Three Winners and no Surprises
The two of the three top rookies this year in NASCAR may have been able to sit out the last few races of the season and still won their awards. Kasey Kahne, who narrowly missed out on his first victory five times this season, was selected NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year on Tuesday.
Kyle Busch, younger brother of Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch, was the top rookie in the Busch Series. David Reutimann earned top honors in the Truck Series.
Kahne, 24, is the youngest rookie winner in NASCAR’s top series since Jeff Gordon won it as a 22-year-old in 1993. Kahne finished the 2004 season with 13 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 36 starts, and was the highest scoring rookie in 19 events. He beat Brendan Gaughan by 120 points for top rookie honors.
While Kahne had several chances to make it into Victory Lane this season, he finished second five times. He was also the most dominant car in several races, most recently at Charlotte in October, only to have bad luck or an accident keep him from the winners’ circle. Kahne finished 13th in the final series points standings after he just missed out on a spot in NASCAR’s 10-race championship series.
At 19, Busch is the youngest top rookie in series history. He finished second for the Busch Series championship to Martin Truex Jr. He led the series championship standings for three weeks, and tied Greg Biffle’s rookie record of five series wins.
Reutimann clinched the Truck Series rookie award in the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He won the pole and finished fourth in the race to beat Tracy Hines for top rookie honors by 67 points. Reutimann finished the season 14th in Truck Series points.
