Fans Vote Grand-Am's Braun Racer Magazine Rookie of the Year
Special to Re-Air Saturday Night at 8 P.M. ET

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was named the inaugural SPEED Performer of the Year, edging out MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden and F1 title winner Fernando Alonso for the top award on last night's SPEED Performance Awards television special presented by BFGoodrich. Other finalists included Sam Hornish Jr. (IRL), Sebastien Bourdais (Champ Car) and Tony Schumacher (NHRA).

"It was a phenomenal year, and this is quite a surprise," Johnson said after Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon presented him with the Mario Andretti Trophy. "It's quite an honor … we won a lot of big events and I had an amazing year with the Nextel Cup car."

"He had an amazing year this past year, but his past three or four years in the Cup Series have been pretty phenomenal and I've been able to see it first-hand as his teammate," Gordon said during the presentation.

In the top fan-voted category, Grand American Rolex Series driver Colin Braun was named RACER Magazine Rookie of the Year, topping Marco Andretti (IRL), Bryan Clauson (USAC), Denny Hamlin (NASCAR), Robert Kubica (F1), J.R. Todd (NHRA) and Dan Clarke (Champ Car).

"To even be in company with these guys is great," said 18-year-old Braun, who had a record-breaking rookie season.

Braun will be featured along with other RACER Magazine honorees in a special 'Racers of the Year' April issue, on sale March 13.

With more than 56,000 fan votes cast on SPEEDtv.com for the SPEED Performance Awards, other winners of the night included:

Best Rivalry - Formula One titans Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher
Biggest Hit - Champ Car rookie Katherine Legge, who walked away from a massive crash at Road America after losing her rear wing.
Biggest Upset - David Gilliland for his 'David vs. Goliath' win in the NASCAR Busch Series race at Kentucky in an unsponsored, underfunded entry.
Oops Award - NASCAR driver Brian Vickers for taking out teammate Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega en route to his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win.
Tell It Like It Is - Carl Edwards for his emotional, on-camera assessment of fellow NASCAR driver Tony Stewart after an on-track incident at Pocono, calling Stewart "special."
Temper, Temper - ARCA driver Michael Simko for his flying sidekick through the front windshield of fellow competitor Don St. Denis at Toledo.
Best Finish - Sam Hornish Jr. passing rookie Marco Andretti on the last lap of the Indy 500.

The SPEED Performance Awards, hosted by Patrick Dempsey and Tommy Kendall, will re-air Saturday at 8 p.m. ET and Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

SPEED is the nation's first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 74 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.