Rising stars, busts, breakups in NASCAR's dramatic season

The 2006 season was not as wild and wacky as many seasons in NASCAR, but it certainly had its share of surprising and bizarre developments.

Kevin Harvick won 14 races in '06, including nine in the Busch Series. (Getty Images)

From the rise of new stars to downfall of old ones to the breakup of some long relationships, NASCAR had a bit of everything in 2006. Here's a look at some of the stars and events that stood out in 2006:

Driver of the year

Typically, you would never honor a Busch champion over the champion of NASCAR's top series, but what Harvick did in 2006 was truly phenomenal.

Not only did Harvick resurrect his career with five Cup wins and become a legitimate championship contender for the first time, he also thoroughly dominated the Busch Series.

Harvick won nine Busch races, giving him 14 wins for the season, and produced one of the best seasons ever in the series. And he did it against a field made up largely of Nextel Cup drivers and teams.

Still, it's hard to overlook what Johnson accomplished, and the circumstances under which he did it.

Johnson won two of the season's first three races while his crew chief was suspended. He won the Daytona 500 and the Allstate 400 at Indy in the same year.

Then, when it looked as if he was out of the championship hunt four races into the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Johnson put together one of the most impressive late-season streaks in recent memory, finishing first or second in five consecutive races to take the points lead.

He then overcame some early obstacles to finish ninth in the season finale and win the title.

And, perhaps more important, he did it after wilting under pressure three consecutive years and when many expected him to falter again.

For that alone, Johnson deserves to be everyone's driver of the year.

Biggest surprise

There are several candidates in this category. No one saw Harvick winning five races or Kasey Kahne winning six.