Winner to be Announced as Part of February Television Special

Fan-Vote Awards Still Open on SPEEDtv.com

SPEED has named six finalists for the inaugural SPEED Performer of the Year, including Fernando Alonso (Formula One), Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR), Nicky Hayden (MotoGP), Sebastien Bourdais (Champ Car), Sam Hornish Jr. (IRL) and Tony Schumacher (NHRA). The winner will be announced in February as part of the one-hour SPEED Performance Awards television special presented by BF Goodrich.

SPEED on-air personalities Bob Varsha, Dave Despain, Tommy Kendall, Ralph Sheheen and Dorsey Schroeder, along with SPEEDtv.com columnists Robin Miller and Tom Jensen led a panel of voters who submitted nominations, trimming the list of finalists to six with a preliminary round of voting. The winner will receive the Mario Andretti Trophy, created by bronze artist Elie Hazak.

SPEED panelist comments on the nominees:

Johnson -- "Like the stick and ball sport playoffs, NASCAR's Chase for the Championship rewards those who peak at the right time, the crucial final weeks of the season. Jimmie Johnson was great all year, with plenty of wins, including the two big races - the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 - and when the pressure was on, he was superb. Five straight top-two finishes down the stretch broke the backs of the competition and insured that the right guy won this year's Nextel Cup. (Dave Despain)

Alonso -- Beating the world's best F1 driver once is one thing, but beating him twice in a row … and on Michael (Schumacher's) last year as a driver holds huge merit. (Dorsey Schroeder)

Hayden -- Nicky joined an elite group of American motorcycle road racing world champions with a dramatic comeback in the MotoGP finale in front of a sold-out house in bike-crazy Spain. He built a championship lead in part with a dramatic repeat victory in his home race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, and then watched that hard-won lead disappear when he was taken out by his Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa in Portugal. That put Hayden eight points down to perhaps the greatest rider in history, seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi with just the Valencia round remaining. But Hayden never buckled, qualified on the second row, and finished on the podium while the great Rossi crashed and finished 13th, officially making Hayden the successor to Roberts, Spencer, Rainey, and the other great American riders who took on the world and won. (Bob Varsha)

Hornish -- Won the Indy 500 and the Indy Car Series title in the same season. He's only the second racer to do so, but by winning his third series title he puts himself even further out there as the best IRL driver to date -- winning more races, more titles, and more money than any other. (Nicole Manske)

Bourdais -- Captured his third consecutive Champ Car crown to tie Ted Horn's accomplishment. Doesn't make too many mistakes and, when he does, he always seems to escape them with a good result. Smart and smooth. (Robin Miller)

Schumacher -- Tony's unprecedented comeback from 336 points down in NHRA Top Fuel after the first ten races of the season would be the stuff of legend in any case. But the way he, crew chief Alan Johnson and the team pulled it out on the final weekend of the season was epic. They went for every available point, and once teammate Melanie Troxel eliminated championship leader Doug Kalitta in the semis, the door was open a crack. Sarge still needed to win the final and set a national elapsed time record to clinch, and with it all on the line in a single pass, they did it, crushing the old ET mark with a 4.428. (Bob Varsha)

In addition to the SPEED Performer of the Year, the February special also will feature the winners of nine fan-voted SPEED Performance Awards, including Best Rivalry, Biggest Hit, Best Finish, Best Victory Celebration, Temper Temper, the Oops Award, Tell it Like it Is, Biggest Upset and the Racer Magazine Rookie of the Year award. Voting for these awards is open on SPEEDtv.com until Dec. 8.