Ranking the Top 20 NASCAR Prospects: Who’s Next?

Two years ago, Kyle Larson said Jade Avedisian had a long runway in her transition to asphalt racing. Avedisian is learning that things on the track don’t always go well. Now 19, Avedisian is entering her third year of racing on asphalt (and only her second on ovals) since making her name with a national midget title and a run in the Chili Bowl main event in 2023. Like many hopefuls, Avedisian is trying to learn – and win. She became the first woman to win a CARS Tour professional late model race when she won last year at Coastal Plains (NC) Raceway. It was a big win, just like the one she had Saturday night at New Smyrna Speedway when she took the super late model victory in a strong short track field. The victory followed a confrontation with Spencer Davis the night before. “It was the perfect time to win the race,” Avedisian told me. “From the incident the night before, I felt like it was a great way to go, clear my mind and ultimately win the race.” The style of racing is so different, as Avedisian has gone from 30-lap races in the sprint cars to longer races in the stock cars. Dirt tracks can also change at night regarding the best racing line, while asphalt tracks usually have one or two best racing lines that rarely change. “The nights I excelled in the dirt world was because I always felt like no matter what race it was, you had 30 laps and whoever could drive the hardest and be the smartest throughout the 20 minutes of racing was usually going to win the race,” Avedisian said. “Now… the style of racing is definitely very different.” Avedisian is driving a higher-horsepower late model this year at New Smyrna, where she also raced last year during February speedweeks. She likes the extra power and said the experience of running track a year ago helps her now. Experience is what he lacks. As a Toyota Racing Development driver, she knows there is a plan and she has at least some time to learn. They placed her on the strong Wilson Motorsports team in Late Models and Nitro Motorsports in ARCA. “I’m obviously hoping for that, or I wish I could have won 10 races last year, right? Avedisian said. “But sometimes it just doesn’t work like that. And I learned a lot last year, so I think that’s also why I got up to speed a little faster this year. (…) I was pretty confident coming in. I knew that if I just did my job, throughout this kind of long week, we would have opportunities to win.” With all of this in mind, Avedisian is a driver that remains on my list of top 20 Cup prospects based on his performance and potential. Funding is not a main factor, they are considered in this list because they can impact these drivers’ success in Cup. Some metrics: No drivers who have had a Cup season – or are close to having a full Cup season (i.e. Connor Zilisch) – are on this list and a driver must be under 28 to get a nod here (sorry Butterbean Queen): 1. Corey Heim Age: 23 Previous ranking: 2 The winner of 12 Truck races last year and the series title, Heim is expected to compete in the Cup full-time this year. But all the seats at 23XI Racing were already filled with driver-sponsor pairs for 2026, so Heim will compete in 12 Cup races in a fourth car for the team, in addition to being its reserve and test driver. Expect Heim, who could also compete in Truck races this year, to be in Cup full time in 2027. 2. Jesse Love Age: 21 Previous ranking: 4. Love won the season opener and season finale to capture the Xfinity Series title last season (now known as O’Reilly). The Richard Childress Racing driver is back to defend his crown this year and will look to finish in the top five more regularly (he had nine top-five finishes last year). The 2023 TA2 TransAm champion Crews will challenge for the O’Reilly Series title this year. But the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will miss four early-season races because he won’t turn 18 until March 30 and won’t be able to compete in early-season events at Daytona, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Darlington 4. Corey DayAge: 20 Previous Rank: 7 Day is a driver hoping Hendrick Motorsports follows the Kyle. Larson is on the path to stardom, coming from sprint car racing on dirt tracks to NASCAR Day. He earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes in 11 Xfinity starts last season. He will race full-time in the O’Reilly Series this year for Hendrick 5. Layne Riggs, 23. He’s back for a third season at Front Row Motorsports, and if he can have a multi-win season, his stock will continue to rise. 6. Kaden Honeycutt Age: 22 Previous Rank: 10 Honeycutt finished third in the Truck standings, while competing in the playoffs for Halmar Friesen Racing in place of the injured Stewart Friesen. He replaces Heim at Tricon. Honeycutt’s success isn’t a huge surprise – he’s the 2024 CARS Tour Late Model Champion. 