NASCAR prospect rankings: Corey Heim rises to No. 1
16. Katie Hettinger (age: 16; previous ranking: 14): Hettinger earned seven top-5 finishes and finished second in the CARS Tour pro late model division — a solid year but one without a victory. She will return to the series this year but with a family-run team. She has some Chevrolet support and this will be a big season to see how she develops returning to tracks for a second (or third or more) time.
17. Rajah Caruth (age: 21; previous ranking: 17): With just four top-10s, it was a tough rookie season in trucks for Rajah Caruth as GMS Racing was in its final year of operation. He will get another season in the series this season driving for Spire Motorsports with the experienced Chad Walter atop the box. Caruth, one of only two full-time Black drivers in NASCAR national series racing, will need to show improvement now that he has experience at all the tracks on the circuit.
18. Brodie Kostecki (age: 26; previous ranking: NR): With Shane van Gisbergen making the move from Supercars in Australia to NASCAR, does that mean others could make the move as well? If teams start looking over to Australia, Kostecki could be one as he captured six victories last year on his way to the series crown. He made his Cup debut on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last year driving for Richard Childress Racing. But he also has some oval experience, having run in the ARCA East Series in 2014. Kostecki, who currently is in a dispute and not racing for his Supercars team, could run additional Cup races this year for RCR.
19. Luke Fenhaus (age: 19; previous ranking: 16): Fenhaus won two ARCA East races (including one that doubled as an ARCA national series victory) and finished second in the East standings last year. Despite running well, he hasn’t been able to land sponsorship this year, so likely will run big late-model races when he can. How well respected is his talent among those in the know? He is the only young driver in this top 20 without a full-time contract for this year, something that typically would keep someone off this list.
20. Isabella Robusto (age: 19; previous ranking: 19): Robusto’s 2023 season got cut short because of injuries that included a concussion resulting from a hard crash. Toyota still has big plans and hopes for her, so she keeps her spot on this list as she attempts a comeback racing late models in 2024. She will make her ARCA debut in March at Phoenix.
25 others to watch: Toni Breidinger, Sheldon Creed, Corey Day, Hailie Deegan, Jake Drew, Daniel Dye, Broc Feeney, Jake Finch, Jake Garcia, Tanner Gray, Sean Hingorani, Kaden Honeycutt, Brandon Jones, Conner Jones, Derek Kraus, Caden Kvapil, Treyten Lapcevich, Matt Mills, Andres Perez de Lara, Brenden Queen, Parker Retzlaff, Ben Rhodes, Gio Ruggiero, Lavar Scott and Kyle Weatherman.
Hailie Deegan explains why AM Racing and the Xfinity Series are the best fit for her
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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