2025 Rookie of the Year candidates for NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, Truck Series
NASCAR has revealed the drivers who have been approved as of January 27 to run for rookie of the year honors in the Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series in 2025.
Shane van Gisbergen (No. 88 Trackhouse Racing)
Riley Herbst (No. 35 23XI Racing)
Dustin Long,
The 35-year-old van Gisbergen won in his Cup debut in 2023 in the inaugural Chicago Street Race. He has 14 career Cup starts. Last season, van Gisbergen won three races in the Xfinity Series and finished 12th in points.
Herbst, 25, has eight career Cup starts. His best Cup finish was ninth at Talladega in October 2023. He has made 175 Xfinity starts and scored three wins, including two last season. Herbst finished a career-high seventh in points in Xfinity last year.
Carson Kvapil (No. 1 JR Motorsports)
Connor Zilisch (No. 88 JR Motorsports)
William Sawalich (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing)
Taylor Gray (No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing)
Daniel Dye (No. 10 Kaulig Racing)
Christian Eckes (No. 16 Kaulig Racing)
Nick Sanchez (No. 48 Big Machine Racing)
Dean Thompson (No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing)
Kvapil, 21, is the son for 2003 Truck champion Travis Kvapil. Carson Kvapil won the zMAX Cars Tour Late Model Stock championship in 2022 and '23. He made nine Xfinity starts last year, finishing a career-best second at Dover.
Zilisch, 18, is a development driver for Trackhouse Racing. He will make his Cup debut for that team March 2 at Circuit of the Americas. He won his Xfinity debut last year, taking the checkered flag at Watkins Glen. Zilisch has four Xfinity starts.
The 18-year-old Sawalich won the ARCA Menards East Series championship in 2023 and '24. He has 13 wins in 27 ARCA starts since 2023, winning nine of 14 races last year for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has three Xfinity starts, winning the pole in last year's season finale at Phoenix.
Gray, 19, ran 13 Xfinity races last season for Joe Gibbs Racing. He placed a career-high third at Richmond in his series debut.
Dye, 21, has 12 career Xfinity starts, including 10 last year. He finished a career-high seventh at Indianapolis. Dye placed second in the ARCA Menards Series in 2022.
The 24-year-old Eckes placed a career-best third in the Truck Series last year. He has nine career Truck wins. He has 114 career Truck starts. He has not made a start in the Xfinity Series.
Sanchez, 23, won the 2022 ARCA Menards Series championship. He finished a career-best fifth in points in the Truck series last year, winning two races. He has eight Xfinity starts, scoring a career-best seventh at Martinsville.
Thompson, 23, finished a career-best 16th in points in the Truck Series last year. He's made 70 series starts. Thompson has run two Xfinity races with a best finish of 20th at Talladega last fall for Sam Hunt Racing.
Toni Breidinger (No. 5 Tricon Garage)
Gio Ruggiero (No. 17 Tricon Garage)
Connor Mosack (No. 81 McAnally-Hilgermann Racing)
Andres Perez de Lara (No. 77 Spire Motorsports)
Christian Rose (No. 44 Niece Motorsports)
Frankie Muniz (No. 33 Reaume Brothers Racing)
The 25-year-old Breidinger finished fourth in the ARCA Menards Series points last year. She has made four career Truck starts with a best finish of 15th. That is the highest finish for a female in their Truck Series debut.
Ruggiero, 20, had seven top-five finishes in 10 ARCA Menards Series starts last year. He finished runner-up at Phoenix, Dover and Toledo.
Mosack, 26, has 28 Xfinity Series starts since 2022. He has made 11 career Truck starts. His best Truck finish came at Homestead last fall when he finished third for Spire Motorsports.
Perez de Lara, 19, won the ARCA Menards Series championship last season after finishing second in the points in 2023. He has two Truck starts, finishing a career-best ninth in his series debut last year at Gateway for Spire Motorsports.
The 39-year star of the 'Malcolm in the Middle' show made four Truck starts last year. HIs best result was 29th at Kansas. He ran the full ARCA Menards Series schedule in 2023, placing fourth in the points but had funding only for four Truck, two Xfinity and two ARCA Menards Series races last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
41 minutes ago
- USA Today
Why do the Panthers shoot toy rats at Brad Marchand after wins?
