The Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s biggest race of the entire season which makes it the most desired victory for NASCAR Cup Series competitors. Due to that fact and the nature of superspeedway racing, there are classic races along the way that no one will ever forget.
Let’s dive into the five best Daytona 500 races in NASCAR Cup Series history.
5. 2007 Daytona 500: Kevin Harvick vs. Mark Martin
The 2007 Daytona 500 starts off the list as one of the best runnings of the event in NASCAR history. As the field came out of Turn 4 on the final lap, chaos ensued and produced one of the most legendary finishes at Daytona International Speedway.
Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin kept ahead of the carnage while the field wrecked behind them. When they both hit the finish line, Harvivk ended up winning the event over Martin by 0.020 seconds, which was a new record at the time.
However, the chaos was not over as Clint Bowyer slid across the finish line upside down and on fire. It was not pretty but overall, it ranks as one of the best in the current century.
4. 1959 Daytona 500: Three-wide photo finish
The 1959 Daytona 500 was the inaugural running of the event and it certainly lived up to the hype. It ended on Sunday as a three-wide photo finish at the finish line and Johnny Beauchamp was declared the unofficial winner.
However, an official decision was not made until a few days later after evaluating all of the angles and pictures of the finish. Unfortunately for Beauchamp, Lee Petty was then honored as the inaugural winner of the Daytona 500.
There was no better way to start off the event’s history than with a wild photo finish. Perhaps, it was a sign of what was to come relating to the magnitude of the race in NASCAR’s modern era.
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3. 2016 Daytona 500: Denny Hamlin vs. Martin Truex Jr.
One could argue the closest Daytona 500 finish in the event’s history would be recognized as the best; however, that is not the case. In 2016, the record set by Harvick and Martin nine years prior would be broken.
Matt Kenseth took the white flag as the leader and that would continue into Turn 3 until a bad block was made on Denny Hamlin. After Hamlin went low, he raced side-by-side with Martin Truex Jr. to the finish line.
Hamlin would prevail over Truex by a record-breaking 0.010 seconds. It was one of the craziest finishes in the Great American Race that remained clean with no accidents and ranks as the third-best ever.
Related: 5 best Daytona 500 drivers in the event’s history
2. 1979 Daytona 500: ‘The Fight’ heard around the world
The 1979 Daytona 500 differs from other runnings of the event. It is not about who won the race, but what happened at the end of it that is still seen in NASCAR commercials to this day.
Richard Petty won his sixth Daytona 500 but it was not without Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, and Donnie Allison fighting on the backstretch. Yarborough and Donnie Allison wrecked while battling for the lead on the final lap.
This was the first time the event was ever televised from start to finish and this fight helped put NASCAR on the map. The significance of this race makes it a mandatory entry as one of the best in history.
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1. 1998 Daytona 500: Dale Earnhardt’s bad luck ends
Dale Earnhardt won seven NASCAR Cup Series championships and back then, one would assume he had a perfect resume. Well, that was not the case. Earnhardt entered his 20th full-time Cup Series season still seeking a Daytona 500 victory.
It is arguably the most hard-fought battle for a win in NASCAR history. The 1998 Daytona 500 ended the two-decade-long scuffle to land his No. 3 car in victory lane and produced one the biggest showings of sportsmanship in the sport’s history.
Everyone lined up and gave Earnhardt a high five as he coasted down pit road. Earnhardt is the best superspeedway driver in NASCAR’s storied history and part of the reason why this Daytona 500 win is miles above the rest.