Five fantastic finishes that rocked NASCAR in 2008

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Nothing gets the heart racing faster than a race that comes down to that final run down the frontstretch. From exhilaration to exasperation, five of NASCAR's best finishes in 2008.

(Editor's note: Five fantastic finishes is the first of a six-week installment to run on Mondays examining different elements of NASCAR. Next week: Five key moments in 2008.)

• Second week: Five key moments of 2008
• Third week: Five breakout drivers for 2009
• Fourth week: Five drivers who could struggle in 2009
• Fifth week: Five who will break into win column in 2009
• Sixth week: Five who should be in first Hall of Fame class

Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Kurt Busch pushes Ryan Newman to victory much to the dismay of Tony Stewart.

It's no secret that at Daytona, you haven't won the race until the checkered flag flies. You may have a 5-second lead on the draft heading into Turn 4 and in the blink of an eye you finished fifth wondering what just happened. Add Tony Stewart to that growing list of drivers who have seen glory turn to disgust in the final quarter-mile.

Bill Kimm

• Writer Page
• E-mail Bill

Ryan Newman ran a relatively quiet Daytona 500. He worked his way to the front, led a couple laps here and there, but was never really considered a threat to win as the race continued. After the seventh caution flew with seven laps to go, Newman found himself second to leader Stewart with teammate Kurt Busch right behind. Could it be Dodge would be able to trump Chevrolet and Toyota in the season opener?

On the restart, Stewart held his lead and for two laps did everything he could to block Newman and keep the No. 12 Dodge behind him. On the final lap, though, Newman was finally able to pass the No. 20 Toyota on the outside and get out front. Then in Turn 3, Busch hooked up with Newman and the duo drafted their way out front. Not to be outdone, Stewart's teammate Kyle Busch finally caught the bumper of Stewart and they drafted themselves to a side-by-side battle with the Penske boys.

Through 3 and 4, it was Toyota vs. Dodge, Joe Gibbs Racing vs. Penske Racing, and one of these four drivers was going to win their first Daytona 500. It was drama a writer in Hollywood couldn't script as no one knew until the tri-oval which manufacturer, which team, which driver was going to prevail.

In the end, Kurt Busch's unselfishness pushed Newman to Victory Lane, breaking Newman's 81-race winless streak and giving owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 win and first 1-2 finish in NASCAR. Toyota would go on to dominate the season thanks in large part to Busch and Stewart, but on one night in February, Dodge took center stage and beat Toyota in a duel that will be remembered for years to come.

• Race Review | Race Video

Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway

Autostock

Kyle Busch faced the wrath of fans when he booted Dale Earnhardt Jr. from a possible win at Richmond.

Everyone would pick Kansas City as the fantastic finish of probably the past three years; so the next-best of 2008 had to be Richmond in May. Where else, in one event, could you have the dominant, but shocked loser (Denny Hamlin); the all-out, I'm-driving-over-my-head hatchet-man who'd try to win at any price and fail (Kyle Busch); the hugely popular winner-to-be who lost as the hatchet-man's innocent victim (Dale Earnhardt Jr.); and a third-to-first surprise victor (Clint Bowyer) -- with all that action occurring in the last 30 laps?

Dave Rodman

• Writer Page
• E-mail Dave

Strange circumstances aside, there were two "can't miss" winners in this one -- and neither one won. Hamlin, the hometown favorite, dominated from the pole position and led a track-record 381 laps before suffering a slowly leaking tire that cost him the lead, and then a lot of respect from some when he stopped on track to cause the race's next-to-last caution. Earnhardt had passed Hamlin for first, but that caution brought a potential drought-ending victory into question, and Earnhardt into Busch's clutches.

After the penultimate restart, Busch ran so hard into Turn 3 trying to pass Earnhardt that his car got loose and wobbled up the track into Earnhardt, who also had gone deeper into the corner than he probably should have. When the two crashed, Bowyer slid through on the bottom and into a lead that he'd hold in a final two-lap shootout as the race ran 10 laps over its scheduled distance.

The ultimate test of this race's popularity as a fantastic finish was the fans' reaction, which ranged from hurling cans and other trash over the fence after Busch and Earnhardt crashed; to hundreds signaling Busch's No. 1 position in their hearts with middle-finger salutes; to stealing one of Busch's cardboard cutouts from a convenience store outside the track and threatening to incinerate it. It was truly good stuff.

• Race Review | Race Video

Cool City Customs 200 at Michigan International Speedway

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Erik Darnell and Johnny Benson race neck-and-neck at Michigan.

