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Guest Column By Cathy Elliott

OK, it’s the end of the year, and you know what that means: lists.

Some of them are forward-looking. There are lists of what we plan to gain — and in the case of those of us with hips, to lose — in 2010. There are lists of which credit card bills we can get away with making the minimum payments on, and lists of numbers to block from our cell phones.

But this is also traditionally a time to look back on another nearly completed year, and specifically in this case, to look back on the year in NASCAR.

I’ve spent some time checking out a few of my fellow motorsports writers’ opinions on the “top” stories of 2009, and for the most part they’re on the money. This year has been quite remarkable, and there are a lot of spectacular and historic things for which it will be remembered.

But this particular list is comprised of the things in NASCAR that made the greatest impact on me personally. They may not be the “biggest” stories of the year per se, but they are the things I will remember most about 2009.

The first is Kyle Busch. It seemed that no matter where I looked or what I read, Kyle was right there. He was either talking too much, or not at all. He seemed to win something every week; remind me to ask him to buy me a lottery ticket when he’s in Darlington next year.

Specifically, I will remember the nearly unanimous national outrage when Busch smashed that Sam Bass original guitar following his win at Nashville Speedway. Most people considered it disrespectful, and maybe they were right. But I will never watch another race at Nashville without remembering that incident. When someone constantly keeps you in suspense as to what they might do or say, it’s interesting. And memorable.

This is a poor reflection on me, but I have generally been one of those people who doesn’t hold out much hope for open-wheel drivers who make the switch to stock car racing. So when Juan Pablo Montoya came over to NASCAR three years ago, I basically just ignored him.

But this year, he wouldn’t let me. A combination of strong performances on the track all season, which earned him a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and a truly engaging personality have inspired me to reserve a permanent seat on his bandwagon. In 2009, I learned that my preconceptions were actually misconceptions, and I have JPM to thank for that.

I’ve been watching Jeff Gordon race since the early 1990s, and I can’t remember him having so much as a sniffle before. This year, however, Gordon experienced some much-discussed back problems. Time races on, and inevitably, change will come. I will remember 2009 as the year I realized that my heroes may be super, but they are not invincible.

Of course there was the big stuff. The resurgence of Mark Martin brought something back to NASCAR that had been missing for a while — hope. Tony Stewart just refuses to fail at anything. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski gave us a glimpse of our future, and it looks bright.

NASCAR dug itself out of its comfortable recliner and moved the season-ending Champion’s Week from New York to Las Vegas. The drivers, the fans, and their money were all well received.

Danica Patrick, who finally admitted she would engage in a little stock car racing in 2010, and Lesa France Kennedy, who was named the most powerful woman in sports, proved that history is herstory, too.

And then, of course, there is Jimmie Johnson, a man about whom there is nothing new to say. Quietly and methodically, with his fourth consecutive championship, he blazed a trail that many will follow, but unlikely will ever surpass.

In all things, we need balance. This may be an unorthodox list, but to me, it represents the very best of NASCAR – heroes and villains, tradition and change, the old and the new, respect and even a little bit of rebelliousness.

Every time history is made, the price goes up. By that standard, 2009 was a most valuable year indeed.