7. Carson Kvapil Age: 22 Previous Rank: 9 Kvapil enters his second year racing for JR Motorsports, following a rookie season where he finished third in the standings after posting seven top fives and 14 top 10s. Much of this season (he’ll drive a few different cars over the course of the year) could be the recipe for an exceptional year. 8. Taylor GrayAge: 20Previous ranking: 11 Gray hopes to have his breakthrough victory with a victory in the Xfinity Series race at Martinsville at the end of the year. disappointing end to 2025, as he did not compete in the final race as he served a one-race suspension for wrecking Jeb Burton on the cool-down lap at Martinsville. But he had a respectable Xfinity season with one win and 13 top-five finishes for Haas. He has eight wins in the series and this will be a pivotal year, if he can show more maturity and the ability to win consistently, proving he belongs in Cup 10. Caruth Age: 23 Previous ranking: 13 Caruth won a truck race in Nashville to make the playoffs at Speyer. He will move to JR Motorsports and drive for O’Reilly this season for 23 races, then do the other 10 for Jordan Anderson Racing. Caruth will have to run well; he gets in the car that Connor Zilisch raced well in last year. 11. Christian EckesAge: 25Previous Rank: 14 Eckes returns to trucks after a frustrating year at Kaulig, which didn’t have a good Xfinity year, as Eckes finished 13th in the standings with six top fives and 15 top 10s. He has nine career truck wins and is expected to challenge for the title behind the wheel of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing 12. Keelan. Harvick Age: 13 Previous Rank: 17 Harvick continued to shine in late models as he won four times and placed in the top five six times in 10 professional CARS late model starts last year. He recently became the youngest winner of the Icebreaker Late Model race at Florence (SC) Speedway. Harvick, the son of former Cup champion and current FOX analyst Kevin Harvick, has a mix of CARS Tour and ASA events, as well as a few TransAm races on his schedule this year. year. 13. Chandler SmithAge: 23Previous standing: 12 Smith won two races and finished eighth in the truck standings, but expected more than five top-five finishes for Front Row Motorsports – even for a program implemented just before the season started. Smith will have to challenge for the title this year if he wants a shot at the Cup. He will attempt to compete in the Daytona 500 in a fourth FRM 14 car. 15Previous ranking: 15 McKee is one of the top talents in Chevrolet’s development program. At 12, he became the youngest winner in the CARS Tour pro late model division in 2023, then became the second-youngest winner in ARCA by winning his debut at Watkins Glen last year. races this year. 15. Gio Ruggiero Age: 19 Previous Rank: 20 Ruggiero won in his rookie truck season, taking the win at Talladega and finishing 11th in the truck standings – the top spot for drivers who didn’t make the playoffs. He should be a threat this year as he returns to racing for Tricon. The Toyota Racing Development driver will also do some O’Reilly racing for Joe Gibbs Racing 16. 19Previous standing: 18 Avedisian became the first woman to win a CARS Pro Late Model race, after scoring a victory last year at Costal Plains. Avedisian won a super late model race this week at New Smyrna Speedway, where many of the best short-track asphalt racers compete during Speedweeks. She has a mix of Late Model and ARCA racing on her schedule this year, as she continues under the Toyota 17 development banner. Nick Sanchez Age: 24 Previous Rank: 5 Sanchez would be higher on this list, but he only solidified his full-time commitment for 2026 this week after his plans to return to Big Machine Racing fell through. He earned one win and seven top-five finishes in the O’Reilly Series last year for the organization. He will continue in the series this year for AM Racing, which saw the sale of the team fall through over the past month. Classified Buice is part of Chevrolet’s development program and she had two top 10 finishes in four ARCA starts last year. She has had two top five finishes in CARS Tour late model stock events. Buice has a strong schedule in 2026 with a mix of ARCA and late model races. After earning stage points in only five stages of the first 19 races, he has earned stage points 13 times in the last 14 races. This year will be crucial for Sawalich in another season at Joe Gibbs Racing. certainly respectable, but there was a feeling that there was a little more hope. Still, Toyota likes his potential and his work ethic. 25 others to watch: Tyler Ankrum Luke Baldwin, Austin Beers, Carson Brown, Mike Christopher, Daniel Dye, Luke Fenhaus, Jake Finch, Jake Garcia, Tanner Gray, Conner Jones, Isaac Kitzmiller, Caden Kvapil, Treyten Lapcevich, Landen Lewis, Ben Maier, Helio Meza, Andres Pérez de Lara, George Phillips, Tyler Reif, Taylor Reimer, Lavar Scott, Sammy Dawson Sutton, Mini Tyrrell.