FORCE, ROSSI AND LOGANO AMONG WINNERS OF SPEED PERFORMANCE AWARDS™ 13-YEAR-OLD BENNY SOLIS WINS ‘BEST FINISH’ FOR SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER AMA U.S. ROOKIES CUP BATTLE ON TWO WHEELS John Force turns 60 in May, but after a devastating crash at Texas in 2007 nearly ended the 14-time NHRA Funny Car champ’s career, he returned to the track in 2008 to collect a national event win at Topeka. The effort, which included intense physical therapy after Force suffered broken bones in his hands and feet, tendon and ligament damage in his right knee, a dislocated left wrist and a compound fracture of his left ankle, was rewarded by race fans Thursday night as he was selected to win the SPEED Performance Award for “Biggest Comeback” on last night’s one-hour SPEED television special. The Third Annual SPEED Performance Awards were supported by nearly 120,000 votes on SPEEDtv.com, with nine trophies being handed out to a wide variety of racers. The winners included: · RACER Magazine Rookie of the Year: Joey Logano, NASCAR · Best Finish: Benny Solis, AMA · Biggest Hit: Michael McDowell, NASCAR · Biggest Upset: Donny Lia, NASCAR · Biggest Comeback: John Force, NHRA · Best Move: Valentino Rossi, MotoGP · Temper, Temper: Germain Racing, NASCAR · Oops Award: Carl Edwards, NASCAR · Best Rivalry: Kyle Busch vs. Everyone, NASCAR To view all of the SPEED Performance Awards video nominees, please visit: www.speedperfomanceawards.com. For the third consecutive year, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was named the SPEED Performer of the Year™ by a voting panel headlined by racing legend Mario Andretti and including “Wind Tunnel” host Dave Despain, veteran broadcasters Bob Varsha and Ralph Sheheen, SPEEDtv.com writers Robin Miller and Tom Jensen and versatile racers Tommy Kendall and Dorsey Schroeder. Andretti and SPEED President Hunter Nickell surprised Johnson with an early presentation of his third Mario Andretti Trophy at January’s NASCAR Media Tour in Charlotte. 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 78 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country and, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. More, from a press release issued by Red Bull: The Third Annual SPEED Performance Awards aired last night. The one-hour special crowned the 2008 SPEED Performer of the Year and highlighted nine fan-voted SPEED Performance Awards, including Best Finish, which garnered more than 118,000 votes, total. Well, not surprising to anyone who witnessed it, the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup race at Laguna Seca last July, won the award for Best Finish! Benny Solis (#35 in the attached photo), who won by 0.0008 seconds over Leandro Mercado, accepted the award. Benny’s race win received 27.5% of the vote and beat out Danica Patrick’s first-career IndyCar win, Lewis Hamilton’s F1 championship, Ashley Force’s first-career NHRA win and a photo-finish in NASCAR Trucks. Benny, from North Hollywood, Calif., won the 2008 series championship, and will race in Europe in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup this year. Watch the exciting Laguna Seca race highlights here: ~http://us.redbullrookiescup.com/popup_vid.php?id=1&num=7~ If you didn’t catch the show last night, you can watch it on the following dates on SPEED TV. Just act surprised when they announce the Best Finish winner! 😉 – Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET – Thursday, Feb. 12 at 2:00 a.m. ET – Friday, Feb. 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET – Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 2:00 p.m. ET