The Rookie Battle Of 2014 10/7/2014 |
I bid you welcome gentle readers, and as always, a
warm welcome to our assigned reader of all things NASCAR, wherever today might
find you. Is it really possible that we are winding down quickly toward the end
of the 2014 season and into another off-season? One quick look at the calendar
assures me that it's about two months and two weeks 'til Christmas. How much shopping
have you done? Hmm, same as me. My body clock is still
set to summer, yet as I type, it's a balmy 41º just outside my window. Global
warming, no doubt...
Let's be done with all of that before we even get
started, and talk of racing things. Realizing that we're nearing the end of
this season, your scribe took a journey back to the beginning of 2014, and all
of the anticipation surrounding what promised to be an excellent battle for
Rookie Of The Year at the Cup level. Those eligible to
participate in the Yellow Stripe Brigade are shown here:
L-R
Rear:
L-R
Front
Back in that month without end that some folks call January, our staff and
friends here at Race Fans Forever were given assigned drivers and asked to
write a capsule introduction to the driver and team as it would present for the
upcoming season. ( These can be found by going to the Home
Page and hovering
over "2014 Season Previews") Most of them of course, were the
standard competitors, with only a few changes attributed to the never-ending
game of musical chairs, NASCAR style. The rookies though, were numerous;
something we had not seen in recent years, as the sanctioning body scraped the
dregs from barrel bottom in some years to find two, thus making it appear to be
some sort of race.
Most of
the names were familiar, even to the casual fans, as these kids had been
running in trucks, Nationwide, K & N and the ARCA series. There was all sort of talk and predictions as to how the
"battle" would be fought and who would eventually emerge the victor.
This scribe flatly stated more than once that this would be the best battle on
track all season.
~Wishful
thinking~
The
battle, if indeed it can be called that, proved to be between only two of the
aspiring youngsters that entered this season so full of hopes and dreams of
better things to come. Looking back, here then is what I wrote in January about
young Austin Dillon, grandson to one of the most famous owners in all of NASCAR
history, Richard Childress...
#3 ~ Austin Dillon
~PattyKay Lilley
First, I must thank
Jim for giving me this driver and this number, while asking me to write a "paragraph
or two" about the combo. How about a book partner? For the last dozen
years, this team ran under the Richard Childress Racing banner as the #29 with
driver, Kevin Harvick, and for those same 12 years, RCR paid for and kept the
rights to the #3 in all three of NASCAR's top series, Cup, Nationwide and
Trucks. Yes folks, the #3 is coming back to Cup. It's
a number, not a living, breathing entity, and in NASCAR circles (pun intended)
it's been held for many years by RCR. I'll wager that none among you loved
watching Dale Earnhardt on the race track any more than this old gal, and I welcome back the #3 with open arms. I hope you
can all do the same.
The new driver in
the seat of the newly returned #3 is Austin Dillon, oldest grandson of Richard
Childress and candidate for 2014 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year. At the tender
age of 23, Austin already boasts Championships in both Nationwide and Truck
series. Crew chief Gil Martin remains with the team, and sponsors for young
Dillon include Dow Chemical, General Mills' Cheerios brand, Bass Pro Shops, Realtree Outdoors, American Ethanol and the University of
Northwestern Ohio. RCR stablemates for Austin will be
returning driver Paul Menard in the #27 and new arrival, Ryan Newman, replacing
Jeff Burton in the #31. Please join me in wishing Austin good luck in the year
to come. It's shaping up to be the best Rookie of the Year battle in many
years.
Polishing my
crystal ball and looking ahead, I see for Austin the usual ups and downs of a
rookie season. Gil Martin is good, but I'm not sure he's a babysitter and might
not have the tender guiding hand of say, a Larry Mac with Davey Allison. No
wins and no Chase for Austin in 2014.
Then, we
have the other half of the battle, Kyle Larson, but this time it was Jim
Fitzgerald behind the keyboard, giving his thoughts on things to come...
Kyle Larson
~Jim Fitzgerald
The Ganassi folks
have dropped the Earnhardt from the official team name, and Juan
Pablo Montoya from the seat, so now Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will have
to harness the young but talented Kyle Larson. A driver’s driver,
Larson is a developmental driver for Ganassi, came up
through the ranks of the K&N Pro Series East, was the 2012 Champion, and a
graduate of the Drive For Diversity program. Larson had a solid rookie
year in the Nationwide series, highlighted
by some good finishes, and one spectacular crash in the season opener at
Daytona. Chris Heroy is the crew
chief and the engines will still come from Hendrick’s engine
shop. I’m picking Austin Dillon to win Rookie of the Year as I think
his equipment will allow for more consistent finishes, but I’m picking Larson
to score a win first. Depending on what rules NASCAR puts into play, that may qualify him for the Chase, so that is up
in the air. I look for two top-fives, four
top-tens, a win, maybe on a short track, and a
possible Chase slot. You’re going to be hearing this kid’s name for
a while!
