NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year

The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year.

The Rookie of the Year award for NASCAR's premier series was first presented to a driver named Blackie Pitt by Houston Lawing, NASCAR'S Public Relations director, in 1954. While it wasn't an official award, it would help set the standard for the top rookie prize. An official award started with the 1958 season.

From the 1958 through the 1973 seasons, NASCAR did not have an official points system to determine the Rookie of the Year, so NASCAR's officials merely gathered together to select a winner. Some years were straight forward, such as James Hylton's selection in 1966, when he finished second in the overall championship, the highest ever finish for an eligible rookie. In other years, the system came under controversy, as officials didn't consider former champions from rival racing series and there were no transparent and consistent criteria for selecting the winner. Since 1974, the Rookie of the Year points system described below has been used, even if it meant the winner was not the highest finisher in championship points.

The award is currently sponsored by Sunoco. Drivers competing for the award must display the Sunoco contingency decal.

Rookie of the year candidates earn points in each race they enter. At season's end, they count the points earned in their best seventeen (Sprint Cup Series), sixteen (Xfinity Series), or fourteen (Camping World Truck Series) races of the season.

Bonus points are also awarded to drivers in the following circumstances:

There is a five-member panel composed of the preceding year's Series Champion, officials, etc. that meet during the final week of the season. They evaluate that year's candidates, on a declining ten point system, on each of the following criteria:

The scores of all panel members for each candidate are averaged, and the candidate with the most panel points at the end of the overall season earns ten bonus rookie points, the candidate with the second-most panel points earns nine, etc.

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