Johnny Benson became only the second man in the history of the truck series to win a title in both the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series. He accomplished this feat in a Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra, with a team he intends to leave. This also marks the end of a significant sponsorship, as Craftsmen marks 13 years of racing, and their final season on the NASCAR stage.

Clint Bowyer wrapped up the Nationwide Series season with his first championship title for Richard Childress Racing. But Carl Edwards was not ready to hand him the title. But to no avail, Edwards won the race and came up short in the point competition handing Bowyer his title.

In the Sprint Cup Series, a similar ending to a more distinctive story. For the third consecutive year, Jimmie Johnson claimed the biggest trophy that mattered, the driver’s championship trophy. Johnson drives for Hendrick Motorsports, who clenched their eighth driver’s championship title since the team began in 1984. The Johnson and HMS duet delivered yet another manufacturers title to the struggling Chevrolet manufacturer, making this year’s significance even more special.

Thirty years have passed since one man has made such a lasting impact on the sport. At that time (1976-1978), Cale Yarborough won three consecutive titles. He ran 90 races and won 28 events. This historic feat put Yarborough on the all-time best drivers list for years. With Johnson’s similar accomplishment, he is undeniably in the same company. Johnson ran 108 races in his three year reign and took the checkered flag in 22 races.

His team is determined, focused and centered. All of which is lead by the steering committee of Chad Knaus. The only crew chief in the history of NASCAR to lead one driver to three consecutive titles.

While the year has been marked by great success for some, it has also been plagued by misfortune and bad luck for others. There has been triumph and trials. Overall, 2008 has been deemed the year of change.

Race fans reflect back just one year ago when Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s decision to leave his families namesake team echoed throughout the grandstand leaving a ripple of uncertainty and disappointment. Now, Earnhardt made the chase, won the pre-season shootout and a points race. He even seems to smile when he talks about the future. The same positives cannot bestowed upon those that remained at DEI.

The team itself is undergoing major transitions. It will combine with Ganassi-Sabates Racing in 2009. While the team has committed to driving a Chevrolet, it has also shown signs of weakness and stress. The team has laid off multiple members due to the crumbling economy. Others have left for higher ground. Two very notable figures in the garage have already committed their future to Stewart-Hass Racing.

In the mix of drivers that would have been combined by this merger Mark Martin, Paul Menard and Reed Sorenson have all pledged their future careers to other teams. Mark Martin, although he was semi-retired, has made the executive decision to return full-time in 2009. Martin steps into the No.5 seat vacated by Casey Mears.

Paul Menard will take his future to Yates Ford Racing, along with his namesake sponsorship that was previously affiliated with DEI. Reed Sorenson on the other hand will remain faithful to the Dodge manufacturer he has come to know. Sorenson will replace the Canadian Carpentier in the No. 10 for Gillette Evernham Motorsports.

The silly season does not end there. The biggest surprise amongst the inevitable changes in the Sprint Cup Series is Tony Stewarts decision to become half-owner of his own team, this after ten years with Joe Gibbs Racing and the Home Depot sponsorship. A combination which brought about two drivers championship titles and many years of great success for Stewart.

His decision did not come easy. Nor did the decision to bring another competitor into the fold of his new organization. But, it would be his fellow Hoosier Ryan Newman that applied for and was granted the job of teammate and friend.

Newman leaves his first home in NASCAR at Penske Racing to join Stewart-Haas Racing. It was just this year that the Rocketman drew great praise for his Daytona 500 victory win. The first for Penske, in Newman’s departing season.

Michael Waltrip Racing saw departure and initiation into the world of ownership and racing. The team did not fare well under the watchful eye of NASCAR, and on a greater plane did not qualify for all events. The team went through its own growing pains. Michael McDowell flipped over his chances to join the prestigious NASCAR field. He literally rolled down the pavement at Texas in one of the worst accidents that NASCAR has seen in some time.

The retirement of Dale Jarrett shuffled the UPS team sponsorship. But, by season’s end the sponsorship would leave the team altogether. On a more positive note, David Reutimann who is often overlooked at MWR, won his first career pole in the final race of the year.

For Jeff Gordon, pole positions were the limitation of his offering for 2008. The four-time champion completed his first season without a win in 14 years. In this category he is not alone. Also left high and dry in 2008 were Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick. Kenseth led late in the final race, but gas mileage wrote him off the page and out of the top ten in championship points.

Then there is Regan Smith. When considering the extremes of the season, his late race push at Talladega is notable. Unfortunately in the watchful eyes of NASCAR, Smith’s final position came out of bounds. And on the grand restrictor plate track, it is then that his first career win was clearly in view and suddenly snatched away in mere seconds.

The young wheeler found that when it comes to NASCAR’s rules, the penalty is often of great consequence. Rules are enforced for multitudes of issues on a given week. This year the induction of a revised substance abuse policy and testing policy are sure to leave severe impacts on the 2009 season, which will get underway in 90 days when the teams head back to Daytona. And so, the next chapter begins.

Writing their own chapter in 2008 is Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. These two drivers ran outside of the Sprint Cup Series and showed that their skills are phenomenal. Busch broke out as an early leader, giving Toyota its first points win of the season. After suffering some hard luck in the first few chase races, Busch slowly fell out of championship contention. It would be his great drive that brought Busch into the spotlight. Busch earned a total of 21 checkered flags this season. He has three in the truck series, ten in the Nationwide series and eight in Sprint Cup competition.

As for Carl Edwards, he is a first-class champion without the title. Edward fell short in two different divisions. On the final week of competition he went out and met his goals in both races. And after nine wins in the Sprint Cup Series, Edwards although disappointed made a special effort to congratulate the man the beat him, making him a genuine man and competitor. He has the heart and skill to one day hold the titles that he so actively pursued once again in 2008.

Joining the fold of drivers in 2009 is the new crop of talent that already has the media and speculators talking. Young Joey Lagano will take over the Home Depot reigns . Brad Keselowski is ready to graduate into the top NASCAR series, and he will land in an HMS ride. The third most talked about man in the Australian Marcos Ambrose whose sudden rise to fame put the Wood Brothers back on the map. And don’t forget about Aric Almirola, who will lead the rookie battle for DEI.