Top performances, races highlight '09 Cup season (cont'd)

Top Breakthrough Performers of the Year

• Marcos Ambrose -- In just his second season at the Cup level and first full season of competition, the affable Australian finished 18th in the point standings driving the No. 40 Toyota for JTG/Daugherty Racing ... Posted four top-five and seven top-10 finishes ... Finished second at Watkins Glen, third at Infineon, third at Bristol, and fourth at Talladega.

• Juan Montoya -- Competing in just his third full season of NASCAR racing, this former Indianapolis 500 winner emerged as one of the top stories of the 2009 season ... Made the Chase and finished eighth in the final point standings ... Was a model of consistency the first four races of the Chase, finishing third at New Hampshire, fourth at Dover, fourth at Kansas, and third at Auto Club Speedway ... Was on target to win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, leading 116 laps, before a speeding penalty on pit road doomed his chances ... As a demonstration of how far he's progressed racing stock cars, he finished second at Pocono and third at Martinsville ... Posted seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes with two poles.

• David Reutimann -- In just his third full season of Cup competition, he stepped up and finished a solid 16th in the final point standings ... Was in contention to make the Chase up until the cut-off race at Richmond ... Stayed in the top 12 for nine weeks ... Won the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, marking his first Cup Series victory ... Posted five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes and had two poles -- Texas and Dover.

• Brian Vickers -- Broke through to make the Chase field ... Finished 12th in the final point standings ... Reached Victory Lane at Michigan, marking the first Cup Series win for Red Bull Racing ... Went on a tear at midseason to get into the Chase, finishing 12th or better in the final nine races leading up to the Chase ... Posted four top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, to go along with six poles -- the second most in the series.

Comeback Driver of the Year

• Kurt Busch -- The 2004 Cup champion bounced back from a lackluster 2008 season, when he finished 18th in the point standings, to finish fourth in the championship points race ... Won twice on the season -- at Atlanta and at Texas ... Was consistently ranked in the top five in points all season long ... Had 10 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes ... Finished the season strong by winning at Texas, finishing sixth at Phoenix and fourth at Homestead.

Top Races of the Year (in chronological order)

• Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway (March 29) -- An aggressive pass of Denny Hamlin on Lap 485 gave Johnson the lead and he pulled away to beat Hamlin by .774 seconds and claim his 41st career Cup victory and his fifth in the past six races at Martinsville. It also gave Hendrick Motorsports its 18th win at the .526-mile short track, exactly 25 years after its first series victory at this same track.

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• Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway (April 26) -- In a typical wild and wooly Talladega finish, Brad Keselowski was a surprise winner, laying claim to his first Cup victory. With Carl Edwards' car flying hard into the catch fence behind him, Keselowski crossed the finish line just .175 seconds ahead of his mentor, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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• Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (May 16) -- It was the 25th running of the Sprint All-Star Race and the evening's action on the race track delivered an exciting 100 laps of fierce competition for the fans. Stewart passed Matt Kenseth through Turn 2 on Lap 99 to capture his first all-star race win and his first trip to Victory Lane as an owner/driver.

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• Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway (May 31) -- Restarting eighth on Lap 374 of 400, Johnson atoned for a slow pit stop and charged through the field to run down Greg Biffle and Stewart and win his fourth Cup race at Dover. Johnson, who led a race-high 298 laps, cleared Stewart for the lead through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 398 and pulled away to finish .861 seconds ahead of Stewart.

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• Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway (June 21) -- Kasey Kahne held off road-course ace Stewart through a succession of four late-race double-file restarts to post his first win at a road course and get Richard Petty Motorsports back into Victory Lane -- the organization's first win since 1999. After Kahne took the lead from Scott Speed on Lap 80, he stayed out front the rest of the way.

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• Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (July 4) -- With Kyle Busch slamming the frontstretch wall after an unsuccessful attempt to block, Stewart posted his second victory of the season and his third win at the mid-summer Daytona race. With a push from teammate Hamlin, Busch had taken the lead approaching the white flag and held it through Turn 4 of the final lap. But Stewart drove his No. 14 Chevrolet to the left rear of Busch's No. 18 Toyota off the corner, forcing Busch to the bottom of the track to maintain control of his car. Stewart then moved high and as Busch slid back up to block, contact with Stewart's car turned Busch's car into the wall and ignited a dramatic multi-car wreck near the finish line.

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• Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Sept. 20) -- In the first race of the Chase, Martin held off a ferocious charge by Montoya on a restart with three laps left to win for the first time at New Hampshire. Martin's team relied on shrewd pit strategy to help pull off the win. Under caution on Lap 194 of 300, crew chief Alan Gustafson opted to leave Martin on the track with a small group of cars that did not pit.

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