Top 5: Overlooked stories in 2010

As 2010 comes to a close, NASCAR.COM looks back at the season that was and forward at the season that's looming on the horizon with some Top 5 lists.

In Monday's list, Dave Rodman gives us his five most overlooked stories in 2010.

5. Jim Hunter's demise. No one more than Hunter better connected six decades of racing history from the inside out. NASCAR's vice president of corporate communication was diagnosed with cancer late in 2009 and made an initial rebound. Hunter's track visits in 2010 were irregular, but it was a shock to many when he passed away on Talladega's fall weekend. Hunter, a critical part of Bill France's decision-making process, had an impact on fans, the media and executives throughout the sport.

Related: Great storyteller Hunter a great story in his own right

4. The strength of ThorSport Racing. ThorSport, owner Duke Thorson's Camping World Truck Series operation based in Sandusky, Ohio, was the latest in a slim group of organizations that have managed to make a significant impact in NASCAR national series racing while based away from the sport's North Carolina hub. Drivers Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton finished third and fourth in the standings with 24 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes out of a possible 50 and ThorSport looks poised to make a title run in 2011.

Related: Sauter to return to ThorSport Racing for 2011

3. Denny Hamlin's surgery. Hamlin injured his knee playing pickup basketball in January and made the gutsy decision to get the injury fixed in-season. Hamlin's performance both immediately before, via a win at Martinsville, and especially in the immediate aftermath of the procedure was well-documented. But the impact of him staying in the car in a laps-down run at Phoenix and winning the next week at Texas as a team-building measure, especially in terms of confidence in its driver, was not so well-served.

Related: Hamlin's season shaped by two races at Phoenix

2. Brad Keselowski dominates the Nationwide Series. The 2010 campaign should have been Keselowski's final season as primarily a Nationwide driver, but circumstances put him in both Penske Racing's Sprint Cup and Nationwide cars full-time. His Cup work was disappointing to him, but not atypical for a start-up team. And on the Nationwide side, Keselowski consistently delivered, logging the second-best totals of poles and wins, a series-record 26 top-five finishes and a league-leading 29 top-10s.

Related: Title run makes champ stronger as team prepares to return and defend

1. The strength of Kevin Harvick's season. Jimmie Johnson won his fifth consecutive Cup championship. But there's also no doubt that Kevin Harvick had the best full 2010 season. Harvick completed the 26-race regular season 228 points ahead of second place and 306 points ahead of Johnson. And, after unofficially losing only 21 points to Johnson during the Chase, it's a simple mathematical process to determine Harvick, with one fewer top-five than Johnson and a league-leading 26 top-10 finishes, had the best year.

Related: Harvick finds stride as a contender

Related:
Top 5: Most memorable races of 2010
Top 5: Surprising moments of 2010
Top 5: Drivers with something to prove in '11
Top 5: Drivers to watch in 2011
Top 5: Issues facing NASCAR