Daytona could provide the perfect backdrop to showcase the talents of two up-and-coming Sunoco Rookie of the year contenders this weekend, Timmy Hill and Blake Koch.
Hill, the first stock-car development driver for Rick Ware Racing, leads the rookie standings by 16 points over Koch. That normally would be considered a nearly insurmountable deficit, but last year at this race, Ricky Stenhouse began his comeback from a series-high 35-point hole to claim the honor.
Both drivers will be making their series track debuts at Daytona. Hill hadn’t yet turned 18 – the minimum age for national series competition – by the time the season-opener arrived in February. The native of Port Tobacco, Md., made his series debut the following race at Phoenix, where he finished 29th. His ARCA career spanned seven races in 2010 and he also participated in two NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races and one East race last year, posting top-10 finishes in his debuts in each of those series.
Koch, 25, is from West Palm Beach, Fla., making this start even more special. He was originally slated for a limited schedule with MacDonald Motorsports, but his ride blossomed into a full-time opportunity after the Bristol race in March. With 23 races over three years in the West Series, Koch also had three NASCAR Nationwide Series starts from 2009-10 prior to his full-time status this year. All but one of those races was with MacDonald Motorsports.
Since graduating from high school June 7, Hill has posted two of his three best series results, including his career-best 11th last Saturday at Road America. Koch also shined among series veterans and road-course aces at Road America, securing his career-best finish, 14th.
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