However, some of the biggest surprises were the disappointing drivers of the season. I have thought of the five biggest disappointments this season and why I think they are. Remember it’s not the five worst drivers in 2009, just the five biggest disappointments.

First the Honorable Mentions. This list belongs to drivers who just missed the cut. Guys like Scott Speed who couldn't out race the No.34 underfunded car of John Andretti and Speed will have to race his way into the Daytona 500 if everything stays the same. David Stremme's season was disapointing as well. Not getting a top ten at all in 2009 with the richest owner in the sport and being outrun by teammate Sam Hornish Jr is something no one saw coming in 2009 for Stremme. Jeff Burton had a tough year as well. He finished 17th in the points his worst points finish since 2005.

Now the 5 Most Disapointing drivers:

Some people might be surprised he is on this list. After all, Edwards made the chase and had a pretty decent season. But you have to look at the context of disappointing. Edwards led the sport with 9 wins last season. In the beginning of the season if someone were to tell you Carl Edwards wasn’t going to find victory lane, I think they wouldn’t have taken you seriously. Plus Edwards finished 2nd in the points in 2008. In 2009, Edwards ended up 11th and failed to make the trip to Vegas. Edwards dropped 9 point standings and really had a crummy season. Yes, Ford as a manufacturer this season was terrible and that is not Edwards fault at all. Maybe the full Nationwide Series schedule is starting to take its toll and the broken foot didn’t make matters either. Whatever the reason, a winless season after a season that produced 9 wins is disappointing no matter which way you slice it.

Where there is one, it’s only fair to be the other. Again it might be a surprise to some, but Kyle Busch’s season was disappointing and I think he would even tell you that. In 2008, Busch won eight races in dominating fashion. Many fans, media members and maybe even some drivers picked Busch to not only make the chase, but win the championship. Neither of the two happened. Busch struggled during the chase run. He was outrun by Brian Vickers and his less experienced, more willed race team. Three times this season Busch had four or more consecutive races without a top ten finish. None of his four wins were followed by a top ten finish, which made it hard to keep momentum after the victory. People may say four wins is a dang good year and it is. But teams and drivers run for the championship and Kyle Busch not being a part of that run in 2009, was a surprise to everyone.

Again, there is no doubt that Richard Childress Racing was not spot on this season to say the least, but Kevin Harvick was the biggest disapointment of that group. I think everybody and their brother had Harvick making the chase and competeing for the championship this season. That did not happen. If you look at the 2008 season, Kevin Harvick did not win a race but had 19 top ten finishes. He finished fourth in the points and he and crew chief Todd Barrier had everything pointed in the right direction for 2009. But Harvick got off to a horid start and he and his No. 29 team didn't rebound until early September. To put that into more persepctive Harvick went 15 consecutive weeks without a top ten finish. It was a terrible time for Harvick. Harvick's hot temper got the best of him. On his radio during that stretch Harvick got into a fight with car owner Richard Childress saying, "I am driving your piece of ---- car as fast as it will go," to Childress who responded calmly by saying they are a team and teams stick together. A week later rumors flew that Harvick wanted out of his contract at Richard Childress Racing. Then Harvick made no secert that those rumors were true and no secert that he wanted out. Childress didn't let that happen and Harvick will return for his final year of his contract. Harvick and new crew chief Gil Martin found success late and nearly won at Atlanta on Labor Day Weekend. But the damage and disapointment was too much to overcome for Harvick. He dropped 15 postions in the points and ended up 19th overrall. That is the most by any driver this season. Believe it or not, that's not as bad as it was in September when Harvick sat 24th in the points. All signs point to the 2010 season as being Harvick's last with Richard Childress, all due to a disapointing 2009 season.

To think this is the same guy who narrowly missed the chase in 2008 is remarkable. In 2008, Ragan had 14 top ten finishes. He led the sport in laps completed and was even mentioned by Tony Stewart as a candidate for driver of the year. Ragan had six top five finishes, finished on the lead lap 25 times and finished 13^th in the points. Everything pointed to a great 2009, with new sponsor UPS. As promising as 2009 looked was how terrible 2009 turned out to be for Ragan. His season started off great finishing sixth at the Daytona 500. The next 35 races Ragan would compile only one top ten finish and leave people scratching their heads. This was no where near the guy we saw run so well in 2008.  Ragan finished on the lead lap just 16 times in 2009, the same amount as his rookie year in 2007. He failed to finish in the top five and completed 742 laps less than he did in 2008.  Ragan ended the year a lackluster 27^th in the points, losing 14 points positions from the previous year. If that isn’t disappointing I am not sure what is.

“I am proud to be part of Hendrick Motorsports and I am so excited for 2009,” said Dale Earnhardt, Jr after a wheel bearing ended his day at Homestead in 2008. Earnhardt’s comments made sense. In 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr looked to be on his way for big things with Hendrick Motorsports. He won his Gatorade Duel 150 mile qualifying race and the Budweiser Shootout. He topped that with a win at Michigan in June, giving him his first regular season win since Richmond in 2006. Earnhardt made the chase and finished 12^th in the season’s final point standings. He had 16 top ten finishes and all looked well for 2009. Then the green flag dropped on the field for 2009 and disaster started for Earnhardt. That disaster didn’t end until the checkered flag at Homestead. Earnhardt didn’t win a race, actually he never really came close. A baffled legion of fans called for Tony Eury Jr’s job after Charlotte. The fans got their wish when the crew chief was replaced by Lance McGrew. At that point in the season, Earnhardt was sitting 19^th in the points. Little did people know it would get worse. Earnhardt still struggled. He would end up with just five top ten finishes. He even had a stretch of 13 races in a row without a top ten, something he has never done in his career before. It was a disaster season for Earnhardt. He dropped from 12^th to 25^th in points, and finished on the lead lap just 19 times, again the lowest in his career. He led just 146 laps, 750 laps less then he led in 2008. Even his qualifying was bad. His average start was 22^nd in 2009, compare that to 2008 which was 10^th and mix it in with everything mentioned before and you get a recipe for disappointment.

These are the top five most disappointing drivers in 2009. Let the debating begin!