Tony Stewart, SIRIUS XM announce 'Stewie Award' winners

TONY STEWART AND SIRIUS XM RADIO ANNOUNCE 'STEWIE AWARD' WINNERS
"The Stewies" were presented live tonight on the SIRIUS NASCAR Radio channel live from the Rio Las Vegas

Legendary driver David Pearson receives "Golden Stewie"; Team owner Rick Hendrick awarded Lifetime Achievement Award

Encore broadcasts of "The Stewies" will air Dec. 4, 5 and 6

NEW YORK -- December 3, 2009 - Winners of the third annual 'Stewie Awards' were announced tonight by two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart live on SIRIUS XM Radio from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

The 2009 'Stewie Award' winners were decided by fans around the country who voted for the best, boldest and funniest moments of the NASCAR season. Listeners around the country tuned in to experience the event live on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, SIRIUS channel 128 and XM channel 128 with the "Best of SIRIUS" programming package.

"The Stewies" will be rebroadcast on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio on Friday, Dec. 4 (7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT), Saturday, Dec. 5 (7:00 am ET/4:00 am PT and 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT) and Sunday, Dec. 6 (2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT).

Guests on tonight's program included: 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, Chase drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers, legendary drivers David Pearson and AJ Foyt, plus Kevin Harvick, Rick Hendrick and celebrity Robin Leach.

Video highlights of the event will be available at www.sirius.com/nascar.

Winners in 11 categories, including "Best Original Drama," "Best Driver2Crew Chatter," "Bonehead Move of the Year" and others were honored. Among the evening's highlights was the presentation of the "Stewie Lifetime Achievement Award" to team owner Rick Hendrick and the awarding of the Golden Stewie to racing legend David Pearson.

The winners of the 2009 'Stewie Awards' are:

"Feels Like The First Time" Award -- Recognizing the most notable "first" of the NASCAR season.

* Kevin Harvick gets first win in his own Nationwide Series car. (Mar. 21)

Best Original Drama -- Honoring the year's most dramatic moment or sequence.

* 50-year-old Mark Martin makes the Chase in his first year with Hendrick Motorsports.

Best Original Comedy -- Honoring the year's most entertaining "incident."

* Denny Hamlin vs. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski spins Hamlin into the wall late in NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover (Sep. 26). After the race, crews from both teams get into a pit road skirmish.

Best Vocal Performance -- Honoring the year's most memorable quote (Visit www.sirius.com/stewieawards to hear audio of nominees)

* Tony Stewart "in awe" of Jeff Gordon post-race at Kansas. (Oct. 4)

Smokey Yunick Award (Best Engineering and Special Effects) -- Acknowledging the year's most creative modifications to a race car.

* Mark Martin's #5 and Jimmie Johnson's #48 cars for NOT being illegal, yet causing a media frenzy in September of 2009 after being warned by NASCAR that they were "getting too close to the tolerance limits" set forth by NASCAR.

Bonehead Move of the Year Award

* Kyle Busch destroys his Nationwide Series guitar/trophy at Nashville in true "rock star fashion." (Jun. 6)

'I Got Dumped' Award -- Acknowledging the year's most memorable on or off-track bumping

* Marcos Ambrose loses NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race in Montreal on last lap to Carl Edwards by misjudging final turn. (Aug. 30)

Hal Needham Award (Best Stunt Sequence) -- Acknowledging the year's most spectacular crash

* Carl Edwards wrecks on the final lap at Talladega in the spring (Apr. 26) and sends the car flipping into the catch fence. Edwards gets out of car and runs across finish line to complete the race.

Best Driver2Crew Chatter Exchange -- Acknowledging the year's most memorable driver-to-pit crew communication (Visit www.sirius.com/stewieawards to hear audio of nominees)

* Juan Pablo Montoya penalized by NASCAR at Indy for speeding on pit lane. (Jul. 26)

Golden Stewie Award -- Chosen by Stewart and Yocum and honoring a legendary driver from the Golden Era of racing.

* David Pearson

"Stewie" Lifetime Achievement Award

* Rick Hendrick

SIRIUS XM is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of NASCAR, broadcasting every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race live on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, channel 128, the only radio channel dedicated to NASCAR 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

-credit: www.sirius.com.