2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

Season Grade: A-

After a season like Kyle Larson just had you would forget he was just a 22 year old rookie in 2014. The season started and he didn't even get his own spotlight, instead he was included in the underdogs preview.

Well, welcome Larson, you get your own review after that rookie season debut. 

I am a fan of Larson, but even coming into his rookie year I was skeptical because of his limited amount of seat time in a NASCAR level car. He spent just 43 races between Nationwide (33 races), Truck (6 races), and Cup (4 races) before the 2014 season. That's not a whole lot of grooming before getting a ride with the "big boys." 

I thought he could have an alright season, but he far exceeded my expectations. I knew it would be between him and Austin Dillon for the 2014 Rookie of the Year, but in my mind Kyle won by a land slide. I'm not talking about in the case of points (which he won pretty easily), but just on the eye test. Don't get me wrong, Austin had a pretty good rookie season himself, but some races Kyle just jumped off the track with his performance.

He took pushing the Cup guys to the edge in Nationwide races in 2013 (think Kyle Busch v Kyle Larson) and brought it on a whole new level in 2014. Still, after how well his 2014 rookie season went he has room to grow. He pushed his car into the top 5 a bunch of times in 2014 but couldn't come up with a win. 

Kyle finished 2014 with 8 top 5's and 17 top 10's but in the end missed out on the Chase. The promising thing is Kyle was close to notching his first win in his first season at the Cup level. At 22 years old he almost made the Chase based on points (finished 17th). Yet, he still has much to learn, which is exciting as a fan of NASCAR. Kyle Larson proved in 2014 that he is here to stay and is ready to front line a new wave of young NASCAR talent.

• List of Past Driver Spotlights

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!

Driver Spotlight: Underdogs Part Two

Underdog Driver's 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix

Well this time around NASCAR Behind the Wall is going to use the Driver Spotlight to take an even faster look at some underdogs going into the 2014 season. This will be a two part Spotlight featuring Rookies and guys who haven't quiet broken out yet. Because they haven't broken out yet NASCAR Behind the Wall has not done a Driver Spotlight directly for them. None the less, these drivers can still win and need some attention.

Paul Menard

For the second year in a row Paul Menard ended the season without a win in his #27 RCR ride. In fact, 2011 is still the only season he has won a race in Cup. Since that win in 2011 Menard has done a bit better then prior, finishing the season 17th, 16th, and now 17th in points (before that he had not finished better then 23rd). If Menard ever wants to make a run at the Chase the next few years will be key for him to start becoming more consistent or find a way to win. Another start to a season is appon us and most NASCAR fans have wrote him off to a 17th place points finish.



Brian Vickers

Brian Vickers has had a crazy career in NASCAR so far. He has bounced around, made some enemies, and then had some health scares along the way. In 2014, it seems he is full go to run full time for MWR as long as he stays healthy. Only 6 times in his career has he finished a full schedule, and in 2 of those 6 he had wins. He also won his 3rd race in his career last year while only running 17 races. Vickers has shown he can win, so he has a chance to compete, so we all hope and pray that his health agrees with him (for his healths sake and so we can see his potential in Cup come around).

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Well 2013 marked Ricky's first season full time in Cup, taking over for Matt Kenseth in the #17 Roush Fenway ride. He ended up as the 2013 ROY but he didn't have much competition. He ended the season with 1 top 5 and 3 top 10's. The plus side to those stats, all of them came in the last 11 races. So things could be looking up for him in 2014. Season two should be better than season one, but with so much competition how much better will it be?

Aric Almirola

2013 was Aric's second full season in a Cup ride with Richard Petty Motorsports. He did improve on his 2012 rookie campaign but just barely. He went from 20th in overall points to 18th in points while improving in top 10 finishes. All of that being said, he still isn't a front runner and hasn't made a big jump in the standings, plus he hasn't got his first career win yet. Aric just signed a new deal with Smithfield and RPM so maybe the extra confidence will help him improve his final finish, or at least find a win in 2014.

Marcus Ambrose

The 2013 season was not kind to Ambrose. Not only did Ambrose not win at either road course during the season, but he also didn't finish in the top 5 a single time. Marcus had posted a top 5 in each of his previous 5 seasons (including 2008 when he ran 11 races). He also fell off in top 10's (6) and his final spot in the standings (22nd). Also, 2014 is the last known season that Marcus is under contract at RPM so the pressure will be on for him to win.


These last few guys are true underdogs, and not many expect them to make the Chase, but none the less they still have a change. There are still a few more guys (one girl) out there who are even bigger long shots but are worth a mention. Danica Patrick, AJ Allmendinger, Casey Mears, David Gilliland, and a huge crop of rookies. Will these guys make the Chase? Most likely not, but they could possibly get lucky and pull off an upset win.

Well that's it for Part Two, let me know what you think on Twitter about how these guys will do in 2014. That is NASCAR Behind the Wall's last Driver Spotlight of Preseason. During the season some Spotlights will be done, but scattered about. Daytona is just about here!


Check out the Previous Driver Spotlights:

• Underdogs Part One
• Carl Edwards
• Greg Biffle
• Driver Spotlight Library

NASCAR Team Spotlight: Ganassi Racing

Ganassi Racing 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix

Another team that changed there name in 2014, Ganassi Racing has officially dropped the Earnhardt. They also officially dropped Juan Pablo Montoya in favor of the young gun Kyle Larson. Really, we wont have much to look back at in 2013 since Jamie McMurray is the only one returning.

