This Daytona 500 was great, but '79 best ever

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Now that Kevin Harvick's win is officially in the books, the Mark Martin second-place storyline has been documented yet one more dramatic time and Clint Bowyer's car has finally stopped tumbling, sliding and smoking, the question needs to be asked:

Was this year's Daytona 500 the best in the 49-year history of the race?

• Send Joe your thoughts

It certainly possessed all the elements of a great, memorable race.

• There were stars wrecking stars after they dueled for the lead much of the day (Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch).

• You had NASCAR's biggest star, Dale Earnhardt Jr., fighting a mishandling car much of the day, only to be taken out by a wreck with five laps to go after he had worked his way back into possible contention.

• And there was superb last-lap drama, capped by Harvick nosing Martin for the win when NASCAR officials decidedly took their time in throwing the yellow caution flag as Bowyer and others banged off each other right behind the leaders.

So you had star power and you had controversy and you had one spectacular wreck after another.

And you had Martin, who wasn't supposed to be there, leading as they sprinted for the checkered flag. His story has been well-documented, and there is no need to go into it in detail again.

But for Martin to take what is a part-time ride with Bobby Ginn Racing and nearly guide it to Victory Lane in the sport's biggest race at Daytona International Speedway was nothing short of remarkable -- as was the way Harvick stole history from him.

Oh, and did we mention there was, um, a little controversy that resulted in a record amount of fines and suspensions and other penalties being levied before we even got to race day, which only added to all the drama?

Despite all that, the answer to the aforementioned question is no.

Yes, this race had it all. Yes, this race will forever be remembered for all of the above and more.

But it was not the greatest Daytona 500 of all time. (Continued)