DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jeff Gordon grabbed the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr., then held off Kurt Busch and Earnhardt in extra laps to win his third Daytona 500 on Sunday.

One of the wildest finishes in the 47-year history of NASCAR's biggest race saw four lead changes in the last nine laps.

Earnhardt, the defending champion, came from as far back as 30th to grab a late lead, only to watch four-time series champion Gordon pass him seconds before a caution flag waved with three laps to go.

The race went three laps beyond the scheduled 200-lap distance, with Gordon hanging on over two final laps of green-flag racing to beat Busch by two car-lengths.

Tony Stewart dominated the race for a second consecutive year, leading 107 laps, and was well on the way to his first 500 win before a rash of late caution flags triggered the furious finish.  More