2013 Team Stats *All McMurray

• Wins: 1
• Top 5: 4
• Top 10: 9

Jamie McMurray

• Well when doing a team spotlight that looks mostly at how the team did in 2013, and everyone is gone except McMurray, it may as well be a driver spotlight. You can see his stats up above. McMurray has always been a quality driver, but has never broken out to more than that. He does find a way to win every few years, most the time at super speedways so in 2014 he has a chance at the Chase. The big question is, will he be back with Ganassi in 2014?

Kyle Larson

• Kyle has little experience in a Cup car, in fact he has had little experience in a Nationwide car. One thing we have seen in his little time is that the kid can drive. Is he ready in 2014? Wait and see. One thing I am pretty sure of is he wont back down just because these are veteran drivers (See his last lap battle with Kyle Busch in Nationwide last tear as an example). Just think, one year ago he was most known for going into the fence, now he will be starting the Daytona 500 in the Sprint Cup.

Previous Team Spotlight: Richard Childress Racing

Driver Spotlight: Underdogs Part One

Underdog Driver's 2014 Preview

By Richard Tix

Well this time around NASCAR Behind the Wall is going to use the Driver Spotlight to take an even faster look at some underdogs going into the 2014 season. This will be a two part Spotlight featuring Rookies and guys who haven't quiet broken out yet. Because they haven't broken out yet NASCAR Behind the Wall has not done a Driver Spotlight directly for them. None the less, these drivers can still win and need some attention.

Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon will run his first full time schedule in the Cup Series in 2014, but hold on that's not the big news. The big news, as everyone knows, is he will be driving the historic #3 for RCR. So the main thing for Dillon will be what kind of expectations will he see from fans and the media. The #3 adds extra pressure to the already stacked rookie class that includes Kyle Larson and others. Dillon ran 11 races in 2013 and 3 of them he finished top 20 (two top 15). Two of those were at Michigan where he finished 11th and 14th.

My big question with Dillon is, can he win? He has proved to be fast, Daytona he was fast in Preseason Thunder, and in NNW he won the Pole 7 times in 2013, but he came away with zero wins. In the Cup series it is huge to find a way to win multiple races to actually compete. Dillon is young, so the pressure shouldn't be to compete, but to win ROY first, but in the long run he will need to win in Cup to make people forget about the #3 controversy.

Kyle Larson

We are moving from one rookie to the next. One thing is for sure, the 2014 rookie class should be a good one and these two seem to be most fans favorites for ROY, mostly because of name and the rides they are getting into compaired to others. Like Dillon, Larson has some big questions too. My biggest question on Kyle Larson is, is he ready for Cup? He has just ran one full time season in NNW which was last year. He did win once, 9 top 5's, and 17 top 10's in those 33 races. During his time in Nationwide he did show no fear even when Cup drivers (Kyle Busch) were running against him, which may have won him some respect, but he is still very young and raw. Just the chance at ROY should be his goal, while trying to find some top 10's and maybe top 5's along the way.

Jamie McMurray

McMurray had his best season in three years in 2013 finishing the season 15th in points. In 2013 he had more wins, top 5's, and top 10's then in 2012 and 2011 combined. The win during the Chase race at Talladega was his first since 2010. McMurray is coming up on the last year of his contract this season With Ganassi so the biggest question going into 2014 is can he do enough to be brought back in 2015?





Martin Truex Jr

Well 2013 was much of the same for Truex for the most part, until right before the Chase that is. Truex was having a typical season, not always a front runner, but a consistant threat to pull out a top 5 or sneaky win here or there (even though in 2013 he finally broke his win less streak). Then came the Chase fiasco that left Truex out after he made the Chase in 2012. Then, 2013 came to a close and Truex found out that NAPA was leaving MWR and so was he. Now he is moving on to Kurt Busch's old ride at Furniture Row. The big question on Truex is can he bounce back from everything in 2013 and find his way back to becoming a top 15 driver?


Well that's it for Part One, let me know what you think on Twitter about how these guys will do in 2014. Next up in Part Two, our final preseason Driver Spotlight will be Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Paul Menard, Aric Almirola, and Marcus Ambrose.


Previous Driver Spotlights:

• Carl Edwards
• Greg Biffle
• Kasey Kahne
• All Previous Spotlights

NASCAR 2014 Rookie Class

2014 NASCAR Rookies in Photos and Tweets

By Richard Tix

NASCAR Behind the Wall will keep tabs from time to time in 2014 on the growing Rookie class in the Cup Series. Updates with how they're running, photo's, and driver Tweets. (With the 2014 class being so big, this will be an ongoing series on NASCAR Behind the Wall called 2014 Rookie Review. So once the season starts take a look back for new articles on these young drivers!)

#3 Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon with a fan

And with an even younger fan

Dillon Brothers at Garth Brooks

Commercial shoot for 2014

Barry Sanders

#42 Kyle Larson

#51 Justin Allgaier

Official announcement 1/21/14

New Helmet for 2014

#26 Cole Whitt

Cole at Preseason Thunder

#30 Parker Kligerman

#83 Ryan Truex

2014 Paint scheme. Note: Announced for Daytona for sure.

#7 Michael Annett

#23 Alex Bowman

Monday 1/20 News

Looks like he is excited about his sponsor

Sponsor photo shoot

Looks like it is straight out of a mailed out catalog. 

Well there we have it, your 2014 NASCAR Rookie Class. From here on out I will be starting a Rookie Review Series for 2014 to update how the drivers are doing, what they're tweeting, and updated some photos from the drivers and fans.