Top performances, races highlight Nationwide '09

There certainly were some outstanding performances -- both from a driving and racing standpoint -- that took place during the recently completed 2009 Nationwide Series season.

The following is a look back at some of those standout performers and memorable races, as selected from discussions with the national series directors, competition department and NASCAR PR managers:

Nearly unanimous

Kyle Busch won his first Nationwide Series title in record fashion with nine wins, 25 top-fives and 30 top-10s. Yet, that wasn't enough for a couple NASCAR.COM writers to crown him the Nationwide Series driver of the year.

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Top Drivers (in alphabetical order)

• Kyle Busch -- In capturing his first NASCAR national series title and the first series driver championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch put together a dominating year making good on the media's preseason prediction for the 2009 Nationwide Series champion. Yet, he didn't run away with the crown, a testament to the overall strength of the series. But make no mistake: Busch was the best. His nine wins led the series and he finished second 11 other times. He led 2,698 of a possible 6,715 laps and posted four perfect 150.0 Driver Ratings. His 25 top-five finishes tied the series record, and in only 173 career starts he has 30 victories, now fourth all-time. He also became the first driver to win two national series races on the same day when he won the Truck and Nationwide races at Auto Club Speedway on Feb. 21.

→ Shop: Busch championship gear!

• Brad Keselowski -- In his second full year in the series, Keselowski was expected to improve, but his results exceeded those expectations. After starting 2009 in a slump, he rebounded to win four times -- arguably four of the most exciting races of the year -- the most for a series-only regular since 2005 and fourth-best in the series in 2009. He won his first Cup Series race in just his seventh event and challenged for second in the Nationwide standings until the season finale. His 105.9 Driver Rating is the highest for a series-only regular in a single season. He'll keep alive this decade's streak of at least one full-time series-only regular who finished in the top 10 in the standings moving up to Cup the following season ... and he'll take his rivalry with Denny Hamlin along with him.

• Joey Logano -- Lost in the shuffle of Busch's dominance, Keselowski's vast improvement and solid performances by other series-only regulars and double-duty drivers, was the quiet, but steady production of Logano. In 22 Nationwide races, Logano, 19, registered five wins (tied for second in the series with full-time double-duty driver Carl Edwards), 13 top-fives and 16 top-10s. He also won four poles, second to Edwards' seven in 35 races. Logano made the most of the pole positions, winning twice and finishing second twice in those four starts.

Raybestos Rookie of the Year

• Justin Allgaier -- The leader of a stellar rookie class, Allgaier fended off challenges from Michael McDowell and Brendan Gaughan -- unlike Allgaier, drivers with previous national series experience before their Nationwide rookie-honor run. Allgaier captured the award and came within 26 points of fifth in the final standings, a battle he'd waged with Steve Wallace and Mike Bliss before ultimately ceding to Bliss. Allgaier collected three top-fives and 12 top-10s in addition to his first career pole (Memphis Motorsports Park). He was one of three rookies (Gaughan, ninth; Michael Annett, 10th) who finished in the top 10 in the standings, a first for the series since 2005 (Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Reed Sorenson). (Continued)