Johnson given the title of Cup driver of the year

NASCAR.COM staff members have chosen their driver of the year for the three national series as well as NASCAR Driver of the Year. The four-part series continues with the Cup Series:

Mark Aumann

Driver of the Year

NASCAR.COM staff votes

	Johnson	Montoya	Stewart
Mark Aumann	x
Jarrod Breeze	x
David Caraviello		x
Duane Cross	x
Bill Kimm	x
Joe Menzer	x
Dave Rodman			x
Chris Stanfield	x
TOTAL	6	1	1

Voices of Dissent

David Caraviello on Juan Montoya

Jimmie Johnson may have won the series championship, but no driver in NASCAR's premier series made bigger strides in 2009 than Juan Montoya. It's easy to forget, that as the 2009 season began, Montoya was on nobody's list of potential title contenders. If anything, this was a driver who seemed to be going backward, falling from 20th to 25th in points between 2007 and 2008. The crew chief position on the No. 42 team had become a revolving door. Montoya's lone victory, at Infineon Raceway in 2007, seemed a long time ago. People were wondering if he would be better off leaving Chip Ganassi's operation for somewhere else. And yet, thanks to crew chief Brian Pattie and a change in approach -- tailoring setups to Montoya, rather than the other way around -- Montoya blossomed into someone who should challenge Johnson in 2010. He didn't win, but he had real chances, and he would have finished in the top five in points if not for wrecks at the end of the season. Even so, eighth place was something few foresaw for Montoya a year ago.

Dave Rodman on Tony Stewart

This format rewards the best drivers in all three national series plus an overall NASCAR driver of the year. So in my opinion you must salute the 2009 accomplishments of Tony Stewart as Cup driver of the year. Stewart had a so-so 2008, finishing ninth in the championship with a win, 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes; then went off to start his own two-car team. His 2009 results were stunning: sixth in the championship, four wins plus winning the All-Star race, 15 top-fives and 23 top-10 finishes. Plus, Stewart put the "vehicle" in place for his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Ryan Newman, to also make the Chase. Doing it with a new crew chief elevates Stewart to the head of the class.

I really wanted to pick a "feel good" story instead of the obvious choice: someone like Mark Martin, who returned to the series full-time and won five races on his way to yet another runner-up finish for the championship, or Tony Stewart, who took a struggling back-of-the-pack operation and put two cars in the Chase and himself in Victory Lane four times. Still, there's no doubting that Jimmie Johnson was head and shoulders better than anyone else at the highest level. Not only did he lead the series in wins and laps led, he tied teammate Jeff Gordon for most top-five finishes and had one fewer top-10. And unlike Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, who struggled to maintain their torrid 2008 pace, Johnson's overall numbers in 2009 were better than his championship season the previous year. Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the team are so good so often, it makes the rare poor finishes stick in your mind rather than the week-in and week-out excellence.

Jarrod Breeze

He won a series-high seven races, four coming in clutch time -- aka the Chase. He led 2,238 laps -- no one else eclipsed 1,400. How good was Jimmie Johnson in 2009? Six times he finished 30th or worse, and still won the championship going away. Yeah, Mark Martin remained in striking distance down the stretch, but did anybody really, deep down, believe he was going to overtake Johnson? After Johnson wrecked early at Texas and finished 38th, his worst result of the season, how did he respond? By leading 238 of 312 laps the following week to win at Phoenix. Yeah, driver of the year. Oh, and by the way, new points or old it still came out the same -- with Johnson on top.

Duane Cross

What's left to say about Johnson's 2009 season, the culmination of a stretch in which he became the first driver to win four consecutive Cup Series championships? The victories, the consistent top-five finishes, the top-10s, the overcoming of bad luck, the capitalizing on others' misfortunes, the domination of the championship system. Johnson is as focused as his crew chief, Chad Knaus, and the duo is determined to continue to push the bar higher. Tenacity -- that's the best way to describe what Johnson brings to the track each week. It's also something that gets lost behind the smile of NASCAR's reigning late-race assassin. If you had one race to win, is there any question that Johnson and Knaus are the ones you'd want making the last-lap decisions?

Bill Kimm

In a year that could be considered sub-standard for Jimmie Johnson, it was enough to win his fourth championship by the largest margin of his career. His seven wins this season led the Cup Series, but were three off a career high. Johnson's 16 top-fives are nowhere near his career high of 20 and his 24 top-10s didn't even lead the series. Yet here we are, another year in the books, another championship for Johnson. His historic fourth consecutive title wasn't won because Johnson dominated -- he didn't have the points lead until after the 30th race of the season. Johnson won the championship because he is so much better than everyone else on the track when it matters most -- the Chase. Right now, Johnson and the No. 48 team are invincible in the fall. Proof comes at Texas, where other teams would have faltered, Johnson and his guys rose to the occasion. There are some amazing drivers in the series -- a few are future Hall of Famers -- but until they figure out how to beat Johnson, they are simply racing for second place.

Joe Menzer

Yawn. Remember how last year it became suddenly popular to award Carl Edwards 2009 driver of the year honors as well as anoint him as the heir apparent to Jimmie Johnson's championship throne. Well, Edwards backed up his nine-win 2008 with zero victories in 2009 -- while all Johnson did was run away from the field again during the 10-race Chase, winning an unprecedented fourth title in a row. This time, honoring the obvious as 2009 Cup DOY not only is the correct thing to do, it's the only thing to do. You want the statistics to back it up? Forget Johnson's series-high seven victories, although that is impressive and proof enough. Johnson's domination is best illustrated in the fact that he led a total of 2,890 miles in the 36 races -- nearly twice as many as any other driver. Denny Hamlin was next with just over 1,457.

Chris Stanfield

As a relative newcomer to the world of NASCAR, I considered it a treat to immerse myself into this year's Cup season, bearing witness to a feat worth bragging about to my grandchildren. I was always jealous of older friends, who raved of the day when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier at Ebbets Field in 1947, or witnessing the night Wilt Chamberlin scored 100 points in a single game. Now I have something in common with them. Jimmie Johnson is proof of what is possible with great support, fine-tuned talent and a cohesive unit working hand-in-hand toward a common goal. Love him or hate him, it doesn't matter. But if you can't respect what he and his team have accomplished this season, it'd be tough to argue that you're a true fan of the sport.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Staff writer Raygan Swan is on maternity leave and did not participate in the voting.

Driver of the Year Schedule
• Dec. 12: Truck | Dec. 19: Nationwide | Dec. 26: Cup | Dec. 28: NASCAR