NASCAR » NASCAR Driver of the Year vote: 2nd

24 December 2012
You voted Jimmie Johnson into 2nd place in Crash.net's NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver of the Year poll!
NASCAR Driver of the Year vote: 2nd
Top 10 NASCAR Driver of the Year 2012:
2. Jimmie Johnson

Birthdate: September 17, 1975
Hometown: El Cajon, CA
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Crew chief: Chad Knaus
2012 starts: 36
Poles: 4
Wins: 5
Top 5: 18
Top 10: 24
Annual earnings: $8,129,640
Championship points: 2360
Championship position: 3rd
Crash.net NASCAR Driver of 2011 position: 8th

We admit, we're surprised to see Jimmie Johnson fare this well in the 2012 Crash.net NASCAR Driver of the Year results. Not because Johnson himself doesn't deserve it, but just because we've always detected a slight hostility from NASCAR fans the world over about Johnson continuing to dominate the sport after having already netted five consecutive titles from 2006-2010.

But Crash.net voters are smart cookies and they know a stand-out display from a top driver when they see one, and aren't afraid to award their votes appropriately when they see an impressive year-long performance from one of the world's best motor racing talents. Five wins and 24 top-ten finishes - more than anyone else in 2012 - make him the highest-earning driver in Sprint Cup this season.

If not for a tyre blow-out at Phoenix and a mechanical failure at Homestead-Miami, Johnson could well have clinched his sixth title this season. He certainly deserved better than the third place he was pushed down to at the very end, and a sympathetic Crash.net electorate have duly handed him the runners-up prize in the Driver of the Year vote. Good call!

Check back later in the week for the details of the averages each driver scored, and what happened to those drivers outside the top ten.

The complete top 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver of the Year 2012 results:
1. Brad Keselowski
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Mark Martin
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Marcos Ambrose
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Greg Biffle

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Related Pictures

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet speaks with members of the media during the NASCAR Championship Contenders Press Conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 15, 2012 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet speaks with members of the media during the NASCAR Championship Contenders Press Conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 15, 2012 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The #48 Lowe`s Chevrolet (Jimmie Johnson) (Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s Chevrolet, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 26, 2012 in Ridgeway, Virginia. (Photo Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Hendrick Motorsports` Jimmie Johnson (Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the NASCAR Sprint Cup #48 Lowe`s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS finished third April 21, 2013 at Kansas Speedway during the STP 400 in Kansas City, Kansas. Johnson continues to lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) standings. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk for Chevrolet)
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s Dover White Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 13, 2013 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s Chevrolet, racing during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by John Harrelson/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s Chevrolet, and Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by John Harrelson/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s Chevrolet, races to the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images)

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