NASCAR officials prepare to break up a fight between Jeff Gordon (Left) and Jeff Burton (Right) after an on-track incident at Texas Motor Speedway. (Image: Speed)

5. DUDE, WTF? — When Jeff Burton drilled Jeff Gordon hard into the wall — under caution, no less — in the AAA Texas 500, it was most inexplicable example of “boys, have at it” in a year filled with them. Gordon’s completely justified rage made the two look a couple of bantam-weight mixed martial arts combatants.

6. BEST RACING — Hands, down, the most exciting racing of the year this season was at Talladega Superspeedway, with Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer (both Sprint Cup Series), Brad Keselowski (Nationwide Series) and Kyle Busch (Camping World Truck Series) all winning thrilling races with last-lap passes. The late-night action in the legendary Talladega infield was pretty compelling, too.

7. MOST IMPROVED — Hands down, driver Kevin Harvick and the entire Richard Childress Racing organization made the biggest gains in 2010, with Harvick leading the Sprint Cup regular season in points, having the best average finish in the Chase and nearly winning the title. Harvick also solidified his position as one of the most influential drivers in the sport.

8. SILLIEST SEASON — Kasey Kahne signed his 2012 contract with Hendrick Motorsports before he signed his 2011 deal with Red Bull Racing. And when Red Bull fired Scott Speed to make room for Kahne, Speed sued them for the $6.5 million he claimed he was due in his contract. A bold 2011 prediction: Some lawyers will make out like bandits settling this one.

Jack Roush looks on at Michigan International Speedway in August after returning to the track for the first time since his most recent plane crash. (Photo: Getty Images)

9. TOO TOUGH TO TAME — Jack Roush has always been one of the most interesting guys in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage — intelligent, opinionated and often contrarian, something the sport desperately needs much more of. And when he survived a second airplane crash, one which cost him his left eye and broke his back, the 68-year-old Roush was back at the track less than three weeks later. That, friends, is Built Ford Tough.

10. HE WHO LAUGHS LAST — After Jimmie Johnson’s team made a series of disastrous pit stops in the AAA Texas 500 and Denny Hamlin went on to win and take over the points lead, race-winning crew chief Mike Ford pretty much threw the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization under the bus. Ford harshly criticizing both the Hendrick crew’s competence and the leadership of the company for swapping pit crews in mid-race. The Texas victory looked like it would launch Hamlin to his first title. But after two bad races at Phoenix and Homestead, Hamlin became the first driver in the Chase era to lose the title in the final race. And as Johnson took his victory lap for his record fifth consecutive championship, winning crew chief Chad Knaus held up a simple sign: “Our TEAM Won!! Yes, indeed, they did.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.