As the final chapters of the 2002 Winston Cup season have been written, it's a good time to reflect on the highs and lows of the recent season.

We've tried to string a thread through as many subjects as possible, but some highlights and lowlights will be forced to stand alone. Some items are both highs and lows because of the circumstances that surrounded them.

While this isn't in chronological order, the tone is to capture and replay much of the news -- both on and off the track -- that dominated the headlines in 2002. Think of this as reliving 40 weeks of racing in just a few minutes. So, strap yourselves in, adjust your mirrors and start your engines.

High: Obviously the biggest of the big is Tony Stewart's drive to his first Winston Cup championship, coming from behind in the second half of the season to overtake guys like Sterling Marlin, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch.

Low: Stewart lasted just two laps into the season-opening Daytona 500 before the engine in his Pontiac decided it would rather spend a day at the beach rather than racing 500 miles.

Low: Stewart has a physical altercation with a photographer after the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, resulting in an unprecedented double probation for the remainder of the season by both NASCAR and Home Depot, as well as big fines. Shortly eafter, Stewart is accused of hitting a fan at Bristol, Tenn., a charge that is later dropped.

Low: While Stewart won team owner Joe Gibbs his second title in three years, the guy who won the first, Bobby Labonte, was left to finish with a mediocre campaign, ending the season in 16th with just one win and five top-fives in 2002. After Stewart's celebration, Gibbs sternly said to expect a lot of changes on Labonte's team during the off-season to try and get the No. 18 car back to prominence.

High: In response to the death of Dale Earnhardt and the gaping holes in some of its safety procedures in 2001, NASCAR responded with a number of technological advancements, requirements and improvements in 2002. Those moves included completing the first full season of mandated head-and-neck restraining devices, the installation of "black box" data recorders and the installation of "soft walls" at several venues, with the promise of several more tracks installing them for next season.

	Marlin

Low: Injuries still played a key factor in this season's outcome. Most notable was Marlin, who after leading the standings for 25 of the season's first 26 weeks, was forced to miss the final six weeks of the season due to a neck injury that cost him his best chance at the title, ultimately finishing 18th in the standings.

High: While Marlin recuperated, we witnessed the debut of yet another exciting young driver, Jamie McMurray. It didn't take long for McMurray to impress -- he earned his first victory in only his second career start, a definite harbinger of things to come, particularly next season when he competes for the Rookie of the Year award.

High: Speaking of the rookie race, while this year's field was a small class -- namely, just Ryan Newman and Johnson -- the pair gave us plenty of thrills. With four wins and 10 poles between them, Johnson and eventual rookie champ Newman hold the promise of successful careers ahead of them.

High: While not a rookie, we witnessed the explosive development of Busch in the second half of the season, including wins in three of the last five events. Had as few as two races earlier in the season turned out differently, Busch's late-season rally could have overtaken Stewart for the championship, a definite portent for next season.

High/low: Busch's teammate, Martin, finished second in the points for the fourth time in his career. While some may view that as a low -- the fact he still hasn't been able to win that elusive title -- Martin has my vote for comeback driver of the year. If Stewart goes into 2003 remembering nothing else, it's that he better not falter, lest Martin will be right there to breeze on by.

High/low: What could have been yet another major tragedy to shock the NASCAR world turned into one of its greatest human interest stories. Veteran team owner Jack Roush crashed his experimental airplane into an Alabama lake and faced death by drowning when he was trapped in the wreckage, only to be saved by a retired search and rescue diver who lived across from the lake. And then, for Roush to make the remarkable recovery he did at the age of 60, is the type of thing that won't be forgotten for many years to come.

Low: Roush was at the forefront of a late-season controversy when NASCAR penalized Martin, Roush and crew chief Ben Leslie for the use of an unapproved spring in the front suspension of Martin's Ford at Rockingham, N.C. Roush appealed the penalty -- particularly the 25 points that were stripped from Martin's total -- but lost. As it turned out, Stewart ended up 38 points ahead of Martin in the standings, so even if the points had been reinstated, he still would have lost the championship.

High/low: Roush's four-car team dominated the series when it comes to performance, and no other driver was more dominant when it came to taking home checkered flags than Matt Kenseth, who led all drivers with five wins in 2002. Unfortunately, bouts of inconsistency sunk Kenseth out of the top-five in the standings, eventually finishing eighth.

	Burton

Low: Another Roush driver, Jeff Burton, brought up the rear of the team in 2002. He was held winless and out of the top-10 for the first time since 1996. Ending up 12th, Burton's lone saving grace was a moderate amount of consistency, with five top-fives and 14 top-10s. That's about all that was positive in a year that saw him part ways with longtime crew chief Frank Stoddard, with the promise of even more changes during the off-season.

Low: Rusty Wallace's Ironman-like string of 16 consecutive seasons with at least one win came to a disappointing end in 2002. Had it not been for Gordon's "nudge" to push Wallace out of the way in the final laps at Bristol this past summer, Wallace would likely have extended his mark. He came close three other times, as well, finishing second at the summer race in Daytona, as well as at Indianapolis and Phoenix.

High/low: Even though he finished 22nd in the standings, Kyle Petty has nothing to hang his head about. He showed renewed vigor in 2002 that bodes well for continued improvement in 2003. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for teammate John Andretti, who continued to falter, finishing 28th with only one top-10. Although he and Petty continue to issue denials, the fact remains that because he still has not signed a contract for 2003, rumors of Andretti's departure from the team may indeed prove true.

High/low: Most any other driver would be ecstatic to finish fourth in the standings, but Gordon has raised the bar so high that anything less than a championship becomes disappointing. Granted, Gordon had a tremendous amount of pressure, from his highly publicized divorce to his 30-race winless streak. Look for Gordon to bounce back in 2003 as he tries again for his fifth title.

High/low: Gordon's teammates, Terry Labonte and Joe Nemechek (who joined Hendrick Motorsports in May, replacing Jerry Nadeau), showed signs of promise at various points of the season. But in the end, Labonte finished a career-low 24th in the standings, while Nemechek was moving in the opposite direction, finishing second in the season finale and with much promise for 2003. Even though Nemechek led the series with 10 DNFs, a new crew chief and crew members bodes well for him to have his best year yet in 2003.

High/low: Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd, once two of the most feared teammates, dissolved their marriage at the end of the season, with Rudd leaving for new pastures with the Wood Brothers. Ironically, Elliott Sadler leaves the Woods stable to replace Rudd at Robert Yates Racing. Rudd finished 10th in the standings, while Sadler, who shined in the first half of the season, ended up 23rd. Complicating matters was Rudd's contentions that Jarrett was getting the team's top equipment, while he was relegated to second-rate stuff. While the Jarrett-Sadler tandem should work well, Rudd will be the sole driver with the Woods, giving him greater control of his destiny and shots called in 2003. Ideally, Rudd, who has been on the circuit for a quarter of a century, would like to race two more seasons before he retires.

Low: By all expectations, 2002 was on track to be Dale Earnhardt's year, when he broke out from the rest of the pack and followed in his father's championship-winning footsteps. Unfortunately, inconsistency and a concussion forced Junior into the also-ran category more times than he would have liked. To his credit, he rallied late in the season to finish 11th, but that is a disappointment compared to where he and most observers predicted he would finish heading into the season.

	Park

Low: Steve Park continued to struggle in his recovery from a crash at Darlington in 2001. Park finished 33rd in the standings, recording just two top-10s. Where Park's future rests remains to be seen -- rumors have floated that he may even retire due to his lingering post-crash fallout. When he's at the top of his game, Park is among the best drivers in NASCAR. But hampered by post-concussion syndrome and other effects, Park might do well to take the 2003 season completely off and get himself back to full health.

High: Bill Elliott continued his resurgence as a driver, earning two wins and four poles in 2002, and finishing 13th. While many wrote off Elliott the last few years, he definitively showed he's got a lot of mileage left in his Dawsonville, Ga., genes.

Low: As if Earnhardt's death wasn't enough, misfortune continues to haunt Richard Childress Racing. All three of its drivers -- Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green and Robby Gordon -- performed below the high standards expected from the organization. Green was the top performer of the three, finishing 17th, while Gordon was 20th. However, there was no greater disappointment than Harvick, who went from one of the most outstanding seasons as a rookie in 2001 to a miserable campaign in 2002. Harvick managed just one win and five top-fives this season, stung repeatedly by mechanical failures, crashes and bad luck. If there's any driver that needs to make a major rebound in 2003, it's Harvick.

High/low: What started out as a season of promise for Hut Stricklin and the No. 23 Dodge owned by Bill Davis Racing dissolved into a campaign that got progressively worse. Stricklin was eventually replaced just after midseason by Kenny Wallace, leaving the last active member of NASCAR's fabled "Alabama Gang" to start making calls about possible rides for 2003. Wallace, meanwhile, jumped into the vacancy and could break out of older brother Rusty's shadow if the team can find consistency and competitiveness.

Lowest of low: Perhaps the most fitting way to end this review is to start at the beginning, namely Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton. Giving team owner Bill Davis and the rest of the organization a tremendous shot in the arm in the season opener, Burton suffered what many Daytona winners have had to go through: the jinx. Indeed, Burton struggled just to finish the season in 25th, with two wins and eight top-10s. His biggest problems were mechanical failures and crashes. He failed to finish nine races -- one short of Joe Nemechek's series-high 10 DNFs. Expect major changes in the No. 22 camp, with hopes of starting next season the way it did this year.

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com.