Fights, fiery crashes, and heart-stopping moments are just some of the featured finales accompanying the earning of one of NASCAR's most prized trophies: The Harley J. Earl. It's what brought national attention to the sport, and has in a way become an expected part of Cup's return to Daytona, especially at the 500 as the stakes are higher, and the prize is one of the most coveted. But not every calamitous end is created equal, and some have earned their own honors as the most dramatic. Welcome to Motorsport.com's countdown of the ten most dramatic finishes in Daytona 500 history.
10. 2021 Daytona 500 -- Shock upset as teammates tangle in fiery crash
Joey Logano led Penske teammate Brad Keselowski on the final lap of this race. Logano, already a 500 winner (2015), was trying to deny Keselowski his first. Behind them ran Michael McDowell, who had been racing for over 12 years without a single Cup win. Entering the final corner, an aggressive block by Logano resulted in the Penske champions colliding, and a path formed like the parting of the Red Sea. Logano spun low, Keselowski crashed high, and McDowell went up the middle as a massive fireball erupted behind him. All drivers were okay and at the moment of caution, McDowell -- in his 359th NASCAR Cup Series start -- was finally a winner.
9. 1990 Daytona 500 -- Earnhardt denied once again
We all know the story of Earnhardt and Daytona. He won everything there was to win at the 2.5-mile superspeedway except for the most important race of them all. In 1990, it seemed like fate had finally smiled upon him in his 12th attempt. With his nervous wife watching on, he took the white flag in full control of the race. Down the backstretch, no one could build a run to challenge him. But entering the final corner, disaster struck. Earnhardt's black No. 3 slid up the track, rapidly losing pace. He held onto it but could only watch helplessly as the field raced by. The shocking loss was the result of a blown tire, opening the door for Derrike Cope to take victory.
8. 2011 Daytona 500 -- A rookie puts the Wood Brothers back in Victory Lane
NASCAR loves an underdog story, and what better race to have one than in the biggest of them all? Trevor Bayne, who had only one Cup start under his belt, was making his Daytona 500 debut in the iconic No. 21 for the Wood Brothers. One of the oldest teams in NASCAR, they had won the 500 four times already, but none in the last 35 years. In fact, it had been a decade since that won any Cup race. But the day after his 20th birthday, this 500 rookie was about to return the Wood Brothers to their former glory. With a push from Bobby Labonte in the era of the tandem draft, he surged ahead on the final restart, holding back a late charge from Carl Edwards to win the 500 in an incredibly emotional victory for all involved. Bayne never won again in the Cup Series, but he will forever be known as a Daytona 500 champion.
7. 1959 Daytona 500 -- Days to decide the inaugural victor
The first-ever running of the Daytona 500. The newly paved asphalt of this monstrous superspeedway was completely new to the drivers of that time, and a far cry from the previous Daytona races that took place on the city's sandy beaches. In this race, Petty family patriarch Lee was battling Johnny Beauchamp to the checkered flag. They encountered the car of Joe Weatherly, who wasn't keen on losing a lap. All three battled to the line in a three-wide photo finish. Beauchamp was declared the winner, but there's one problem with that -- it was the wrong call. It took two full days for the iconic photo to emerge, showing Petty's No. 42 just ahead of the No. 73 of Beauchamp. Two years later, these two would find each other again at Daytona, but under very different circumstances. A crash during one of the qualifying races sent both of their cars through the guardrail and off the track. Miraculously, they survived, but it proved to be a career-ending crash for both drivers.
6. 1976 Daytona 500 -- Crawling across the line
In this era of NASCAR, David 'The Silver Fox' Pearson and Richard 'The King' Petty were the two biggest names in the sport. To this day, they hold first and second on the all-time wins list. And in 1976, while Richard was in Petty blue, Pearson represented the red and white of the iconic Wood Brothers team. It was a true clash of titans, and clash they did. Exiting the final corner, Pearson (almost) cleared Petty. Their bumpers connected and Pearson crashed into the wall. Petty fishtailed as he desperately tried to hang on with the checkered flag in sight, but he too, crashed and spun. Petty's car screeched to a halt in the infield dirt, just shy of the finish line. As his team ran out to try and push the car across, Pearson came limping by in his destroyed No. 21 machine, taking the checkered flag in what is surely the slowest speed ever recorded by a 500 race winner at the stripe.
