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2023 Frontstretch NASCAR Xfinity Series Awards

It’s award season here at Frontstretch, and after a long season with plenty of unexpected turns, there’s no better time than the holidays to hand out some flowers.

From the emergence of Sam Mayer to dominance from John Hunter Nemechek, Richard Childress Racing’s playoff meltdown to Cole Custer’s first NASCAR title, the NASCAR Xfinity Series was full of big names, big stories and big moments that defined 2023.

Much could be written about — and awarded — but here are a few of the top accolades to discuss from the past 10 months.

Read all of Frontstretch‘s content looking back on 2023 here

Driver of the Year: John Hunter Nemechek

Trophies don’t always mean someone was the best player or the best team all season — those winners were just better when the lights were brightest.

This is another one of those cases. Yes, Cole Custer won the 2023 championship, and yes, he had a fantastic season. However, when you look at the numbers, nobody dominated this past season quite like John Hunter Nemechek.

His seven wins on the season were nothing short of immaculate, and with a flurry of top fives (17) and 10s (24), his domination is impossible to ignore.

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2023 Frontstretch NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Awards

In fact, no driver came within three wins of Nemechek’s victory total, and only Austin Hill could match or nearly match him in the other categories. But while Hill was more of a model of consistency than dominance, Nemechek could actually seal the deal.

He won’t get a chance to repeat in this category next year, as Nemechek moves to the NASCAR Cup Series full time for Legacy Motor Club.

Rookie of the Year: Sammy Smith

Was there ever any doubt?

Sammy Smith drove his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to victory lane at Phoenix Raceway early in the season and set the tone for an impressive rookie showing.

If he hadn’t hit a rough patch a little after halfway through the season, we’re probably talking even higher of Smith than we already are, and that’s impressive in and of itself considering the hype that’s following him.

Now slated to jump ship and head to JR Motorsports next season to replace Josh Berry in the No. 8, Smith is aiming to improve upon a stellar rookie campaign in which he finished sixth in the final driver standings. Not a bad pull for Dale Earnhardt Jr., huh?

Breakout of the Year: Sam Mayer

Although Riley Herbst made a great case for this one with his late-season heroics, you can’t ignore the work Sam Mayer put in on and off the track.

The biggest jump that drivers usually take is from their first year to their second. And Mayer didn’t just jump — he rocketed, with four wins and a strong playoff performance.

What’s more, Mayer was red hot in the back half of the season, with his first win coming at Road America, the 20th event of the year.

His four wins and powerful playoffs earned him not just this nod but also a bold prediction: Mayer will win the 2024 series championship. And when he does, I’ll have to repost this article. (And if he doesn’t, I was just kidding around.)

Best Parking Job: Josh Williams

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and seen someone double parked? Do your insides fill with rage like mine do when that happens? The lines are there for a reason, but what about when there aren’t any lines?

You do as Josh Williams did this year at Atlanta.

Williams took the “Park It” bit. Now, every time I see a Josh Williams T-shirt I’m reminded of this day.

Williams was eventually suspended for one race for his stunt, but it’s all been good things for the veteran since — including a new job for 2024 as the full-time driver of the No. 11 at Kaulig Racing.

WTH Moment of the Year: Richard Childress Racing

Never have I ever seen something quite like what transpired toward the end of the season with Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill.

Creed and Hill, who were teammates at the time, traded plenty of paint on the final lap as both were going for the win at Martinsville Speedway, the penultimate race of the year. The sticking point? If Hill would have simply let Creed finish, they both would have advanced to the next round of the playoffs, would have been able to work together and potentially could have completely changed the outcome of the 2023 season.

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2023 Frontstretch ARCA Awards

Instead, Creed fought with Hill for the win, and neither driver made it to victory lane.

This award isn’t for that, however. It’s for the absolute clown show that RCR brass went on after the race.

After the race, RCR VP of racing competition Andy Petree made it a point to go show Creed a piece of his mind. He dogged him out on pit road after the race, to which Creed essentially said if roles were reversed and Hill was in his shoes, they wouldn’t have said a thing.

God forbid a racing driver try to win a race, am I right?

Tanner Marlar

Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for TopSpeed.com, an AP Wire reporter, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host and master's student at Mississippi State University. Soon, Tanner will be pursuing a PhD. in Mass Media Studies. Tanner began working with Frontstretch as an Xfinity Series columnist in 2022.

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Michael

R.I.P; Mr. Yarborough. At least you outlived the sport. Please 🙏 do me a favor, after BINGO please🙏say hi 👋 to my mom 🧓for me. Thank you 😊so much and miss you 😢!