Some years, the race for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year in NASCAR's Cup Series is more interesting than others. Some years, there are big names involved as they attempt to come over from other racing series; or a phenom, such as 2009 winner Joey Logano, makes the jump to NASCAR's top level of competition.

That may not be the case this year. However, don't tell Kevin Conway -- the runaway leader in the Rookie of the Year standings -- that winning the coveted title means any less.

“

For me, all of a sudden my hard work created some opportunities and now to find myself in the middle of the Rookie of the Year championship in the Sprint Cup Series is beyond comprehension in many ways

”

-- KEVIN CONWAY

Conway's 14th-place finish in last Saturday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway was the 17th consecutive event he has been the top-finishing first-year driver in a Cup race (of course, in some races he was the only rookie and in others, veteran Truck Series driver Terry Cook, at 42, was his only competition). Coming off his best finish of the season -- and the best in the history of Front Row Motorsports -- Conway talked about what being the top rookie means and what he does away from the track to stay in tune mentally.

Question: Some critics might say it's a light class, but you're the top rookie in Sprint Cup this year. Does it still mean anything?

Conway: It absolutely still means something. I'm hungry. I'm 31 years old. As I came up through the ranks and got older and older, it seemed like the opportunities got farther and farther away. You kind of wonder if you're ever going to get that shot. There are thousands of guys who race regional series or local series who never get that chance -- and once you get to your mid-20s, you're like, 'Is this ever going to happen?'

For me, all of a sudden my hard work created some opportunities and now to find myself in the middle of the Rookie of the Year championship in the Sprint Cup Series is beyond comprehension in many ways. ...

Q: What about some of the critics who say so what, because here at mid-season you're the only rookie left running regularly?

Conway: When it comes down to it, it's still the Sprint Cup Series. It's the most competitive form of racing in the world. To win the Rookie of the Year title is something only 55 other drivers in the history of NASCAR have done (since it began being awarded in 1954).

When we entered the Rookie of the Year program, we didn't know we would be the only rookie left at this point in the season. We thought, along with Terry Cook, there would be others -- whether it was Justin Allgaier (a Nationwide driver with Penske Racing) or whomever -- that would throw their hats in the ring. At the end of the day, you still have to make the races, you still have to finish races, you still have to perform. So whether there is one rookie or 10 rookies, you still have to compete every week, you still have to perform.

Q: Could you talk about some of the things you like to do away from the track?

Conway: Two of my biggest passions besides racing are wakeboarding and snowboarding. So anytime I'm not racing and I can find water somewhere, you'll find me behind my Supra (boat) out on some lake. One of the cool things is that one of my sponsors is Supra Boats, so even if we're at a race somewhere -- like Michigan, for instance -- if I can find some down time before or after and there is a lake around, they'll let me borrow a boat from somewhere to go wakeboarding or wake-surfing. It's just good therapy for me, and it's still got a competitive element to it -- yet it's relatively safe because it's pretty hard to get too banged up. For me, it's something I love because it still gives you that adrenaline rush and there is a competitive edge to it.

Then in the winter, during the months of December and January, you're generally going to find me on the side of a mountain somewhere. When I was younger, I was really into skateboarding and action sports -- way before action sports was a cool thing. ... Unfortunately, I think I'm getting a little too old to take some of the hits I used to take on the skateboard, so now I stick to the water and the snow.

Q: Can't the snow get a little bit dangerous?

Conway: It can be. Last year a bunch of us went up to a little terrain park in Vail (Colo.). I don't think anybody realized how big some the jumps were that we were going to be making. We were hitting the 45-foot and 50-foot gaps pretty hard. It was quite the adrenaline rush.

You try to be relatively smart about how far you take it. But when you get a group of competitive people together -- whether it's racers, or professional wakeboarders and snowboarders -- someone keeps raising the volume of what you're willing to do. ... When it comes to goofing off with my friends or staying focused and serious about racing, I'm going to stay focused racing every time. But you still have that downtime where you need to get reenergized as well.

Q: Who do you usually go on these adventures with?

Conway: Some of the guys are among the best at what they do. A couple of the guys I go with a lot are (pro wakeboarder) Austin Hair and (pro snowboarder) J.J. Thomas. Austin and some of the other guys are younger, but J.J. is one of the original professionals who was one of the first to come out with his own line of snowboards and stuff like that back in the day. He's a guy from Boone (N.C.) who has been all over the world to compete and has won the U.S. Open in snowboarding (as well as a bronze medal in the Olympics). It's cool to be able to go out and hang with those guys. We drag them out to the races once in a while, too -- so they get to see our world and we get to play in their world a little bit, too.

Related:
• Rookie Standings | Conway Driver Page | Season Statistics