Yes! Yes we are Jim, and we're going to hear a
bit more about young Larson right now. With seven races left 'til Homestead, he
has seemingly run away and hid from the competition offered by Austin Dillon.
ROTY points work differently from regular NASCAR points, and given the current
state of affairs regarding those, who knows how they work... or if they work?
Rookies
are not obliged to run a full season to win the title of Rookie of the Year,
though Sunoco ROTY points are awarded to the highest finishing rookie in each
race. They are judged on points and positions earned in only the best 17 races
of the year, and if memory serves, "judged" is the correct word,
since there is human judgment involved along with points earned. NASCAR itself doesn't offer much definition of
how it all works, at least that this scribe could find easily, so when in doubt,
I do what I always do... go to Jay Adamczyk and get
the "unofficial" but true version of whatever it is I'm seeking. You
can find that by clicking
right about here.
What it
all boils down to is that barring something unforeseen and devastating,
the 2014 Rookie of the Year in Sprint Cup competition will be Kyle Larson.
However, I'll hold my congratulations until I see it in writing, considering
that he still has to be voted in by a panel of folks whose identity appears
nowhere that I can find. I've never liked or trusted judged sports much...
figure skating, diving etc. Give me a sport where electronic timing is involved
and I'll give you a fairer decision than you'll ever find in a sport judged by
human beings alone.
Below
are the points awarded for Rookie of the Race in each of the 29 races run as I
type. These figures depict what no one expected back in January, a very one-sided
battle with by far the most points going to the #42 team with driver, Kyle
Larson. I'll spare you having to count them and tell you that Larson has been
Rookie of the Race 21 times, compared to Dillon's total of eight.
Partner,
at this point I think I have to call your choice of Austin Dillon as Rookie of
the Year in 2014 an error in judgment, but it was one in which you were far
from alone. The entire racing world saw a world class racer, Juan Pablo
Montoya, unable to wring a decent finish from that car with the target anywhere
that didn't involve turning right.
Likewise, teammate Jamie McMurray was not setting the world on fire.
Both cars from the Ganassi stable have shone like bright stars in the midnight
sky in 2014. Oh yes, I just happen to have my capsule write-up an Jamie as well. It went something like this...
#1 ~ Jamie McMurray
~PattyKay Lilley
After finishing a respectable 15th in the 2013 driver point
standings, this team remains relatively intact for the beginning of the 2014
season. Jamie keeps his seat with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing and welcomes new
crew chief Keith Rodden, who replaces Kevin
"Bono" Manion in that capacity. Though
37-year old McMurray still looks like the fresh-faced youngster that took over
for Sterling Marlin in 2002 when he suffered a broken neck in a crash at
Kansas, winning his second race out at the Cup level in Charlotte, 2014 will
find him the elder statesman in the EGR stables as they welcome young Kyle
Larson to his rookie year in the big leagues. Larson replaces the departing
Juan Pablo Montoya. Jamie should prove to be a good role model for the aspiring
young racer, having recorded wins in both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400
in his career. That's number one, gentle readers, and we are, as they say,
"Off to the races."
My prediction for
Jamie in the upcoming season is probably more of the same. Middle of the road,
with one win likely, two possible, and missing the Chase, but not by much.
Not too bad for an old gal, wouldn't you agree? Time now for
our Classic Country Closeout. We haven't had any requests lately, so
you're stuck with the things I love, and I hope you all approve. First up is one from the early 50s. This has
been recorded by just about anyone with a guitar, but the original singer with
the original hit was Ned Miller, and here is Ned singing, "From a Jack to a King."
This is
one of my lifelong favorites with many memories attached. Kid brother Sean sang
this at my baby sister Ruth's wedding... at my request. It played as the
Father-Daughter dance song at my own daughter's wedding reception, and
continues to mean more to me than I can express. Here is Bobby Helms with his
beautiful first rendition of "You
Are My Special Angel."
Finally,
we have a beautiful love song from 1949, and once again, this is one that's
been recorded by uncountable artists. I have two very favorite versions, one by
Jean Shepard and the other by Jim Reeves. Jim won the coin toss today, and who
could argue with something as beautiful as Jim singing "I Love You Because?"
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay