The top stories of 2009, #3-#1: What took the prize in '09?

Wrapping up our countdown of the top stories of 2009 with the most important stories of the year. These'll start arguments, guaranteed.

3. Stewart-Haas Racing dominates right out of the gate. When Tony Stewart jumped into team ownership at the end of 2008, NASCAR observers met the news with polite nods. Nice knowin' ya, Tony, the thinking went, since there was no way he was going to compete with the big dogs any more, right? Wrong. Smoke completely dominated the regular season, and while the Chase didn't go his way, he returned to his rightful place among the leaders of NASCAR. Plus, he wasn't too buttoned-down to throw down once in awhile. If there was a way that one of NASCAR's most popular drivers could have improved his standing, he did it.

2. Jimmie Johnson's Four Score. Johnson cruised to his fourth Sprint Cup championship with only minor problems along the way. And nobody -- not Petty, not Earnhardt, not Yarborough, nobody -- has won four in a row. Even so, the carping and complaining about Johnson's win pretty much drowned out the cheers. Which is a shame, because this is history in the making. And the scary thing is, he may not be done.

1. DALE JR UPDATE PLEASE!  This one's going to have people screaming, but here's the truth -- when your marquee attraction (most popular driver seven years running) is having the kinds of difficulties Dale Earnhardt Jr. did this year, it's major news. As Junior goes, so goes NASCAR to a great extent, and so when the onetime Chaser fell off the map, he may have taken quite a few viewers with him. While he's got fans who would jump into a wood chipper if he told them to, he's also got a large number of casual fans who could take or leave him and NASCAR if he's not winning ... as is the case right now. Junior got a new crew chief in Lance McGrew and he's got a couple months to get his head sorted out, but if he can't straighten the 88 in short order, the biggest story of 2009 is going to carry right over to 2010. (The title of this entry refers to the question we were asked the most all year in our weekly chats, which again should give you an idea of how popular Junior is ... like it or not.)

And that's your 2009! Since this series focused on the regular season, we didn't include the Danica news, but again, like it or not that's going to dominate NASCAR headlines for much of 2010. Get ready now. 

And now it's your turn -- what did we miss? What events would you have placed among the year's top 12? Have your say!