NASCAR rookies drive in obscurity
Michael Waltrip, driver of the #15 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, Brian Keselowski, driver of the #92 Discount Tire Dodge, David Reutimann, driver of the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, A.J. Allmendinger, driver of the #43 Best Buy Ford, Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 Crown Royal Ford, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, and other drivers are involved in an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. (Feb. 20, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
Quick, what kind of cars do Andy Lally and Brian Keselowski drive? Who are their sponsors? What are their numbers? If you answered any of those questions correctly, you definitely know your NASCAR.
Lally and Keselowski are the two men running for Rookie of the Year honors in Sprint Cup in 2011. It's a title that NASCAR has awarded since 1954, and many winners have gone on to become some of the top names in the sport. These days, however, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of fan interest in the first-year guys.
Yeah, Joey Logano was a hot property when he ran for and won Rookie of the Year in 2009, but rookie classes simply aren't what they used to be. In an era when the Chase for the Championship is the end-all of the series, the person who tops the rookie charts is just another face in the crowd -- or car on the track.
Do you even remember who won Rookie of the Year last season?
It was Kevin Conway, who bested Landon Cassill and Terry Cook for the crown.
This year, he is toiling away mostly in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series
The 2002 class included Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman; in 2001, it was Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch who led the charge; in 2000, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the show. Three of the six have won Cup championships, and of course Johnson has hogged it for the last five years.
This season, interest in the freshman class might be at an all-time low.
Lally, who has made eight starts, looks like he's going to be the runaway winner of the Rookie of the Year. His best finish is 19th at Talladega.
Keselowski, who was a brief feel-good story when he made the field for the Daytona 500, became a feel-bad story after being sidelined by emergency gallbladder surgery that forced him to miss five races.
Things might've been different had Trevor Bayne, the surprise winner of the Daytona 500, opted to run for Rookie of the Year honors in Cup.
Bayne cast his lot with Nationwide and he's struggled in the support series, so chances are the momentum of the Daytona upset would've run out fairly quickly, anyway.
The way things are going, Lally and Keselowski will be lucky if the average NASCAR fan even knows their numbers at season's end.
Rain, strong winds eye LI ... Not guilty plea in Gilgo Beach murder ... Woman sentenced in brothel case ... Let's Go: Holidays in Manorville
Rain, strong winds eye LI ... Not guilty plea in Gilgo Beach murder ... Woman sentenced in brothel case ... Let's Go: Holidays in Manorville
