Top 3 stories: Johnson, Martin, Mayfield

Published Dec. 25, 2009 at 2:08 a.m.
That's Racin' concludes its three-week look back at the top 10 stories of the NASCAR season.

No. 3 NASCAR VS. JEREMY MAYFIELD

Little could anyone imagine all that would transpire when NASCAR officials stepped to a microphone at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on May9 and announced that then-Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield had been indefinitely suspended for violation of the sport's substance-abuse policy.

NASCAR's new random testing policy already had nabbed several crew members, but Mayfield was the first driver to be suspended, and he did not accept the punishment quietly.

Over the next several months, Mayfield and NASCAR traded accusations and a multitude of court filings. At one point, Mayfield got a federal judge to overturn his suspension, only to see NASCAR get a federal appeals court to reinstate it.

Mayfield remains suspended - in fact, NASCAR claimed he failed a second drug test during the brief time he was reinstated - but the case and all of its side issues continue to grind through the court system.

Given each side's determination to see the case through thus far, expect this issue to provide headlines during the 2010 season.

No. 2 MARK MARTIN MAKES A STORYBOOK RETURN

Several races into Mark Martin's return to full-time Cup competition, no one would have blamed him for having second thoughts. Although driving for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports, two blown engines left him far back in the series standings.

But beginning with an April 18 win at Phoenix - his first in the series since 2005 - Martin not only charged back to the front of the standings, he became a viable championship contender.

In fact, Martin entered the Chase for the Sprint Cup as the top seed and won the first race in the Chase, putting him in excellent position to win his first Cup title.

In the end, Martin didn't have quite enough to hold off teammate Jimmie Johnson. Martin's season, which included five wins and seven poles at age 50, still proved to be one of the special stories of the season.

Even his peers agreed.

"I don't think there's anybody that's not a Mark Martin fan," said driver and two-time series champion Tony Stewart.

Added Kurt Busch: "To finish behind him, it's easy for anybody to do because he is tough right now."

No. 1 FOUR STRAIGHT TITLES = ONE BIG STORY

Strangely enough, despite winning the past three Cup championships, most motorsports media picked someone other than Johnson to win a title in 2009.

Shows how much we know.

Never the points leader during the season's first 26 races, Johnson - as has become custom during his championship runs - saved his best for last, using four wins during the Chase to propel him to a NASCAR-record fourth straight title.

Johnson wasn't alone to celebrate as his teammates Martin and Jeff Gordon finished right behind for a 1-2-3 Hendrick sweep, another NASCAR first for team owner Rick Hendrick.

"Jimmie Johnson - man, you sure know how to steal a guy's thunder, don't you?" Martin quipped during his speech at the Cup series' annual awards banquet.

"Congratulations, man. You really work hard at it and you are so incredible. You are going to get the credit you deserve one day."

That doesn't mean Johnson is finished.

During his banquet speech, Johnson indicated as much: "It took three to win four (titles). We've won four, so maybe we can (win) five. That's what I'm going to try to do."

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