BY: TOBY CHRISTIE – DAILYPITSTOP.COM

What do Kevin Conway, Andy Lally and Stephen Leicht have in common?

Aside from never collecting a top10 finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, all three drivers have won the coveted Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the past half-decade. All three also accomplished this feat in anticlimactic fashion with no opposition.

Now all three drivers have vanished from the NASCAR scene. To be honest the competition for NASCAR’s rookie of the year has been quite stale for the last few years.

At least last year we had the intrigue of a boyfriend versus a girlfriend (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick) but even that didn’t produce much of a fierce battle down the stretch.

Many remember the classic Rookie Duels of years past: Earnhardt versus Terry Labonte and Harry Gant in 1979, Davey Allison versus Dale Jarrett in 1987, Jeff Gordon versus Bobby Labonte in 1993, Matt Kenseth versus Dale Jr. in 2000, and Ryan Newman versus Jimmie Johnson in 2002.

The Sunoco Rookie of the Year award has been handed out since 1954, and over the years some of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history have taken home the honor of being considered the Rookie of the Year.

This year the rookie class is finally busting at the seems with talent, and intrigue. Eight capable young drivers will wage a war over the 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup season to see who will take the crown of best rookie. This lineup is possibly the strongest collectively in the history of the sport.

If this year’s class is a rock concert; Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson are the headliners.

Dillon has achieved success at every level along the way in his journey to NASCAR’s premier series. He won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in 2011, and this past year he followed that up with another NASCAR National Series championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dillon is now a Sprint Cup Series title away from being the first driver to achieve the triple crown.

What’s more, Dillon has never finished outside the top-five in the point standings in any full-time season at the NASCAR National Series level, he was strong at Daytona testing in the black No. 3 Chevrolet, and he’ll be in the thick of the rookie of the year battle all year long.

Larson has been tabbed with the label of being the “next big thing” in NASCAR. He is the single most heralded up-and-coming talent, but as Casey Atwood will tell you, that doesn’t assure greatness.

At the age of 19 Larson opened eyes by capturing the K&N Pro East Series championship, his first year of competition in that Series. A year later he was full-time on the NASCAR Nationwide Series circuit, and all he did was continue to impress.

Larson compiled 17 top10 finishes in 33 races last year during the Nationwide Series schedule including three second-place near-victory misses at Bristol, Dover and Homestead. Larson did get his first taste of victory on the National Series level in 2013 though, after leading 187 of the 205 laps at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham.

The quick move to the Sprint Cup Series may stunt his growth, but don’t count on that happening — this kid seems for real.

If Dillon and Larson are headliners, the other six drivers on this list are fantastic opening acts looking to break through with a mainstream hit.

Justin Allgaier will be the driver for Phoenix Racing’s No. 51, and he brings quite a pedigree with him.

Over the last five years of driving in the Nationwide Series, Allgaier collected three wins, and he finished sixth-or-better in the final point standings in each of the last five seasons.

Allgaier was a star in the ARCA Series driving for his family’s team, now he’ll try to become a household name in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. An X-factor for Allgaier this year could possibly be Steve Addington, who has made the Chase on numerous occasions as a crew chief. Can he help mold Allgaier into the next Kyle Busch?

Parker Kligerman will be competing for Swan Racing in the No. 30 Toyota. Kligerman’s career began to really take off in 2012, when he captured a Camping World Truck series win at Talladega. Kligerman would go on to finish fifth in the Truck Series standings that year, and it would be enough to land him a Nationwide Series ride at Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013.

Kligerman didn’t set the world on fire in 2013, but when you factor he was driving a car and for a team that Kyle Busch couldn’t even win with in 2012, he did one heck of a job.

He racked up 13 top10 finishes and came home ninth in the Nationwide Series point standings. Now Kligerman sets his sights on a higher prize in 2014.

Cole Whitt, who was highly regarded just a few seasons ago, joins Kligerman at Swan Racing in the No. 26 Toyota. Although Whitt has never tasted victory at the National Series level, he is far more talented than his recent record indicates, as he has been in subpar equipment for the last several seasons.

Alex Bowman and Ryan Truex are also drivers who have more talent than their records would indicate.

Bowman collected two poles and 6 top10 finishes for RAB Racing, a team which wasn’t particularly known for it’s strength on the track in years past.

Truex has bounced around from developmental contract to developmental contract, but has yet to get a full-time shot in any NASCAR National Series circuit. Truex is a two-time K&N Pro East Series champion.

Both Bowman and Truex will show up in Daytona driving Toyotas for BK Racing.

And then there is Michael Annett.

Annett brings possibly the most stable sponsorship of the group to the fold with full commitment from Pilot/Flying J. Annett will also be driving equipment similar to Austin Dillon, as his Tommy Baldwin Racing team has entered a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing this offseason.

Annett had aspirations of a Nationwide Series title in 2013, but those hopes were dashed with a broken sternum in the season-opening race at Daytona. If Annett can stay out of trouble, he could be the dark horse to snatch the rookie of the year title.

Eight talented young drivers, all with full-season commitments to race teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This is what the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award is all about.