NASCAR has revealed the drivers who have been approved as of January 27 to run for rookie of the year honors in the Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series in 2025.
Cup Series
Shane van Gisbergen (No. 88 Trackhouse Racing)
Riley Herbst (No. 35 23XI Racing)
The 35-year-old van Gisbergen won in his Cup debut in 2023 in the inaugural Chicago Street Race. He has 14 career Cup starts. Last season, van Gisbergen won three races in the Xfinity Series and finished 12th in points.
Herbst, 25, has eight career Cup starts. His best Cup finish was ninth at Talladega in October 2023. He has made 175 Xfinity starts and scored three wins, including two last season. Herbst finished a career-high seventh in points in Xfinity last year.
Xfinity Series
Carson Kvapil (No. 1 JR Motorsports)
Connor Zilisch (No. 88 JR Motorsports)
William Sawalich (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing)
Taylor Gray (No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing)
Daniel Dye (No. 10 Kaulig Racing)
Christian Eckes (No. 16 Kaulig Racing)
Nick Sanchez (No. 48 Big Machine Racing)
Dean Thompson (No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing)
Kvapil, 21, is the son for 2003 Truck champion Travis Kvapil. Carson Kvapil won the zMAX Cars Tour Late Model Stock championship in 2022 and ’23. He made nine Xfinity starts last year, finishing a career-best second at Dover.
Zilisch, 18, is a development driver for Trackhouse Racing. He will make his Cup debut for that team March 2 at Circuit of the Americas. He won his Xfinity debut last year, taking the checkered flag at Watkins Glen. Zilisch has four Xfinity starts.
The 18-year-old Sawalich won the ARCA Menards East Series championship in 2023 and ’24. He has 13 wins in 27 ARCA starts since 2023, winning nine of 14 races last year for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has three Xfinity starts, winning the pole in last year’s season finale at Phoenix.
Gray, 19, ran 13 Xfinity races last season for Joe Gibbs Racing. He placed a career-high third at Richmond in his series debut.
Dye, 21, has 12 career Xfinity starts, including 10 last year. He finished a career-high seventh at Indianapolis. Dye placed second in the ARCA Menards Series in 2022.
The 24-year-old Eckes placed a career-best third in the Truck Series last year. He has nine career Truck wins. He has 114 career Truck starts. He has not made a start in the Xfinity Series.
Sanchez, 23, won the 2022 ARCA Menards Series championship. He finished a career-best fifth in points in the Truck series last year, winning two races. He has eight Xfinity starts, scoring a career-best seventh at Martinsville.
Thompson, 23, finished a career-best 16th in points in the Truck Series last year. He’s made 70 series starts. Thompson has run two Xfinity races with a best finish of 20th at Talladega last fall for Sam Hunt Racing.
Truck Series
Toni Breidinger (No. 5 Tricon Garage)
Gio Ruggiero (No. 17 Tricon Garage)
Connor Mosack (No. 81 McAnally-Hilgermann Racing)
Andres Perez de Lara (No. 77 Spire Motorsports)
Christian Rose (No. 44 Niece Motorsports)
Frankie Muniz (No. 33 Reaume Brothers Racing)
The 25-year-old Breidinger finished fourth in the ARCA Menards Series points last year. She has made four career Truck starts with a best finish of 15th. That is the highest finish for a female in their Truck Series debut.
Ruggiero, 20, had seven top-five finishes in 10 ARCA Menards Series starts last year. He finished runner-up at Phoenix, Dover and Toledo.
Mosack, 26, has 28 Xfinity Series starts since 2022. He has made 11 career Truck starts. His best Truck finish came at Homestead last fall when he finished third for Spire Motorsports.
Perez de Lara, 19, won the ARCA Menards Series championship last season after finishing second in the points in 2023. He has two Truck starts, finishing a career-best ninth in his series debut last year at Gateway for Spire Motorsports.
The 39-year star of the “Malcolm in the Middle” show made four Truck starts last year. HIs best result was 29th at Kansas. He ran the full ARCA Menards Series schedule in 2023, placing fourth in the points but had funding only for four Truck, two Xfinity and two ARCA Menards Series races last year.
