillon

Dillon sits 9th in overall points so far in the 2014 season, yet he still has yet to blow anyone away with his performance. However, most races he has stayed out of trouble and sat back and learned. He hasn't been over aggressive and that approach has faired well for him. He has back to back 11th place finishes and has finished top 16 in all but one race (Phoenix 24th). 

#42 Kyle Larson

Perfect timing for the rookie report for Kyle, as he just came off an exciting 2nd place finish at Auto Club Speedway. Larson battled Kyle Busch once again on the last lap but came up just short of the win. The more important stat, Larson has come away with a better finish in each of his races as the previous one (38th, 20, 19, 10, and 2nd). From the start he hasn't been as consistent as Dillon, but he has shown that flash of brilliance. 

#51 Justin Allgaier

We go from Larson who is 16th in overall standings all the way down to 29th to find the next rookie, Allgaier. So far Bristol seems to have been his best race of the season, finishing 17th and running 25 laps in the top 15. He also had a positive pass differential of +10 on the day/night. 

#7 Michael Annett

Just two spots down, 31st, we find the next rookie Annett. Michael is coming off his best finish of the season at Auto Club (19th place finish) after finishing a season best 26th the week before at Bristol. He still only managed to get up to 16th position, but he did have 128 green flag passes. He seems to be taking small steps in the right direction.

#26 Cole Whitt

Auto Club Speedway was overall friendly to the rookie class as Cole Whitt also is coming off his best finish of the season. Was this due to the conservative nature of the rookies set ups? Who knows, but fact is Cole Whitt finished 18th (his first top 20 finish). At one point he made it all the way up to 13th (1 lap) which is his highest of the season other than Daytona.

#23 Alex Bowman

Once again, another rookie having a career high best finish at Auto Club Speedway, Bowman finished the day 22nd after starting 40th. Alex's only race so far in 2014 that has yeilded a positive pass differential was Bristol with +11.

#30 Parker Kligerman

Bad luck has followed this kid around, or is it Parker? Either way you look at it he hasn't had a smooth rookie season so far. In 5 races he has only finished better than 40th two times. Its only up from here right?

Past Rookie Reports:

• Week 1
• Preseason

NASCAR Rookie Report: Week 1

2014 Season Rookie Report

By Richard Tix

Well the Rookies officially have one NASCAR Sprint Cup race under there belts. The Daytona 500 is over and past them (Review and Power Rankings). NASCAR Behind the Wall will give you a quick run down of how the Rookies handled the Daytona 500 with the big boys.

#3 Austin Dillon

Austin had the most successful trip to Daytona of all the Rookies. First Dillon took the Pole for the Daytona 500 and then he finished top 10 (9th). He did have some downfalls as he seemed to be a part of a lot of the wrecks on Sunday. He may not have been a cause, but its a fact he was always around which may not win him friends. Noting that, he did make it out of most of those and got his car into a good spot for a top 10 finish. Good start to 2014 for Austin.

#42 Kyle Larson

Larson wasnt as fortunate. He started 16th but on lap one had troubles and hit the wall. Later on in the race he was nudged by Dillon and got into a few other cars. Tough break for him in his first Cup race. 

#51 Justin Allgaier

During some pitting rotations Allgaier got to run out front and pick up some points. After leading 4 total laps Sunday he finished 27th, but overall he had a quality race. He had 31 laps in the top 15 and seemed to make some good passes. Here is some loop data from Daytona.

#26 Cole Whitt

Whitt had a pretty good run on Sunday. He ran 56 laps while in the top 15 and made some quality passes. Unfortunatly he was caught up like many in one of the many incidents. He finished 28th.

#30 Parker Kligerman

Kligerman also had a decent day at DIS. He finished the day 29th, one spot behind teammate Cole Whitt. Parker finished the day running 6 laps in the top 15 and making 9 quality passes. Loop data here.

#7 Michael Annett

Annett ran 11 laps in the top 15 while making 36 quality passes in that time. He didnt have a bad run but he finished 37th on Sunday. 

#23 Alex Bowman

Bowman actually finished 23rd on Sunday, but he was neither great or terrible. Many Rookies just fell into the pack and we didn't get to see much of them. In the next few weeks we should see more out of these guys at non pack racing tracks.

Take a look at the first Article on these Rookies while your at it!