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:
