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To quote the great Yogi Berra, “It’s Deja Vu all over again!”

NASCAR put out a news release on Monday pointing out that “Andy Lally, unless something unforeseen occurs, will be the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year.”

This is, unfortunately, becoming a familiar story.

Prior to the 2010 season there was talk that there wouldn’t be a class. Then Kevin Conway showed up with sponsor money. That money bought him a partial season with Front Row Motorsports – until his sponsor quit paying Front Row – and then a few races with Robby Gordon – until his sponsor quit paying Gordon.

I think Conway was the only one truly thrilled with winning an award for which he was the only competitor.

This season started with similar talk about no class. Then Brian Keselowski threw his hat in. He ran at Daytona, and has attempted five other races, but funding has kept the team from doing much of anything. Eventually it was Andy Lally who took over the #71 at TRG and has all but walked away with it.

And yet again we find ourselves with just one true competitor for the Rookie of the Year award.

Now don’t get me wrong, Andy Lally is an accomplished racecar driver and someone who has had respectable forays into NASCAR. And TRG, though underfunded, is not a bad organization.

This situation though speaks to a larger issue for NASCAR. Sponsorship dollars are hard to find, and teams are less willing or able to take risks on younger drivers. Hence a lack of ROY competitors.

Obviously the time will come when teams will have no choice but to start developing talent or risk running out of it – I think we’re getting to that point. We have some great young drivers in the pipeline and we’ll have some good ROY classes in the seasons to come, but is it time NASCAR looks at other ways to honor rookies? Or just gets rid of the award? There is no longer a sponsor. And when you just have one person competing for an award, what’s the point?

I understand the award is meant to reward the best rookie driver of that season and when there is only one, they are technically the best rookie driver and the rightful winner of the award. But does that mean it should be kept around? I’m just not sure.

What I do know is that when we have seasons like we’ve had this year and last, the ROY begins to lose some of its significance and that’s unfortunate.

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Filed under: Penske Racing, Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Brian Keselowski was still sitting in his race car on Daytona International Speedway's pit road well after the checkered flag when his little brother Brad leaned in for a hug and a congratulatory word. It wasn't a victory, but the Brothers Keselowski provided the unquestionable feel-good story of Thursday's Daytona 500 qualifying races.

Driving a barely-sponsored, five-year-old race car, Brian Keselowski will make his debut in the Daytona 500 Sunday, thanks to the kindest shove he ever received from the little brother he used to wrestle as a kid.

After spinning early in Thursday's Gatorade Duel qualifier, Brad Keselowski, 27, fell to the rear of the field and had to drive his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge back up through the pack.

On his way, he dropped the famous Penske Racing "Blue Deuce" in behind Brian, 29, and literally pushed -- and willed -- his big brother's wayward No. 4 Dodge forward during the second half of the race. Brian finished fifth, Brad seventh, and for the first time in their lives, they will have the opportunity to compete against one another in NASCAR's Super Bowl.

"Oh, my God,'' an emotional Brian Keselowski said after climbing from his car. "He's got to be the best pusher here. ... I've watched him push others for the past three years and to push me into the Daytona 500 today. .. ''

"I'm gonna ask Roger (Penske) to help him out with a little better motor,'' Brad Keselowski joked afterward.

 

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Yikes.

Do you want to know what happens when you don’t have any young drivers being developed? You end up with two straight Cup Series Rookie of the Year classes made up of start-and-park drivers and rolling chicanes.

Fox Sports’ Lee Spencer (and others) reported Thursday Roush and Wood Brothers driver Trevor Bayne won’t be eligible to compete for ROY honors this season despite a planned 17 race schedule because he isn’t running for the Cup Series championship. That means we currently have one driver competing for a now unsponsored Rookie of the Year award: Brian Keselowski.

Keselowski’s recent history has been marked by regular start-and-park runs. Out of 30 attempted races last season, Keselowski only finished nine (he failed to qualify for four).

This award is supposed to honor and celebrate the best and the brightest of the future. Past ROY winners include Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, David Pearson and Jeff Gordon. Now obviously there have been some guys who haven’t panned out, but it’s been a very long time since we’ve a seen such weak classes.

Now I write this not to bash Keselowski. I think given some decent equipment he could actually run OK – note several top-20 runs over the last couple of seasons in really sub-par equipment – but he’s very likely to win the ROY award this year after running what I assume will be a pretty full start-and-park schedule. This of course isn’t his fault. This situation though is a little ridiculous and speaks to some serious issues we have right now.

Hopefully with the move to limit Cup driver involvement in lower series (and an improving economy) we’ll see younger drivers once again having opportunities to advance through the sport. Expect to see a competitive young field with the likes of Trevor Bayne and Justin Allgaier this season. Maybe we’ll see them, and some of their up-and-coming peers competing for the Cup ROY award in the not too distant future.

In the meantime though, NASCAR needs to come up with some alternative for awarding this, or not award it at all. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see no one in the record books than someone not deserving of the award win it.

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