The 2016 rookie class is one of the strongest in recent years. The average age of Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher and Brian Scott is 23. The experience these four drivers have includes two NASCAR Xfinity Series champions, one Owners championship in the NXS and 18 combined wins in NASCAR National series.
Yes, they are rookies in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series but their success in both the NXS and Camping World Truck Series means that the yellow stripe on the back of their cars are just a formality as they battle for Rookie of the Year in 2016.
Ryan Blaney
The highest finishing rookie of the race had a fairly uneventful day. After starting seventh, Blaney was stuck on the outside which struggled to get going for much of the afternoon. As he worked his way though back into the top 10 after the first stop of the day. He continued to impress as he ran top 10 for much of the day. On the final green flag pit stop they intended on taking two tires but Blaney slid and flat spotted his tires. They were forced to take on four.
Track position was everything so the last minute audible on their final stop saw them starting outside the top 10. Blaney would settle for 19th but their finish wasn’t telling of how well they ran for most of the Daytona 500.
Brian Scott
After being forced to a back up after a crash in the Can-Am duels, Scott and his team started 35th for the Daytona 500. Scott has missed and made the Daytona 500 so he has experienced the highs and the lows that Speedweeks can bring. Their goal this year was to just be there at the end. Usually we see multi car wrecks that eliminated teams but on Sunday that was not the case. There was only to multi car wrecks so attrition never came to fruition.
On the first green flag stop of the day Scott had a speeding penalty and the team were forced to play a little strategy for track position. As the race wore on handling and anticipating the “big one” saw Scott and team play conservative and come home a solid 24th.
Chase Elliott
After earning the Daytona 500 pole and setting a new record in the process as the youngest driver ever to start on the pole; all eyes were on Elliott. After leading three laps early on Elliott slipped back to just outside the top five.
His day took a turn for the worse on lap 20 when he got loose after going three wide and being stuck in the middle. As Elliott spun he hit the grass and destroyed his entire front end. Impressively the team were able to repair damage and put on a new nose in 30 minutes. He lost 40 laps but when back on track was able to keep up with lead draft. Elliott finished 37th.
Chris Buescher
The NXS 2015 Champion was making his Daytona 500 debut on Sunday. After starting 17th, Buescher found his way to the bottom and but struggled with a vibration for much of the first run. After pitting for fuel and tires the vibration went away but the handling continued to be a struggle.
Buescher’s day turned for the worse on lap 93 when Matt DiBenedetto and him made contact near the back of the pack. Both drivers take hard hits into the outside wall. After taking some time to get out of the car; Buescher was checked and released. He finished 39th.
Next up for the rookies is Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, February 28th.
NASCAR Lugnuts 