Winning the championship is the focus for drivers across the three national NASCAR series. However, there is something more at stake for rookie drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series.
Each national NASCAR series has multiple drivers in contention for Rookie of the Year honors. Layne Riggs is the favorite in Trucks, Jesse Love leads the way in Xfinity, and Josh Berry leads the way in Cup.
Berry holds the lead in the Rookie of the Year standings by the slightest advantage. He has 388 points after 22 Cup races. Carson Hocevar is just behind him with 383 points. Zane Smith is third in the rookie standings with 248 points. Kaz Grala is fourth with 166 points as he runs a partial schedule.
While Berry has led this battle throughout the season, he would have fallen to second in the rookie standings if not for an unexpected penalty. NASCAR docked Hocevar 25 points after he intentionally spun Harrison Burton under caution at Nashville Superspeedway.
This battle between Berry and Hocevar will continue through the rest of the season as they try to accumulate the most points. However, either driver can lock up the Rookie of the Year win by winning one of the four remaining regular-season races and reaching the playoffs.
The driver who reached the playoffs would see their point total reset to 2,000 ahead of the Round of 16 opener. The other driver would continue trying to accumulate points but would not be able to overtake the race-winner.
While the Cup Rookie of the Year battle will likely focus on the number of points scored each week, the Xfinity Rookie of the Year battle will rely on a different factor. The winner of this battle will likely be the driver who makes it through the most playoff rounds.
Four drivers are eligible for Rookie of the Year. Two are no longer in realistic contention. Hailie Deegan no longer competes full-time in the series after parting ways with AM Racing while Leland Honeyman Jr. only has 277 points through 20 races.
Love is the leader heading into the Olympic break. He has 587 points after winning one race and four stages. Love also has an average finish of 13.0.
Shane van Gisbergen is within reach of Love. He has 500 points through 20 races. SVG has won three races and two stages while posting an average finish of 15.2.
This battle between the two rookies will only heat up once the Round of 12 begins at Kansas Speedway. Love will have the advantage in oval experience while SVG will have a road course race in the opening round of the playoffs.
The New Zealand native will also potentially have a points advantage. He currently has 17 playoff points while Love only has eight. This will give SVG a bigger points cushion entering the opening round, something that could help him overcome any issues.
The Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year battle has the least amount of intrigue. Riggs has a large lead with 317 points through 15 races. Conner Jones is second with 134 points through eight races as he takes on a part-time schedule. Thad Moffitt is third with 119 points through 14 races.