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.

Will drivers play rough at Darlington this weekend?

A bit of feuding might be good for NASCAR. Southern 500 ticket sales are up at Darlington for the first time in four years, track president Chris Browning said.

Speedway to donate proceeds to WNYHeroes

Holland Motor Sports Speedway will be donating proceeds from ticket sales for a Memorial Day weekend event to benefit WNYHeroes, an organization devoted to assisting disabled veterans and troops.

Late NASCAR driver remembered at MB Speedway

NASCAR's stars aren't only in Darlington for the races this weekend. Kyle Petty, Michael Waltrip, and Denny Hamlin are three drivers who stopped on the Grand Strand for an event at Myrtle Beach Speedway Thursday night.

What Warren Buffett's CEOs Can Teach You

At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, I had a chance to meet several leaders of Berkshire-owned companies. Here's what I learned. The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders' Meeting in Omaha is truly to capitalists what Talladega is to NASCAR fans. It's a spectacle, a tradition–over the top and reassuringly familiar to the faithful. At this writing, a Berkshire's class A shares price out ...

SOUTHERN 500 NOTEBOOK: Waltrip enjoying life in the backseat

Michael Waltrip has settled in to his life outside of being a fulltime NASCAR driver.