Jeff Gordon was officially named the 1993 NASCAR Cup Series (then Winston Cup Series) Rookie of the Year after topping a rookie class featuring sure-fire future fixtures in the NASCAR Cup Series — Bobby Labonte and Kenny Wallace. Gordon took home top Rookie Honors by a 54-point margin over Labonte, the 1991 NASCAR Xfinity Series (then Busch Grand National Series) champion. Wallace, the younger brother of 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace, finished third, 79 points behind Gordon.
“Well, there’s been some real high points this year, but this is definitely the highest point of my career to this point,” Gordon said in his acceptance speech at the NASCAR Cup Series Awards Banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. “This is an awesome award, and to receive the MAXX Race Cards Rookie of the Year is just a great honor to be on a list of some great names and to be in some pretty good company tonight. It means a lot to me.”
Gordon, the Pittsboro, Indiana native didn’t score a win in his rookie campaign, but he impressed mightily driving the newly established No. 24 Chevrolet Lumina team for the Hendrick Motorsports team with crew chief Ray Evernham calling the shots.
Final 1993 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Standings
| Pos | Car | Driver | Points | Behind | Next | Race Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | 313 | Leader | - | 0 |
| 2 | 22 | Bobby Labonte | 259 | -54 | -54 | 0 |
| 3 | 40 | Kenny Wallace | 234 | -79 | -25 | 0 |
The fresh-faced rookie thanked his team owner and crew chief for helping him have a successful rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“The only reason it’s been such a great year, my first year in Winston Cup is because of great guys like my car owner Rick Hendrick. He’s given me some great cars this year, and the resources they have over there, I couldn’t ask for anymore. They’ve got a great group of guys over there, and Ray Evernham, we clicked right from the start,” Gordon stated.
The 22-year-old driver amassed seven top-five finishes, 11 top-10s, and a pole and finished the year 14th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver championship standings. Gordon’s best finish of the season was runner-up, which he achieved twice.
Gordon finished second to Dale Earnhardt in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and was second to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Ricky Rudd in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
The racer led an impressive 230 laps on the season, 80 of which came in the SplitFire Spark Plug 500 at Dover International Speedway. Gordon would be swept up in a five-car accident on the front stretch on lap 370 and retired from that race with handling issues after completing 412 of the 500 laps.
While Labonte, the younger brother of NASCAR Cup Series champion Terry Labonte, finished 54 points back, by all metrics Labonte had a solid rookie season as well. The 29-year-old scored his first-career pole in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond International Raceway, and he put up six top-10 finishes, with a best finish of seventh coming at Watkins Glen and Dover in the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Pontiac Grand Prix.
Wallace put up three top-10 finishes, driving the No. 40 Dirt Devil Pontiac Grand Prix for Team Sabco. Wallace’s best finish of the season was ninth, which he achieved at Watkins Glen International and the night race at Bristol.
In addition to Gordon, Labonte, and Wallace, P.J. Jones also declared for Rookie of the Year honors, but did not complete 15 races, which is the requirement to be eligible to win the award. However, by completing more than five races, Jones lost any potential future eligibility for the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award.
Todd Bodine, who didn’t declare for Rookie of the Year honors, ran 10 races in the year, which ended his eligibility for the Award in future seasons as well.
