6 Future Cup Stars

I just got to thinking. No rookies have been hired for 2011. So that got me thinking about who the future rookies, the future stars are. Some names are familiar, some aren’t, but they all are extremely talented race car drivers who I think deserve a ride.

1. Ryan Truex

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Though he doesn’t have the good looks of older brother Martin, I think 18-year old Ryan Truex can wheel a race car better than his big bro. Ryan is one of only 2 rookies (the other being Joey Logano) to win the NASCAR Camping World Series championship in his rookie year, which he did last year. He’s currently leading the points in the East Series with a 66-point advantage over 16-year old rookie Darrel Wallace Jr. He is one of the guys that is always, and I mean always, in contention for every race in the East Series. Every race, he’s in the top 5. He may not always finish there – such as that 7th the other weekend, but then again he and Kevin Swindell wrecked battling for the lead.
Add in Ryan’s 3 Nationwide Series starts. His debut, he qualified 21st and ran 10th for a while before falling victim to a wreck (he later raced the car of the dazed Matt DiBenedetto to finish the night). At Michigan – the 2nd race for the NS CoT – he lead the final practice session, qualified second to points leader Brad Keselowski, ran inside the top 5 for most of the race before fading in the late stages to finish 12th. Consider that he’d never raced at a track of that size – I’m think the biggest track the East Series rides on is Loudon, which is 1 mile – and his rookie status, his age, and his experience in the series. Doing that, in this era, is pretty close to impossible.
He has the background, the talent, the opportunities, everything you’d need. He is definitely one of the most talented drivers I’ve seen (in terms of raw talent, of course, there’s no way I can compare a teenage rookie to the Jimmie Johnsons and Jeff Gordons of racing). Like it or not, Ryan Truex is our future champ.

2. Sergio Pena

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Sergio Pena rocks.
Sure, he’s only 11th in the K&N Pro Series East standings. Sure, he’s only the 6th-highest ranked rookie. But, go back to January 30th. Go back to the Toyota All Star Showdown. Joey Logano won. But remember who battled with Joey the ENTIRE night? Who led all the laps Joey didn’t? Who was Joey’s only competition, pretty much? Who finished 2nd? Sergio Pena.
He can run up there and compete with the big Cup boys. He can almost beat them, too. Name one other 17-year old (though at the time, he was 16) rookie driver who can come oh-so-close to beating a Cup driver with a win, a Rookie of the Year award, and who-knows-how-many “youngest driver to do something” titles. Exactly – you can’t. Sergio is a very, very talented young race car driver and he WILL make it to the top, no question.

3. Trevor Bayne

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19-year-old Trevor Bayne is the second-highest ranked Nationwide-only driver in the 2010 Nationwide Series points standings.  5 appearances inside the top 5, with a best finish of third (twice). 9 top 10’s, and a few were robbed from him (ie, Michigan pit strategy knocked him from 3rd to 11th). You talk to any driver out there, anybody in the sport, they can all tell you the same thing I am: Trevor is the next big thing.

4. Landon Cassill

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Some may argue with Landon’s place on this list, seeing how he’s already a Cup driver, but I think Landon can really pull together a lot of good finishes, wins, poles, and championships if someone will give him a ride – as in a FUNDED ride that can actually run COMPETITIVELY. He has a lot of talent and he’s a great person as well. He really can shine, if someone will just give him the chance. 2008 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year (when you couple that with the fact that Colin Braun was the Truck’s ROTY that year, you get the best looking ROTY class. Ever. Period.). And that Phoenix race that year – held off Cuppers with fresh tires to finish 6th. Name one other Nationwide-only driver (other than Trevor Bayne) that can do that. He only lost 2 positions on that. Remember Indianapolis this year? Ran 2nd before he S&P’d. Sure, it was only because he hadn’t pitted. But he held off the guys behind him, who easily could’ve have passed any other S&P driver. But Landon held down 2nd until the pit stop. If someone will just give the kid a good ride, he will NOT disappoint. I can guarantee it.

5. Miguel Paludo

2011 Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year candidate, Miguel has so far made 2 starts in the Trucks, making his debut at Bristol Motor Speedway a few weeks ago – and finishing 9th. Just for a noob to survive a BMS race is a miracle in itself. But to finish top 10? It’s unthinkable. It’s impossible (or, as Henry on Unnatural History says, “Impossible is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.”). If he can run like this, keep running like this…He’s gonna be big.

6. Willie  Allen

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 His best career finish in the Nationwide Series is 13th or 15th or something like that. I forgot. But you take into perspective his equipment. You take into perspective what other drivers, talented drivers, have run in the same car. And then it goes from “His best finish is 15th…” to “His best finish is 15th?!” To add to that, the first time he finished 15th. He started 43rd, 2 laps down due to unapproved adjustments or something like that. Now how does a young driver with (at the time) less than 15 starts under his belt in underfunded, non-competitive equipment, get a 2 lap penalty and come back to score a lead-lap finish in the top 15? Simple: He drives. And if you finish top 15…once he lands competitive equipment, this kid will rock.

 This is all I got for now…I could add somebody like Austin Dillon or Justin Allgaier, but that’s pretty apparent that they are very talented drivers with a good future in the sport. Other than Trevor Bayne, these guys are all mostly unknowns. They deserve a little bit of a spotlight. And although mine is more like a dim flashlight, some publicity is better than none, right? When these guys are battling for the Cup title in 2015…I can say “I told you so.”