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 Qualifying Results: AJ Allmendinger Wins Pole for Kansas Speedway

AJ Allmendinger won the pole for the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway, only the second pole of his career.

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Qualifying: Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger Claim Pole Positions

Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag in Saturday night's Sprint All-Star race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, the final driver to take a qualifying time, edged out Stewart-Haas Racing pilot Ryan Newman to take the top spot. Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five. There were a bevy of penalties, affecting Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Marcos ...

Monte Carlo results...Vettel takes pole...Predators move on...NASCAR qualifying

MONACO (AP) — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) has reached the Monte Carlo Masters final for the second time in his career, rallying from a set down to beat sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych (TOH'-mahs bur-DEEK') 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in windy conditions. Two days after the death of his grandfather, Djokovic pointed to the sky for several moments after win. He will play either seven-time ...

NASCAR-CUP: Pole winner Gordon and Chevy drivers reflect on Talladega qualifying

Jeff Gordon, Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet Photo by: Action Sports Photography JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER THIS IS YOUR 71ST CAREER POLE AND YOUR 20TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF WINNING A POLE POSITION, WHICH TIES YOU WITH DAVID PEARSON FOR THE LONGEST STREAK ALL-TIME “Thank you. That’s quite an accomplishment. I’m just so proud of this DuPont Chevrolet team. We needed ...

2012 NASCAR All-Star Race Preview

SPONSORED BY SPEED This Saturday night will mark the 28th running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race which airs on SPEED at 7:00 pm ET. Be sure to tune in to catch this exciting showcase of NASCAR's best drivers vying for the $1 million dollar payday.