NBC SPORTS: Racers will be more aggressive this season!

NASCAR officials are encouraging drivers to mix it up more on the track this season, vowing that NASCAR is a contact sport and they want see a bit more bumping and banging.

Chairman Brian and NASCAR President Mike Helton even declared that they will continue to lighten up on aggressive drivers, allowing them to use their bumpers, trade some paint and show more emotion when things get heated.

They set the tone in last year's season finale, going easy on Denny Hamlin when he wrecked Brad Keselowski on purpose at Homestead and on Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart when they got into it in the final Cup race of the season.

1. Tony Stewart You name 'em and Stewart has tangled with them over the years. Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya and Carl Edwards have all had run-ins with Stewart. Heck, he even feuded with teammate Denny Hamlin while at Joe Gibbs Racing. Good thing his mother doesn't race. One of the most talented drivers in the sport, the two-time Cup champion will rough up competitors if it means winning a race or gaining another position on the track, and he backs down from no one. His skirmish with Montoya at Homestead last year might only be a sign of things to come.

2. Kyle Busch NASCAR's preeminent bad boy is as aggressive as they come and is not afraid to use his bumper. He has knocked more than a few drivers out of his way and loves stirring the fans up. His most memorable moment came in 2008 at Richmond, where he spun Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the lead with just a few laps remaining, sparking a near riot by Junior Nation. Busch loves wearing the black hat and seems to revel in his bad-boy image. NASCAR's anything-goes approach was made for drivers like him.

3. Juan Pablo Montoya Like Stewart, Montoya holds his ground and doesn't give an inch to no one. A fiery competitor, he took out his anger and frustration on Stewart last year, drawing an in-race penalty from NASCAR. His pushing and shoving and helmet-grabbing incident with Kevin Harvick in 2007 was one of the best on-track confrontations in years. Now that he has gotten the hang of stock-car racing, look for Montoya to use his bumper a bit more, creating some fireworks on occasion.

4. Brad Keselowski He hasn't even run a full Cup season yet, but Keselowski has already made a name for himself in the Sprint Cup garage – a name not fit for print. The talented young driver is as aggressive as they come on the track and will do just about anything to win, as he showed last year at Talladega when he held his ground on the last lap, causing Carl Edwards to wreck and sending his car sailing into the fence. He has already angered drivers throughout the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series and will have some of them aiming to get even this year. Hamlin has already had his revenge, intentionally wrecking Keselowski in the Nationwide race at Homestead last year. That's the first of many feuds Keselowski is likely to be in the middle of .

5. Carl Edwards NASCAR's Mr. Nice Guy is as aggressive as they come on the track and has shown a bit of a temper over the years. He once marched into victory lane to confront Dale Earnhardt Jr. after a late wreck in a Nationwide race at Michigan. He nearly came to blows with Kevin Harvick in the Charlotte garage in 2008, and he scared the daylights out of his own teammate, Matt Kenseth, a few years ago at Martinsville. He even threatened to make Tony Stewart "bleed" after getting wrecked by Stewart at Pocono in 2007. He also won over a few fans by punting Kyle Busch out of the lead to win at Bristol in 2008. Determined to put last year's winless season behind him, look for Edwards to put his bumper and temper to the test in 2010.

6. Kurt Busch He won his very first Cup race by spinning Jimmy Spencer out of the lead at Bristol in 2002. The move sparked a feud that eventually earned Busch a bloody nose. He has also feuded with Tony Stewart over the years, getting into a physical confrontation with him in the NASCAR hauler in 2008 and nearly running over one of Stewart's crewmen while trying to intentionally hit his car on pit road at Dover. He has traded some classic barbs with Kevin Harvick and even feuded with his little brother after an on-track incident in the All-Star race a few years ago. Simply put, the older Busch aggravates people and has made a few enemies over the years. If the gloves are truly off, he's bound to be on the wrong end of a bumper or two, finding himself in the middle of yet another heated confrontation.

7. Robby Gordon Gordon, one of the orneriest drivers in the series, has wrecked just about everyone in the Sprint Cup garage, or at least that is the perception. A talented driver struggling to compete with his own team, Gordon typically tries to get every ounce of speed out of his car, and often winds up getting himself in trouble. That has earned him more than a few enemies over the years. Drivers love to rip him after winding up on the wrong end of his bumper. But Gordon can dish out as much medicine as he takes. He won his first Cup race by wrecking Jeff Gordon at New Hampshire and once tangled with former teammate Kevin Harvick at Sonoma. He also had a physical confrontation with Stewart in the garage at Daytona. Look for Gordon's aggressive style to get him into even more trouble now that NASCAR is willing to turn its head to some on-track shenanigans.

8. Jeff Gordon Though he is one of NASCAR's most-respected drivers and hasn't been in a skirmish in a while, the four-time Cup champion has had his share of run-ins over the years. He used his bumper to win quite often on the short tracks – too bad Rusty Wallace is no longer racing – and some of his victims probably have good memories. He has also had classic feuds with Stewart and, surprisingly, Matt Kenseth. He shoved Kenseth on pit road at Bristol in 2006, and a few months later, sent him spinning to win at Chicago. Gordon could be on both ends of some paybacks under NASCAR's more lenient rules.

9. Kevin Harvick Harvick doesn't really have a reputation for wrecking people but, boy, does his mouth get him into trouble. Harvick likes to pick on fellow drivers and there's more than a few that would like to send him spinning. He also has a mighty temper, as he showed in 2003 when he climbed on top of Ricky Rudd's car after getting spun at Richmond and in going after Montoya at Watkins Glen in 2007. It would be a shock if Harvick doesn't take a shot at someone and wind up in at least one incident this year.

10. Denny Hamlin Hamlin has stirred up more than his share of trouble in just a few years in the series. Fair or not, he has developed a reputation as a bit of a whiner for criticizing other drivers and, at times, his own crew. He has also made a few ill-advised moves on the track that has drawn the ire of drivers. And in going after Keselowski last year, Hamlin has shown he has a bit of an edge. He is expected to be a strong championship contender this year after winning four races last season. He could find himself in a hornet's nest or two