NASCAR: Rookie of the Year Update

We are one-fifth of the way through the regular season, and the 2016 rookies are already exceeding expectations. Here is an early season analysis of the performances by competitors in the Rookie of the Year battle.

It has been a fantastic start to the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season all-around. No different is the performances of this year’s rookies. The two favorites in the 2016 Rookie of the Yeear campaign, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, have started the season with great finishes, especially for a pair of drivers who came into the season with just 5 and 18 starts, respectively. No one, probably even Ryan and Chase themselves, thought they would be sitting five races into the season having already earned multiple top-tens.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Chase Elliott has had the best of both worlds in the opening five races. He earned the pole at Daytona, and led early, but ended up crashing early in the event. He followed that up with a great run at Atlanta, finishing a career-best eighth. At Las Vegas, Chase was running in the top-ten when he was caught up in a hard collision with Matt Kenseth towards the end of the race. The next two weeks at Phoenix and Auto Club, Chase was battling for top-five finishes (including a potential runner-up run last week) when late race yellows dropped him back a few positions. He still ended up with top-tens in each race, including a career-best sixth at Auto Club. Chase Elliott is already competing for top-fives and wins, which was certainly not expected this early in his rookie campaign. There will assuredly be some growing pains throughout the long season, but this success is promising.

Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (21) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Blaney has also had flashes of brilliance early in the season. He earned top-ten finishes at both Las Vegas and Phoenix, and was having a good run at Auto Club when he blew a tire late in the race that took him out of contention. The surprising aspect of Blaney’s early season success is this being the Wood Brothers’ first full-time season since 2006. The team is racing at tracks they have not consistently run at in nearly a decade. This showcases the talent of both the team and Blaney. It was expected for the Wood Brothers’ team to have some growing pains with Blaney, and while its very early in the season, it is surprising how well the team has adjusted to the full-time campaign. /

The three other rookies competing in the 2016 campaign have not had the same success as the two favorites, as was expected. Brian Scott has had a few years of Sprint Cup experience, but never with a full-time team. The No. 44 team has a new crew chief (Chris Heroy) and many new crew members, so that team will certainly have a lot to learn throughout the season. Scott had a promising run at Auto Club, ending up with a twelfth place finish, which tied Scott’s career-best finish in Sprint Cup competition.

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Chris Buescher has really struggled getting acquainted to his new team, Front Row Motorsports. Of course is his first full-time campaign, so struggles are expected, especially because that team is not a front-runner. Buescher’s best run in the No. 34 Ford has been a 26th at Las Vegas. Success for this team would be to start competing for lead-lap finishes, which it has failed to do in the first five races.

Jeffrey Earnhardt is not running the full season, so success will be hard to come by for the driver of the No. 32 Ford. In the three races he has run, he has finished the races, which is certainly important for the Go FAS Racing team to earn sponsorship opportunities. Earnhardt’s best run thus far has been a 33rd at Las Vegas. Earnhardt is expected to run 32 of the 36 races this season.

Here are the updated Rookie of the Year standings in 2016 thus far:

Driver Points
Chase Elliott 60
Ryan Blaney 55
Brian Scott 46
Chris Buescher 44
Jeffrey Earnhardt 23

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Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney have had fantastic starts to their 2016 seasons, and are expected to be locked in a riveting Rookie of the Year battle. The difference is just five points through the first five races, and with both drivers showing capabilities to compete for a position in the Chase, this will certainly be a great rookie battle. Stay tuned to Beyond the Flag for updates on the Rookie of the Year race throughout the season.

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