The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season was filled with intriguing storylines. Several shaped the year into the competitive, down-to-the-wire season that it was. One, though, had enough intrigue and excitement to rise above the rest.
The top story of the season was Jimmie Johnson winning his fifth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Johnson came from behind to win his fifth consecutive title, a feat never accomplished in NASCAR history.
In motorsports circles, Johnson, 35, ties Formula One’s Michael Schumacher’s record of consecutive championships, but is one title short of NHRA’s Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher and halfway to reaching Funny Car phenom John Force.
Still, when it comes to stock cars, today’s fans are witnessing the most significant string of success ever displayed by a NASCAR team. Since the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet was spawn from the No. 24 four-time championship squad of Jeff Gordon in 2001, Johnson has never finished worse than fifth in the points standings. He’s won 53 races in 327 starts and has been victorious on all but four race tracks on the circuit.
The stark comparison of Johnson’s success to his Hendrick Motorsports teammates mediocre runs triggered a three-team driver swap with Gordon acquiring Alan Gustafson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. pairing with Steve Letarte and lame-duck Mark Martin teaming with Lance McGrew. Considering that all three drivers were winless in 2010, it’s surprising that it took team owner Rick Hendrick this long to react.
Other storylines also captivated fans and media during the 2010 season. Here's a look at four of those:
The meltdown
The Sprint Cup was Denny Hamlin’s for the taking.
Throughout the season, Hamlin’s cars were better than Jimmie Johnson’s. He won at Richmond to capture the points lead entering the Chase and regained the top spot with three events to go. But Hamlin, 30, collapsed at the end when it counted.
Whether it was provoking the ire of Richard Childress Racing at Dover, running out of gas at Phoenix when he had a car capable of winning, or unknown factors off the racetrack, Hamlin failed to capitalize on solid opportunities throughout the year. His margin of loss to Johnson was a mere 39 points.
Richard Childress Racing returns
After all three drivers failed to win a race or make the Chase in 2009, RCR mounted a solid turnaround this season.
Kevin Harvick led the charge -- and the points standings -- through most of the regular season. Although he did not have the victories or bonus points in the Chase to out-duel Johnson or Hamlin, through consistency Harvick was never out of contention and finished third in the standings -- just two points behind the No. 11 team.
Clint Bowyer was extremely competitive throughout the year until he was accused of cheating at New Hampshire after winning the race. The distraction from the incident, along with losing his crew chief to suspension, initially took the wind from the No. 33 team’s sails. However, Bowyer rebounded at Talladega with a victory and went on to finish 10th in the standings.
The Earnhardt Childress Racing engine package was by far the best in the field accounting for nine Cup wins in 2010.
Jamie Mac comes back
Jamie McMurray’s reunion with team owner Chip Ganassi led to the most productive season of his eight-year Cup career.
Not only did McMurray, 34, score four poles and win NASCAR’s most prestigious races -- the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 -- he was also victorious at Charlotte during NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup, though he did not make the field for that championship-determining segment of the season.
If McMurray didn’t have enough to be grateful for in 2010, wife Christy gave birth to the couple’s first child, Carter Scott, on Thanksgiving.
Boys, have at it
NASCAR loosened the reins considerably on competitors in 2010.
From Carl Edwards dumping Brad Keselowski at Atlanta -- and Gateway -- to Texas where Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton attempted to reenact Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison’s 1979 Daytona 500 bout, the men and ladies of NASCAR did not hold back this year and it was a welcome change.
But the feuds didn’t stop with just rivals. Teammates weren’t immune as both Gordon and Kyle Busch showed displeasure with racers under their own roof.
And while time heals most wounds, don’t expect drivers who were wronged to completely forget -- or forgive -- misdeeds in the offseason. As Busch pointed out at the Nationwide Series banquet, “Just wait until next year.”
