Hendrick dominates top storylines of '07 season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In a year that was not short on storylines, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announcing that he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season and subsequently announcing he would be racing for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 was voted the sport's top story for 2007 by members of the media.

Earnhardt Jr. announced in May his intentions to leave the team that his father had built at season's end and a month later signed with Hendrick Motorsports.

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Earnhardt's announcements garnered 64 first-place votes and finished with 1,243 points. Jimmie Johnson winning his second consecutive Nextel Cup Series championship earned 16 first-place votes and finished second with 1,028 points. Johnson became the first repeat champion in the series since Jeff Gordon in 1997-98.

Gordon passing Dale Earnhardt on the all-time wins list was voted the third top highlight of the year. Gordon, a four-time series champion, picked up career victories No. 76 and 77 at Phoenix and Talladega to move into sixth place all-time.

The close finishes at Daytona were named the fourth top moment in 2007. The combined Margin of Victory in Kevin Harvick's thrilling Daytona 500 victory over Mark Martin (.020 seconds) and Jamie McMurray's Pepsi 400 win over Kyle Busch (.005 seconds) was only 0.025 seconds.

The introduction of the Car of Tomorrow at Bristol was voted the fifth top story. The new car was the culmination of a seven-year research and development process by NASCAR and it raced 16 times in 2007. The car will race full time in the Cup Series beginning next season.

The rest of the top 10 highlights of 2007:

• Juan Pablo Montoya becoming the first Hispanic driver to win a race in NASCAR's top two series.

• Clint Bowyer winning his first career race as the No. 12 seed in the Chase.

• Johnson outdueling Matt Kenseth for the win in the closing laps of the Dickies 500 at Texas.

• The finish in NASCAR's first national series race in Canada.

• Ron Hornaday becoming the second driver in Truck Series history to win three championships.

A total of 141 votes were cast between Nov. 26 and Dec. 4. Each highlight received 10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, eight points for a third-place vote, etc. down to one point for 10th.

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