We're getting within sight of the end of the season, and so it's time to begin our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we'll be counting down each and every car that fell short of the Sprint Cup this year. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

So did you know that 65 different drivers ran in Sprint Cup races this year, to this point? It's true. And it's down only slightly from 2008, when 71 drivers ran. Today, we focus on the guys who drove in the teens. The number of their races, not their age.

Names: Brad Keselowski, Max Papis, Mike Bliss, Tony Raines

Records: Keselowski won the spring Talladega race, which was an astonishing (and, let's face it, pretty darn lucky) feat after he wrecked Carl Edwards into the fence. He had three top 10s over 11 races, which bodes well for his future prospects.

Where it went wrong: Didn't really go wrong for any of them, honestly, since we're not yet at the point in this feature where we expect things to go right for these drivers. These guys did what was asked of them -- in Jet Ski's case, far more than was asked of them -- and were reliable drivers, which is all you can ask for a guy running a dozen races a year. Papis also picked up a top-10 finish, at Watkins Glen; the other two didn't make any real noise. Which, alas, is to be expected.

Prospects for 2010: For Keselowski, the proverbial sky is the limit. For Papis, there's always a chance he'll catch on with someone and get a more regular ride. For Bliss and Raines ... 2010 will probably look a whole lot like 2009.

Next up: The start-and-parkers! We'll get you all excited for the article ... and then it'll peter out before you expect it to!

Related: Carl Edwards, Max Papis, Brad Keselowski