The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is just around the corner, and after a record-setting performance by three-time champion Jimmie Johnson, fans are clamoring for the roar of the engines in Daytona Beach. With that in mind, Athlon Sports is pleased to announce its seventh Athlon Sports Racing annual, which will hit newsstand shelves on January 20th.

Athlon Sports Racing provides a comprehensive preview of what could be racing's most exciting, unpredictable season yet. In the 2009 edition, Athlon takes fans inside the garage to rank the Sprint Cup Series' top 30 drivers -- along with revealing comments from crew chiefs, profile each track on the circuit, rank the top team owners in the series and hear from the sport's all-time icon -- Richard Petty -- as well as its latest (and youngest) phenom, Joey Lagano, in exclusive Q&As.

Tom Bowles, the managing editor of Frontstretch.com once again lends his insights in our lead feature, The Rich Get Richer, which explores -- with first-person accuracy straight from the owners' mouths -- how the divide between the "haves and have nots" will only increase as the sport weathers the current economic downturn.

Veteran motorsports journalist Amanda Brahler goes into the shop and inside the head of Sprint Cup stalwart Mark Martin as he makes one final run at a Cup title. The catch: It's with Hendrick Motorsports in perhaps the best equipment he has driven in his career.

As always, Athlon offers its popular and hard-hitting 13 Tough Questions feature, which tackles the latest and most controversial issues, and the way they are handled -- right or wrong. Athlon's complete coverage of racing includes in-depth predictions of the Nationwide Series as well as the newly-renamed Camping World Truck Series.

Athlon Sports Racing is a must for fans tired of hearing the same pre-race TV coverage each week. We give you the politically incorrect answers to all of racing's burning questions.