Why do the Panthers shoot toy rats at Brad Marchand after wins? Brad Marchand has been exactly what the Florida Panthers needed him to be after the franchise dealt for the longtime Boston Bruin and Stanley Cup champion at the 2025 trade deadline. And as the Panthers try to win their second straight Cup, there's a new tradition that's sprouted up involving rats. No, not the real rodent. It's sort of related to the tradition of Panthers die-hards throwing plastic rats on the ice after a win at home. But after Marchand was acquired, his teammates started shooting those rats at him after victories. Why is that? Let's dive in and discuss all of that: When did the Panthers start shooting rats at Brad Marchand? It began when teammate Evan Rodrigues did it after Marchand was acquired, and the rest of the Panthers started following suit, and they're hitting those rats quite hard. What has Brad Marchand said about getting rats hit at him? From ESPN: And something a little more light-hearted: "They just see all my family out there on the ice and want us to be together," Marchand said. Why do the Panthers shoot rats at Brad Marchand in the first place? It could be because Marchand has been nicknamed "The Rat," or Rodrigues sparked something that just fit the Panthers' fun approach as they've made a run. From that ESPN article:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
WNBA Commissioner's Cup: Where things stand as Seattle Storm, Indiana Fever aim to make a championship game push in Week 2
A week into WNBA Commissioner's Cup play, familiar names have taken an early lead in the yearly event that results in an extra payday for WNBA players. Here's what you need to know about where things stand one week in. Starting in 2021, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert started the event that designates certain games early in the season as Cup games. In five games for each team against their conference rivals, teams can earn points based on wins, losses and point differential. The top teams from the Eastern and Western conferences will then face off on July 1. Each player from the winning team will earn an extra $30,000, while the losing team's players will win $10,000 each. Advertisement For the last two seasons, the Commissioner's Cup has been a preview of the WNBA Finals. The New York Liberty won it over the Aces in 2023, while the Minnesota Lynx won it against the Liberty in 2024. Notably, the team that lost those Cup championships ended up winning the WNBA title. Who are the early leaders in the Commissioner's Cup? Much like with the overall WNBA standings, the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx are at the top of the Eastern and Western conference standings, respectively. Neither team has lost a game yet this season. The two teams, which became very familiar with each other last season, seem destined for another clash. Advertisement However, the fun thing about the Cup is that teams that didn't start the season off as well as they might have liked can get a new beginning. The Indiana Fever are 4-4 overall this season, but 2-0 in the Cup. If they can get Caitlin Clark back soon — she is "ramping back up," but won't play against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday — the Fever could throw a wrench into the Liberty's run to win the Cup. What are the key games to watch this week? The week ahead features two major matchups that could have Cup implications: Minnesota Lynx vs. Seattle Storm: Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on League Pass These two teams don't need the Cup to make their games must-watch. The two franchises are tied for WNBA championships and have been pushing each other toward greatness for as long as they've existed. With the current teams, you have two of the league's best leaders on and off the court in Seattle's Nneka Ogwumike and Minnesota's Napheesa Collier facing off, and two of the league's best trash talkers in Seattle's Skylar Diggins and Minnesota's Courtney Williams. Not to mention Collier is an MVP front-runner. Advertisement New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever: Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC Their first match-up felt like a playoff game, with New York taking the win after the game ended on a play the Fever called a foul. (The referees didn't agree.) The rematch is even more important as it could decide who will play for the Commissioner's Cup. We won't know if Clark will play in the game until later this week, but either way, it should be a thrilling matchup at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday. Commissioner's Cup games will continue through June 17, with the Cup championship on July 1.
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Mexico's altitude will test engines for NASCAR Cup, Xfinity Series teams this weekend
Drivers and teams will have more than each other to contend with when the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race this weekend at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. They'll also have to contend with the elevation. The road course is about 7,500 feet above sea level — the next highest track in NASCAR is Las Vegas at about 2,000 feet elevation. The higher elevation means thinner air. Air plays a key role in horsepower and cooling and those will be significant issues for teams. Doug Yates, president and CEO of Roush Yates Engines, estimates that the thinner air could reduce horsepower as much as 20% for the 670-horsepower Cup engines. Danny Lawrence, long time engine builder for Richard Childress Racing and its director of the Xfinity Series and vice president of alliance operations, said maximizing horsepower is challenging at such a high altitude. 'You've got to fool the engine to make it think that the conditions are better,' he told NBC Sports. #NASCAR races this weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. The area is about 7,500 feet above sea level (Charlotte, NC, home to the teams is at 751 feet above sea level). Daniel Suarez talks about the challenges of competing at high elevation. Daniel Suarez said the horsepower reduction will be minimal for drivers. 'I don't think you have to drive different, but the cars are going to have more mechanical grip especially on the exit of the corners because you have less power,' he said. 'We're going to lose like 80 to 100 horsepower. That's a lot. … But at the same time, in the high-speed corners, we're going to lose a lot of downforce. We're going to lose a little bit of everything.' Racing at such elevation is new for the Cup Series. The Xfinity Series raced in Mexico City from 2005-08. The series averaged nearly seven engine failures per weekend (practice and the race) the first three years. The final year racing at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez saw no engine failures during the weekend. 'I would say we're more concerned about the cooling and the components and the other things we have to ensure are properly set up,' Yates told NBC Sports. NASCAR will allow each manufacturer to have two sets of hood louvers to run during practice Saturday to see which best cools the engine. Each manufacturer will select which hood louver it will use and all of its teams must use the one selected on its cars. Dustin Long, 'The problem we have with the engine is the caution laps,' Trent Owens, crew chief for AJ Allmendinger, told NBC Sports. 'It gets so hot under the caution laps, more so than the green laps.' Under green flag conditions, the cars are at higher speeds and can get more air to cool. The slower speeds under caution means less air gets to the engine to cool it. As engines start to overheat, several problems can ensue. 'What happens with the engine management software is it goes into protection (mode) if you don't get it cool enough before the restart,' Owens said. 'So you're trying to prevent that. It doesn't shut the engine off, but it starts feeding it fuel and changing the timing and stuff like that where you lose horsepower. 'So, just having that stuff right is probably our concern that we normally don't have to worry about at any (other) event.' With NASCAR's rule that engines must run two races, most of the engines that will run in Sunday's Cup race will be that engine's second race. Yates said a lot of the Ford engines for the 2.42-mile road course in Mexico were run earlier this year at Martinsville, a half-mile short track. Yates says the two courses share some similarities so that running one engine at both tracks makes sense. 'We shift at Martinsville every straightaway, every lap,' Yates said. 'So the power curve actually shifted up quite a bit from years ago. As the engine group, we have the opportunity to change the intake manifold and the exhaust system today, so we can tune around the base engine and have power lower RPM range or higher RPM range with those two tuning tools.'