You want the most fantastic finish in 2008? The Craftsman Truck Series race at Michigan in June had everything NASCAR is known for: Competition, collision, controversy and confusion.

Mark Aumann

• Writer Page
• E-mail Mark

Erik Darnell and Johnny Benson, side-by-side on the apron of the track in a finish so close that five months later, Benson still claimed he thought he had won the thing. A three-wide battle between rookie Scott Speed, Todd Bodine and Brendan Gaughan for third. And after Kyle Busch turned Ron Hornaday on the last lap, NASCAR officials wisely kept the caution flag under wraps and let 'em race to the line.

The electronic scoring system basically recorded it as a dead-heat, so while the two Midwestern natives waited in their trucks for several nerve-wracking moments, officials ended up looking at a high-speed, photo-finish camera shot to determine the winner -- and ruled that Darnell edged Benson by inches. "Just look at the TV there," Benson said after seeing the replay. "That just hurts, bad. I could say that's probably the first time I've been on the losing end of something like that. I don't know what I'd do if I had to do it again."

But the real post-race fireworks came after Hornaday and truck owner Kevin Harvick found Busch, resulting in a lot of finger pointing and hollering before the two sides could be separated. "[Busch] doesn't deserve to be a racer," Hornaday fumed afterward. "He has a lot of talent but he is just flat stupid."

• Race Review | Race Video

Camping World RV 400 at Kansas Speedway

John Harrelson/Getty Images

Carl Edwards' slide job on Jimmie Johnson at Kansas threw caution to the wind.

Carl Edwards had the move of the year, although it didn't result in a win. But it brought about a finish that very few if any race in NASCAR or any other form of motorsports can match. And it was refreshing to watch. With so too many races decided by pit strategy, fuel mileage and ever-increasing green-white-checkered finishes, Edwards' all-out pass of Jimmie Johnson on the next-to-last turn at Kansas was pure racing at its best.

Jarrod Breeze

• Writer Page
• E-mail Jarrod

A poor qualifying effort and consecutive pit road incidents early in the race set the stage, forcing Edwards to rally from well back in the field as pole-sitter Johnson seemingly led lap after lap. When Johnson did fall out of the lead he regained it in the pits, twice timed as the first car out including on a crucial restart with 45 laps to go when race-leader Edwards had to wait to for another car to clear.

With two laps remaining Johnson had increased his lead to about 10 car lengths. But Edwards was comin', and comin' hard. By Turn 3 of the final lap Edwards had caught up and was ready to make his move. He went full-throttle to Johnson's inside to make the pass, but that combination of speed and machinery were too much to control. Edwards slid up the track and banged into the wall, allowing Johnson to reclaim the lead and win the race.

Still, it was a finish based on nerve, desperation and desire as for a brief moment Edwards shunned the longer-term implications of the Chase in an attempt to win a race. For those pining for the good 'ol days of NASCAR, that is about as close as it gets these days.

• Race Review | Race Video

Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Autostock

Regan Smith passes Tony Stewart below the yellow line, forced or no still a NASCAR no-no.

The finish at Talladega this past fall was Oscar-winning material packed with all the necessary elements: drama, suspense, anger and ultimately heartbreak.

Heartbreak for rookie of the year Regan Smith, who thought he had won when he passed Tony Stewart on the frontstretch and crossed the start/finish line before Stewart's No. 20 Toyota.

Raygan Swan

• Writer Page
• E-mail Raygan

In the final few laps, Smith was in second pursuing Stewart hard and made an attempt to grab his first career win by ducking inside of the No. 20 to attempt a pass.

Stewart refused to make it easy, blocked and moved with Smith down the track until Smith dove below the yellow line in an attempt to make the pass. The No. 01 moved back to the track in front of Stewart and crossed the finish line.

NASCAR officials ruled the pass was illegal because Smith's Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet advanced a position below the yellow line. NASCAR scored the driver in 18th place, the position at the end of the line of remaining lead-lap cars.

The call stirred controversy and brought into question the clarity of the rule that drivers are not allowed to dip below the yellow line to advance their position.

Smith and his supporters argued that Stewart pushed him below the yellow line but the argument didn't fly in the eyes of NASCAR and Stewart was able to celebrate his first win at the Alabama track while snapping a 43-race winless streak.

What makes the finish so memorable is the fact that in the immediate minutes following the race, it was unclear who the actual winner was and Smith's crew was celebrating on pit road as was the No. 20 team.

When he accepted rookie of the year honors in New York, Smith jokingly thanked the people who paint the yellow lines at Talladega.

• Race Review | Race Video

Which race in 2008 produced the most fantastic finish?
• Your Voice: Join the discussion