Budweiser Shootout

victory in the Budweiser Shootout through Denny Hamlin's win in the season finale at Homestead, the 2009 season belonged to Jimmie Johnson. Now a four-time Cup Series champion, Johnson wrapped up his fourth consecutive title with another 10-race Chase run into the record books.

However, there were many other storylines that made headlines this year -- the economy and its effect on a sponsor-driven sport, Jeremy Mayfield's suspension following a failed drug test and the subsequent legal filings, Danica Patrick's seemingly never ending "talks" with team owners, not to mention the Hall of Fame as well as the on-track competition.

NAS-CAR.COM's staff writers weigh in with their top stories of the year: Sponsorship was priceless in '09. Sponsorship was priceless in '09.

MARK AUMANN The economic slowdown affected every facet of the sport in 2009, and may continue to do so in the near future.

Two of the sport's manufacturers -- Chevrolet and Chrysler -- faced bankruptcy and throttled back their monetary and engineering assistance. Major corporations cut back or eliminated their sponsorships altogether. Several teams merged or shuttered their operations, and in the process, laid off hundreds of employees. Others went the "start and park" route in an effort to limit expenses and maximize revenues.

The drop in attendance, close to 10 percent from 2008 estimates, was partially blamed on the recession, as fans had more difficult choices to make with their increasingly limited disposable income. Many members of the media found themselves facing the same situation as declining advertising revenue required downsizing. And even though the forecast is rosier for the foreseeable future, there's no guarantee NASCAR will return to its halcyon days any time soon.

NASCAR Honor Roll: Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation Luncheon

I've been thinking of starting this "NASCAR Honor Roll" for some time now, but a luncheon I attended today for the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation really inspired me to get it going. In a room full of donors and potential donors for his foundation, Gordon acted as host and emcee of a panel consisting of doctors on a local, national and global scale. The event was simply to give some background ...

MEDL Mobile Takes NASCAR to the Line

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. -- MEDL Mobile, Inc. , an incubator and aggregator of mobile technology, announced today that it has introduced a NASCAR lesson pack for the "Kids! Learn to Draw by Walter ...

Dodge extends partnership with NASCAR Canada

Go to TSN.ca for details. #TSN

NASCAR and manufacturers striving to put the 'stock' back in stock cars

TALLADEGA - The cars were from the showroom floor. Mangle a fender in practice? Simply head to the nearest dealer and negotiate a new piece of metal. Tires wearing too quickly? There's a parking lot of potential spares right outside the track.

NASCAR-NS: Series penalizes to 6 Nationwide crew chiefs & car chiefs

Six NASCAR Nationwide Series Crew Chiefs Fined; Crew Chiefs, Car Chiefs Placed On Probation For Infractions At Richmond International Raceway The Richmond logo on the media center Photo by: Andy Sallee DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 1, 2012) – NASCAR announced today that six NASCAR Nationwide Series crew chiefs had been fined and placed on probation for violations during this past weekend’s event at ...