Best finishes of 2016

XFINITY Series, Daytona

Chase Elliott absorbed contact from Joey Logano and kept his car straight, beating the No. 22 Ford to the start/finish line in the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener.

Sprint Cup Series, Daytona 500

Denny Hamlin clipped Martin Truex Jr. at the line, winning by .010 seconds -- the closest finish in Daytona 500 history.

Sprint Cup Series, Phoenix

Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick made contact several times in the final turns, with each driver doling out some shots -- and Harvick holding on to win by .010 seconds, the second time in 2016 that a race had been decided by that margin.

XFINITY Series, Bristol

Erik Jones powered past race leader Kyle Larson on a restart with three laps to go, avoided getting squeezed into the fence and held off both Larson and hard-charging Kyle Busch on the final lap.

XFINITY Series, Richmond

A late wreck scrambled the running order and forced overtime, where Dale Earnhardt Jr. held off Ty Dillon.

Sprint Cup Series, Richmond

Carl Edwards chased down teammate Kyle Busch over the final green-flag stretch, then bumped him out of the way on the final lap to win.

XFINITY Series, Talladega

Running second on the final lap, Elliott Sadler made a gorgeous move on leader Joey Logano, then held his line when Logano came back down the track. It sparked a huge last-lap wreck, and sent NASCAR officials to the replay cameras to determine a winner. Brennan Poole hit the start/finish line first, but footage showed Sadler to be first at the time of the caution -- making him the winner.

Camping World Truck Series, Kansas

Leader Johnny Sauter gave Ben Rhodes too much room on the final lap, and Rhodes attempted to force his way to the lead on the inside. Both drivers crashed, sending William Byron to the lead and his first career victory.

Sprint Cup Series, Dover

This wasn't close at the line, but an absolutely mesmerizing final 35 laps saw veteran Matt Kenseth hold off hard-charging youngins Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.

Sprint Cup Series, Sprint Showdown

In what may have been the first of many, many battles to come over the years, Kyle Larson transferred into the Sprint All-Star Race by winning this segment of the Sprint Showdown -- roughing up Chase Elliott to do so. Elliott wasn't pleased, and Larson admitted he understood why after a rough-and-tumble finish.

XFINITY Series, Charlotte

Denny Hamlin had fresh tires and found the high line, surging to the lead on the final lap of an exciting overtime conclusion.

XFINITY Series, Michigan

Daniel Suarez broke through for his first NASCAR national series win, catching and passing Kyle Busch just as the white flag fell, then holding on for the win.

Watch the video clip here

Sprint Cup Series, Sonoma

Even if Denny Hamlin had won by moving Tony Stewart on the final lap, this would have been a contender for finish of the year. That 'Smoke' recovered to brush past Hamlin on the final turn to emerge victorious? Epic.

Sprint Cup Series, Watkins Glen

This is as much for winner Denny Hamlin as it is for what happened behind him. True, Hamlin prevailed for a road-course win, but the fireworks came when Brad Keselowski spun Martin Truex Jr. to take second and AJ Allmendinger sent Kyle Larson hard into the wall battling for position out of the final turn.

Camping World Truck Series, Michigan

Three-wide on the final lap? Yes, please. Brett Moffitt went on the high side to get by teammate Timothy Peters and William Byron, who had been battling for the lead. The win was Moffitt's first in a NASCAR national series race.

Camping World Truck Series, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Something about this road course just produces great finishes. Cole Custer held the lead heading into the final turn, but John Hunter Nemechek still had a chance. Nemechek got aggressive with his No. 8 Chevrolet, putting the bumper to Custer's No. 00 Chevrolet to get him out of sorts. Then they slammed doors and got off track and into the grass across the finish line before things got physical.

Sprint Cup Series, Phoenix

Joey Logano gets the victory and a spot in the Championship 4. Yet, this race makes the list because of the caution that set up Logano's win, in which Matt Kenseth spun from the lead as he came down to block Alex Bowman. The spin took Kenseth out of the Chase.

Sprint Cup Series, Miami

He had pulled away at the time of the checkered flag, but a final restart in Miami had it all -- frayed nerves, pounding hearts and sheer excellence from Jimmie Johnson.