Five NASCAR rookies who could find Victory Lane this season – Motorsport.com, Edition: Global

There will be at least a dozen rookies running full-time in NASCAR’s three national series this season – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Trucks.

As is usually the case, some will make bigger impacts than others. This season’s rookie classes include several up-and-comers who have already demonstrated their talent and will drive for organizations capable of producing winners – and even championships.

Here’s a look at five rookies who are most likely to wind up in Victory Lane this season and, in turn, would have a chance to win a championship in the NASCAR playoffs.

Erik Jones

A rookie in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Jones doesn’t have much experience in Cup cars, but his three previous races are three more than his Toyota rookie teammate this season, Daniel Suarez. In two races filling in for Matt Kenseth in 2015, Jones finished a respectable 12th and 19th at Texas and Phoenix.

Jones, 20, has shown himself to be a fast learner and has already amassed 13 wins in the Xfinity and Truck series since 2013, including a Truck series championship in 2015 with Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Jones, on loan from Joe Gibbs Racing, will be paired as a teammate this year with Martin Truex Jr. at Furniture Row Racing. That organization has had no trouble finding speed the past two seasons, as illustrated by Truex’s five wins and more than 2,300 laps led in that span.

Jones won in his first series start in Trucks and his ninth start in the Xfinity series.

William Byron

To say Byron exceeded expectations in his rookie Truck series season with Kyle Busch Motorsports may be putting it way too lightly. The 19-year-old former K&N Pro Series East champion won his first series race in his fifth start.

He went on to win a record seven times in his rookie season and led 727 laps – nearly double that of the Matt Crafton, who ranked second. Although Byron’s championship hopes were cut short by a blown engine at Phoenix in the fall, he still finish an impressive fifth in the series standings.

In the fall, Byron was signed by Hendrick Motorsports and will run full-time this year in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports.

With four of his seven wins coming on 1.5-mile tracks in 2017, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him register a win in his Xfinity rookie season, especially with as good as JR Motorsports has been of late.

Daniel Hemric

Hemric has not won in two full-time season in the Truck series but has been one of the series most consistent performers during that time with 15 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes in 46 starts.

Hemric, 26, has won multiple championships across various Legend Car and Late Model series in his career. He also won the inaugural Legends Million race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2010.

Hemric moves to a full-time Xfinity Series ride this season with Richard Childress Racing, which won three races in 2016 and typically challenges each year for the series title.

Noah Gragson

In the last two years, Gragson has won six races combined in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East and West, including four just last season.

The 18-year-old Las Vegas native finished second in the K&N West standings in 2015 and last year, he ended up third in the West and fifth in the East (where he ran one less race).

Gragson has shown speed in everything he’s raced and should be a good fit for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series this season. KBM trucks are typically among the fastest each weekend and in the last two seasons, the organization has a championship and 17 wins.

Gragson will be paired with veteran crew chief Marcus Richmond, who has nine wins, 11 poles, 52 top-five and 107 top-10 finishes across 222 races in his 11 seasons in Trucks.

Austin Cindric

Of all the rookies competing in NASCAR’s national series this season, Cindric may be the most diversified.

The 18-year-old son of Team Penske president, Tim Cindric, earned 11 podium finishes across three different series, including wins in Global Rally Cross Lites and IMSA, in 2015. He is the youngest winner in the Continental Tire Series (Mosport) and the youngest driver to ever compete in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

In 2016, Cindric won in both of his starts in the K&N Pro Series East, with victories at VIR and Watkins Glen, and picked up a win in ARCA at Kentucky for his first oval track stock car victory.

Cindric will drive full-time in the Truck series for Brad Keselowski Racing this year. He made four starts with the team in 2016, with a season’s best finish of 15th at Phoenix.