As the NASCAR season heads towards the business end of the season, all eyes and storylines are about the championship contenders. That’s pretty much how the format favors the drivers who cleared the grueling challenge of the regular season. However, a few drivers, regardless of the playoff status, are still in a hunt for glory, competing in the NASCAR series full-time for the first time.

The Sunoco Rookie of the Year award is indeed a prestigious award. Today we will take a look at the drivers across the three national series and where they stand as the season’s end inches closer with every passing week. We had the likes of Shane van Gisbergen, Josh Berry, and Zane Smith jump in their full-time ride.

What’s the status of their progress? Meanwhile, we will also take a look at drivers who had an unfortunate end to their maiden run.

1. Starting with the Truck Series drivers, Layne Riggs from Front Row Motorsports is leading the charge. Despite falling to qualify for the playoffs, Riggs has already played a major spoiler for those contending for the championship. The FRM driver drove his #38 truck in the victory lane back-to-back in the first two playoff races. And came just short of his third win at Kansas, finishing 2nd. Thanks to this newfound speed, he leads the Rookie of the Year tally with 515 points.
2. Connor Jones is placed second with 157 points to his name. But in his case, he hasn’t run as many races as Riggs or Thad Moffitt, who sits in third place. Carrying on the legacy of the Petty family, Moffitt’s rookie run was mired by financial struggles and lackluster speed on the racetrack. The Faction 46 team had plans to help Richard Petty’s grandson run all the races in 2024. However, the partnership abruptly ended as Dawson Cram took over the duties of the #46 truck.
3. Moffitt, in a bid to complete his debut full-time run, joined Young’s Motorsports and made four consecutive starts after the Nashville event, but once again he ran into a brick wall. After his race at Milwaukee Mile, he announced on X that he wouldn’t be able to continue racing due to a lack of funding. In 16 starts this season, he had 4 DNFs and finished outside of the top 30 seven times. An 18th-place finish at Darlington was his best result, and therefore he’s nowhere close to contending for the Rookie of the Year honors, placing third with 128 points.

However, things are more competitive on the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series side, with multiple drivers still contesting for the award.

SVG and Jesse Love tied in a close battle, while Zane Smith mounted a late charge

On the Xfinity Series side, Shane van Gisbergen has lived up to his expectations, perhaps overdeliverable. With three wins already in his rookie year, he made his way into the playoffs and is hoping for a big result at Roval to see him through to the next round. But Richard Childress Racing’s young talent, Jesse Love, is making quite a name for himself. Like SVG, he made it to the playoffs thanks to his win at Talladega, and his consistent streak of good results sees him on the safe side going into the Roval weekend.

Love, for the time being, has the edge in the race for the Rookie of the Year title with 2080 points. The Kiwi speedster isn’t far behind with 2055 points and could close the gap with another solid run or a win. It is fair to say that if both of them manage to advance to the Round of 8, they will also be aiming for championship glory. Meanwhile, Leland Honeyman from Young’s Motorsports is third in the standings with 426 points to his name.

At the NASCAR Cup Series level, it’s a three-way battle and tough to call out who would be the clear winner after the end of the final five races. Carson Hocevar from Spire Motorsports is leading the way with 579 points to his name. His best finish was P3 at Watkins Glen, and he had another 5 top-10 finishes to make a case for himself. Trying to catch Hocevar is Josh Berry from SHR, who has 491 points to his name, but so far he’s not been able to get the desired results. Apart from two P3 finishes at Darlington and New Hampshire, he struggled for consistency.

But a late resurgent run from Zane Smith could topple Berry and potentially challenge his teammate Hocevar for the title. Originally, he was going to stick with his parent team, Trackhouse Racing, and is currently under a loan spell. But, with SVG taking the command of the third ride, it has left Smith high and dry.

The only avenue he has right now is to give his best on the racetrack, and that is exactly what he’s doing. He came close to a potential win at Nashville, finishing second, and he’s found momentum late in the season. With 442 points, he is still a threat to both Berry and Hocevar.

The Cup Series and Xfinity Series battles are too close to call. By the way, who are you rooting for among all the drivers mentioned on the list?