NASCAR Cup Series

The 20 up-and-coming names to know in NASCAR

Updated Aug. 2, 2021 7:03 p.m. ET

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Reporter

In February, I ranked prospects from a range of developmental series whom Cup teams likely are taking a look at this season, as well as another 25 who should be on the radar.

Considering it’s the summer and the Cup teams are on a break, it seems like a good time to rerank the list based on the year's first half.

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A reminder: This list consists of drivers age 28 or younger who don’t have more than a handful of Cup races (drivers such as John Hunter Nemechek, Daniel Hemric, Jeb Burton, Brett Moffitt, Justin Haley and Josh Berry are not on this list).

It's all subjective and based primarily on talent, but the ability to land sponsorship is also considered, using my research and some input from a few driver scouts.

Here it goes with the updated rankings:

1. Austin Cindric (age: 22, previous rank: first): He remains the top prospect, as he leads the Xfinity Series standings. He’s obviously set to go into the Penske Racing No. 2 car next year. The defending Xfinity Series champion also has performed adequately in his limited Cup starts this year.

2. Ty Gibbs (18, 10th): His two Xfinity wins this year have vaulted him to this spot in the rankings. But maybe even more than that is the fact that he has seven top-fives in his nine Xfinity starts. That consistency shows that his two wins weren’t flukes.

3. Sam Mayer (18, second): His four Xfinity starts for JR Motorsports since he turned 18 have not gone the way he wanted (one top-10 finish), but his truck win at Bristol is still fresh enough in the memory to keep him near the top of this list.

4. Zane Smith (22, third): He won two trucks races last year, so there was an expectation for him to at least repeat that. So far, he has no wins and ranks fifth in the truck standings, so we will need to see more of him to keep him in the top half of this list.

5. Sheldon Creed (23, sixth): Coming off a five-win season in which he won the truck title, Smith ranks seventh in the standings with one win. He still has upside and would expect to see him racing Xfinity next year.

6. Harrison Burton (20, eighth): He ranks fifth in the Xfinity standings but hasn’t had as good of a season as he did last year. He’s headed to Cup next season in the Wood Brothers No. 21 but still has a lot to prove.

7. Jesse Love (16, fourth): The winner of the ARCA West Series last year, he leads the series after four races this year. He has been respectable in his ARCA national series starts this year, though I want to see him leading some laps in those soon.

8. Carson Hocevar (18, not ranked): Ninth in the truck standings driving for Niece Motorsports, Hocevar has been the most unexpected surprise this season. That said, those who saw him win the big Winchester 400 race last year probably are not as surprised.

9. Noah Gragson (23, ninth): While his hard-nosed style is fun to watch, his inconsistency keeps him from moving up this list. His average finish is nearly twice as bad this year in Xfinity (16.6 this year vs. 8.8 last year). He needs to pick it up.

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10. Ben Rhodes (24, 20th): He won the first two races of the truck season and ranks second in the standings. He has shown more maturity this year than in previous seasons.

11. Todd Gilliland (21, 14th): Gilliland’s average finish of 8.7 has him on pace for his first truck season in which he averages better than a 10th-place finish. He is a legitimate Championship 4 contender for the first time in his career.

12. Chandler Smith (19, seventh): He certainly hasn’t had the truck season he wanted, as he sits 11th in the standings. But it also wouldn’t be all that surprising if he makes a strong run in the truck playoffs.

13. Corey Heim (19, 17th): With four wins in ARCA this year, he has battled with Ty Gibbs every step of the way.

14. Hailie Deegan (20, 13th): Some would say this is too high, with her sitting 17th in the truck standings with an average finish of 20th. But the real test will be when she starts going to tracks a second time.

15. Austin Hill (27, 12th): He has had a similar season to last year in the trucks, and he’s too old to be running similar and move up on this list.

16. Taylor Gray (16, 16th): Gray is consistently putting together top-five ARCA runs since coming back from injuries sustained in a car accident earlier this year.

17. Sammy Smith (17, not ranked): With three wins in six races, Smith leads the ARCA East standings driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

18. Ernie Francis Jr. (23, not ranked): The performance of this Trans-Am champion in the Superstar Racing Experience has people wondering if he should get a good shot in NASCAR, especially with the Next Gen car having more similarities to Trans-Am cars than the current Cup car.

19. Derek Griffith (24, 19th): He hasn’t raced enough, and he should drop off this list because of it. But every scout I talk to says he should be on this list. He was fifth in the ARCA race at Kansas.

20. Daniel Dye (18, not ranked): Third in the ARCA East standings, Dye won the ARCA national series race at Berlin earlier this month.

Dropped out: Justin Haley (previously fifth but has 17 Cup starts this year), Derek Kraus (11th), Raphael Lessard (15th), Nick Sanchez (18th)

25 others to watch: Tyler Ankrum, Toni Breidinger, Brandon Brown, Rajah Caruth, Mason Diaz, Drew Dollar, Christian Eckes, Luke Fenhaus, Santino Ferrucci, Kaz Grala, Tanner Gray, Max Gutierrez, Joey Iest, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Bret Holmes, Derek Kraus, Carson Kvapil, Alex Labbe, Raphael Lessard, Ty Majeski, Thad Moffitt, Layne Riggs, Nick Sanchez, Myatt Snider

Thinking out loud

When Brad Keselowski announced last month that he would drive for Roush Fenway Racing, some of his fans wanted to see him in the No. 2 or the No. 29 instead of the No. 6.

Keselowski made the right decision to race the No. 6.

The No. 2 was made famous by Rusty Wallace at Team Penske and has deep roots there. The No. 29 was the Keselowski family number, so it has personal meaning to Keselowski.

But if Keselowski is truly going to be the face of the Roush organization going forward starting in 2022, then he needs to drive the team’s signature car number.

This was the number made famous by Mark Martin. It is the number most associated with Roush Fenway. If Keselowski didn’t run that number, he would be saying that his history is more important than the organization’s history.

Maybe one day he could drive the No. 29, and it would seem right. But that day where it seems right won’t be in 2022.

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Stat of note

Drivers from Hendrick Motorsports (four drivers), Joe Gibbs Racing (three) and Team Penske (three) hold 10 of the top 11 spots in the standings.

They said it

"Off weeks are much needed. This is a high-stress job for all of us. It will be nice to have a mental reset. Doing nothing is fun." – Bubba Wallace on having two weeks off.

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass.