Lewis Hamilton
The talented Brit made history and won his first Formula One title at age 23, becoming the first black driver to win an F1 championship.
Hamilton almost won the championship in his rookie season of 2007, losing to Kimi Raikkonen by one point. Hamilton got to experience that feeling from the other side in 2008, earning the title by one point over Felipe Massa.
Tony Schumacher
Schumacher had a season like no other in NHRA history to win his fifth consecutive Top Fuel title. He set a Top Fuel record with 15 victories, including 10 of the last 12 events.
Carl Edwards
He led the Sprint Cup series in victories (nine), top-5s (19) and top-10s (27). More importantly, it’s the way he did it.
Edwards fell short of the championship, but he won three of the last four races, including the final event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson
The master of the Chase format made history by becoming the first man in 30 years to win three consecutive Cup titles, joining Cale Yarborough in the exclusive club.
An unprecedented fourth straight championship is a realistic goal, but some people believe Johnson (only 33) now has a shot at catching Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for seven career titles.
Kyle Busch
Had he ended the season the way he started it, we’d be talking about Busch as the No. 1 guy on this list. He won eight of the first 22 Cup events but was winless in the final 14 races.
Nevertheless, it was a remarkable year for Busch in his first season at Joe Gibbs Racing. He won 21 races overall in NASCAR’s top three series, including a season-best 10 Nationwide events.
Felipe Massa
It was one point too many. Massa won the final race for Ferrari, but it wasn’t enough. Three consecutive finishes outside the top five in the final five events were the difference. But he earned a series-best and career-high six victories.