5. 1998 Daytona 500 -- 20 years of trying, 20 years of frustration
The finish itself wasn't the most dramatic, but it didn't need to be. In one of the most emotional moments in NASCAR history, Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 in 1998 after "20 years of trying, 20 years of frustration," as Mike Joy famously said. No driver has ever been as successful as Earnhardt at Daytona, but the 1998 Daytona 500 remains his only win in the Great American Race. Every man from every crew came out to congratulate him in the ultimate sign of respect, and a remarkable show of camaraderie. Three years later, Earnhardt tragically lost his life in the final lap of the race he coveted more than any other. Now, his statue stands outside the track, shaped in the image of Earnhardt holding the trophy from his 1998 triumph.
4. 2016 Daytona 500 -- The closest 500 in history
Toyota drivers dominated the 2016 Daytona 500 in one of the first and best examples of a manufacturer working together across its teams to control a modern superspeedway race. On the final lap, it was almost a certainty that Toyota would win, with Denny Hamlin hellbent on making sure it was him. Charging forward from the outside line, he faked out his teammate, Matt Kenseth, and shot up the middle, nearly causing a crash. He then drag-raced Martin Truex Jr. to the line in a stunning photo finish. At the checkered flag, it was Hamlin by just 0.010s -- the closest finish in 500 history.
3. 2020 Daytona 500 -- Heartbreak and horror on the high banks
Ryan Newman was hoping to become a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 in 2020. While many of the finishes on this list can be described as 'great,' there was nothing great about what transpired. An expert plate racer, Newman backed himself up to get a massive run down the backstretch for the lead. Ryan Blaney did the same thing, backing up to Hamlin and allowing the two to build a new run to challenge Newman, who was notorious for being one of the hardest drivers to pass.
Newman blocked Blaney from the top to the very bottom of the track and it appeared that the 500 was indeed Newman's. Then, his car hooked to the right as Blaney shoved him forward. It slammed the wall, flipping as Hamlin pulled alongside Blaney, who won in a photo finish. But behind them, Corey LaJoie had slammed into the roof of Newman's now fully upside down car, sending it flying through the air. Newman was unconscious and many feared the worst as his car continued to slide, upside down, around the track in flames and sparks. For several hours the garage waited, holding their breath until word came down -- Newman had suffered a head injury, but he walked out of the hospital with his daughters by his side not 48 hours later.
2. 2007 Daytona 500 -- A cinematic photo finish for the ages
This finish was one fit for a Hollywood movie script. Mark Martin, already known as the eternal bridesmaid of NASCAR due to several runner-up championship finishes, had a shot to win the 500. He was holding back Kyle Busch while keeping control of his own car around the old, bumpy track surface. But it was Kevin Harvick whom he needed to fear, as he led a charge from the outside, drawing even with Martin through the final set of corners. Martin got loose but was holding onto it. Behind him, the same could not be said for Busch, who lost control and spun in front of the field. Cars began spinning in every direction, without a single wave of a caution flag. Harvick and Martin were left to settle it amongst themselves in an ultimate drag race to the flag. At the line, Harvick was ahead by just 0.020s, making Martin a bridesmaid once more. Behind them, most of the field was wrecked, and Harvick's teammate, Clint Bowyer, actually flipped upside down, sliding across the line on his roof.
1. 1979 Daytona 500 -- The race that put NASCAR on the map
Let's set the scene here: The entire east coast was completely snowed in on the same day NASCAR was to have its first nationally televised 500-mile race. It was truly the perfect storm for the sport with millions of eyes on NASCAR. All they had to do was deliver an epic finish, and deliver they did. On the final lap, Cale Yarborough pulled to the inside of Donnie Allison. Yarborough was right on the edge of the muddy grass as the two drivers slammed doors once, twice, and a third time as the two cars became stuck together. Sheet metal twisted together and they crashed into the outside wall before spinning to a stop in the field. Richard Petty raced by, holding back Darrell Waltrip to take the victory. Meanwhile, Bobby Allison pulled up to the site of the accident to check on his brother. While accounts differ on who started it, cameras caught most of the mayhem as an all-out brawl ensued. Most of America watched in shock and awe at the drama unfolding on their television screens. It was the most dramatic Daytona 500 finish in history, putting NASCAR on the map and shaping the future of the entire sport.
