Jeff Burton was officially named the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series (then Winston Cup Series) Rookie of the Year after a year-long battle between one of the strongest rookie classes in NASCAR Cup Series history. In the end, Burton held off 1993 NASCAR Xfinity Series (then Busch Grand National Series) champion Steve Grissom by 12 points, and 1992 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Joe Nemechek by 13 points to take the crown.
The native of South Boston, Virginia had a season-best finish of fourth, which he achieved on two occasions, the first being in the Purolator 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the strongest race of the season for the 27-year-old driver. Burton led four times in the race for a total of 87 laps in the 328-lap event, ultimately Ernie Irvan won.
The other fourth-place finish for Burton came in the Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Pocono Raceway.
In all, Burton finished his rookie campaign with two top-five finishes, three top-10s, 122 laps led, and an average finish of 24.5. The driver of the No. 8 Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Thunderbird ranked 24th in the final NASCAR Cup Series driver championship standings.
Final 1994 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Standings
| Pos | Car | Driver | Points | Behind | Next | Race Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Jeff Burton | 236 | Leader | - | 0 |
| 2 | 29 | Steve Grissom | 224 | -12 | -12 | 0 |
| 3 | 41 | Joe Nemechek | 223 | -13 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | 14, 43 | John Andretti | 201 | -35 | -22 | 0 |
| 5 | 90, 66 | Mike Wallace | 200 | -36 | -1 | 0 |
| 6 | 31 | Ward Burton | 187 | -49 | -13 | 0 |
| 7 | 95, 02, 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | 171 | -65 | -16 | 0 |
| 8 | 19 | Loy Allen, Jr. | 160 | -76 | -11 | 0 |
Grissom, a native of Gadsden, Alabama, who recorded three top-10 finishes driving the No. 29 Chevrolet Lumina for Diamond Ridge Motorsports had a better average finish on the season (22.8) than Burton. However, Grissom failed to qualify for three races during the season.
While Grissom was consistent, he lacked the overall pace that Burton showcased throughout the season, evidenced by his one lap led to Burton’s 122.
Nemechek, who finished just one point behind Grissom, also had a better average finish on the season than Burton (23.9), but like Grissom Nemechek didn’t make the field for all 31 races. Nemechek, who had a season-best finish of third at Pocono Raceway, failed to qualify for two events during the 1994 campaign.
While the top three finishers in the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year class stood out above the rest, a total of eight drivers competed in the required 15 races to be considered eligible for the ROTY award, and not a single one of them was a slouch.
John Andretti, who became the first driver to ever compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in May of 1994, came home fourth in the rankings, 35 points off of Burton’s pace. Mike Wallace, Ward Burton — Jeff’s older brother, Jeremy Mayfield, and Loy Allen Jr. filled out the remainder of the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year standings.
Five other drivers applied for the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year but did not compete in the 15 races required to be eligible for the award. Curtis Markham (1 start), Rick Carelli (four starts), and T.W. Taylor (no starts) did not reach five starts on the season, which means they retained their Rookie of the Year eligibility for a future season.
Rodney Orr had hopes of winning the Rookie of the Year Award but sadly passed away attempting to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 in 1994.
Billy Standridge and Rich Bickle did not declare for Rookie of the Year in 1994, but each driver ran more than five events, which wiped out their eligibility to compete for the Award in the future.
