RELATED: Cast your vote for the top race here
July is a month for reflection across the sports calendar. It’s past the midway point of the year, and sports calendars often mirror that time frame. Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is finished, and NASCAR is at the exact halfway point in its season.
That has us thinking about the great racing we’ve seen already this year. But which one was the best? That’s where you come in.
Go take our poll here and let your voice be heard. Then come back here and enjoy watching full-race replays of all of the below. Just click on the image or link associated with each entry.
BRISTOL
Delayed a day due to rain gave this one extra intrigue. Kyle Larson started on the pole and led 202 laps, but faltered due to a late penalty. Martin Truex Jr. also had a late speeding penalty that ended his chances of a win. With two fast favorites ailing, that opened the door for someone to take control of the race — and Jimmie Johnson did in a typical Bristol race that including plenty of beating and banging.
DAYTONA 500
A first for Kurt. Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kurt Busch, a talented restrictor-plate racer who strangely had never won such a race, prevailed for his first plate victory in dramatic fashion. He led one time — the final lap only — and won with his car taped together from a previous wreck, outlasting Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney to the start/finish line. The celebration was monumental as well, with crew chief Tony Gibson, a Daytona Beach, Florida, native, screaming and crying in disbelief.
MARTINSVILLE
This one had everything. Brad Keselowski earned the grandfather clock trophy after emerging late from a thrilling duel with Kyle Busch. Busch led 274 of 500 laps, but settled for second. “Rowdy” was involved in one of the season’s most memorable moments, when he passed Ricky Stenhouse Jr. near the end of Stage 2 — and Stenhouse promptly knocked Busch out of the way in Turn 4 to get his lap back, which cost Busch the stage win as Chase Elliott sped by.
SONOMA
The first road-course race of the season had some eye-opening moments in the form of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick colliding on-track multiple times. Late pit strategy shook up the running order and led to some serious intrigue before Kevin Harvick sailed away for the victory in a fun race.
TALLADEGA
Some exceptional pack racing had this Talladega race relatively incident-free through Stage 2. That would change. The “Big One” hit with 18 laps to go, and it involved 18 cars. Two more late cautions produced two late restarts, always fun at a plate race, and the frenetic ending saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr. soar past Kyle Busch on the final lap for his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win.