NASCAR: Post-Season Driver Grades

F. Corey Lajoie was ineligible for NASCAR Cup Series points this season, but he drove in most of the season’s races. He had just one top 20 finish, and that was an 11th place finish at Daytona. Other than that result, his top finishes were 24th place results.. No. 83. BK Racing, Toyota. COREY LAJOIE

D-. Gray Gaulding’s best two finishes of the season both came at Talladega. In the first Talladega race, he finished in a career-high 20th place. In the second Talladega race, he finished in the top 20 for the second time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, doing so in 9th place for his first career top 10 result. He finished no higher than 24th in any other race in 2017.. No. 23. BK Racing, Toyota. GRAY GAULDING

Furniture Row Racing, Toyota. ERIK JONES. B. While he did not win nor qualify for the playoffs, Erik Jones had a very successful rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series. He finished in the top 10 in 14 races, and five of those 14 top 10 results were top 5 results, with three of them being podium finishes, including a career-high 2nd place finish at Bristol.. No. 77

Furniture Row Racing, Toyota. MARTIN TRUEX JR.. A+. Martin Truex Jr. more than doubled his career NASCAR Cup Series win total for the second straight season by winning eight races in 2017 en route to winning his first career championship. He led all drivers by extremely large margins in victories, points, playoff points and stage points for pretty much the whole season. This was his year.. No. 78