Memorable ‘Great American Race’ moments in the Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 has given NASCAR fans a lifetime's worth of memorable moments over the last 67 iterations of the "Great American Race." To celebrate, we look back at many of the most memorable moments in Daytona 500 history. 

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In a battle of young and old in 2007, Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin drag-raced to the start-finish line of a green-white-checkered finish with the now-Stewart-Haas Racing driver edging the Hall of Famer. The 0.02-second margin of victory was at the time the closest finish since the first race at Daytona International Speedway.

A first in Daytona 500 history happened in 2012 with the race being postponed from Sunday to Monday. But not just Monday -- primetime. The green flag fell after 7 p.m. ET and became the most-watched Daytona 500 in history with a total audience of more than 36.5 million. Adding to the remarkableness of it all was the jet-dryer crash.

Jamie McMurray kicked off a year in which he won two of NASCAR's crown-jewel races -- the Chip Ganassi Racing driver won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well -- by holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and leading just two laps en route to his only Daytona 500 win. The race was the longest in terms of distance at the time, with the two green-white-checkered finish attempts bringing the total mileage to 520.

Richard Petty was rolling in the '70s and became the sport's first three-time winner of the race in the 1971 running of the Daytona 500. The feat is no small task as just six drivers have done so in history.

Before the "Dale and Dale Show" of 1993, there was Cale Yarborough versus LeeRoy Yarbrough for the victory in the 1968 Daytona 500. The two dominated the race for a combined 138 of 200 laps led and ran 1-2 for much of the day. Cale came out on top thanks to a Turn 3 slingshot move at the end.

Finally. A career that began with a spot start in 1975 reached its pinnacle in 1998 when "The Intimidator" broke through for his first Daytona 500 win after decades of trying. Even the grandchildren of owner Richard Childress -- current drivers Austin and Ty Dillon -- stopped by Victory Lane to celebrate the momentous occasion.

One of the biggest upsets in Daytona 500 history came in 1961 with Marvin Panch. Panch was driving a 1960 Pontiac from the legendary Smokey Yunick, a year-old car. The favorite was Fireball Roberts, who had a factory-backed 1961 Pontiac. It was Panch, however, who inherited the lead with 13 laps to go after Roberts blew an engine.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s second Daytona 500 triumph (in 2014) was the culmination of an event that started in daytime and ended at night after a six-hour rain delay. But Earnhardt was more than ready for prime time, fending off stout challenges from Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, leading a race-high 54 laps. Earnhardt topped the evening with a social-media bombshell, activating his previously dormant Twitter account with a message from Daytona's Victory Lane alongside the Harley J. Earl Trophy.

Restrictor plates came to NASCAR after a frightful 1987 crash at Talladega Superspeedway for Bobby Allison. So, it ended up being fitting that the first time the Daytona 500 was run with restrictor plates, Feb. 14, 1988, Allison wound up the winner. However, this race is remembered for the tremendous battle for the win between Bobby and son Davey.

The 50th running of the Daytona 500 in February 2008 brought with it a breath of fresh air for NASCAR. Not only in celebrating the sport's biggest race, with Daytona International Speedway handing out a gold Harley J. Earl trophy, it was also the first race under the Sprint Cup Series banner and in the Car of Tomorrow.

Coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, Matt Kenseth entered the 2009 Daytona 500 under the radar. But Kenseth was in the right place at the right time when rain ended the race, awarding Kenseth his first win in 36 races and his first Daytona 500 triumph. It was also the first Daytona 500 win for owner Jack Roush.

The Generation-6 race car was designed to closely resemble those in the showroom while also enhancing certain safety features. Highlights included the car's weight being reduced by 160 pounds, larger roof flaps to decrease likelihood of going airborne and the driver's name above the windshield. Jimmie Johnson won in the car's debut race, the 2013 Daytona 500.

The return of the No. 3 was met with fanfare and immediate celebration. Austin Dillon moved into the premier series in 2014, bringing with him a familiar number that had not been seen in the series since 2001. In its return, Dillon went out and won the pole for the Daytona 500 with a lap of 196.019 mph.

The newest era of NASCAR began in 2017 with stage racing, which officially debuted in the Daytona 500. Splitting the race in three segments provided race teams additional strategy plays and playoff points for winning a stage. Kyle Busch became the first driver in history to win a stage, taking the first 60 laps. In Daytona, Florida, the stages were split 60-120-200.

Everything about the 1984 Daytona 500 revolved around Cale Yarborough. It started in qualifying as Yarborough became the first driver to crack the 200-mph barrier on his way to winning the pole. He then picked up his second straight Daytona 500 win, making a last-lap pass on Darrell Waltrip in Turn 3.

With 2015 having been announced as his final season, Jeff Gordon arrived at Daytona International Speedway looking for one last Daytona 500 victory. Already a three-time race winner, Gordon picked up his second Daytona 500 pole with a lap of 201.293 -- the fifth-fastest pole speed ever at the time. It was also the first Daytona 500 pole determined by group knockout qualifying.

Expectations for Chase Elliott were high going into his rookie season in 2016, and he delivered right off the bat. Elliott took the No. 24 to the top of the leaderboard in Daytona 500 qualifying, his very first start in the "Great American Race," with a lap of 196.314 mph. "This is a very, very cool day," he said.

Bill Elliott became "Million Dollar Bill" in 1985 through the Winston Million promotion, which required a driver to win three of the four Grand Slam races: the Daytona 500, Talladega 500, World 600 (now the Coca-Cola 600) and the Southern 500. Elliott's quest began with a dominating performance in the Daytona 500 when he led 136 of 200 laps.

One of just five wins for the South Boston, Virginia, native, Ward Burton prevailed after a late caution and bizarre penalty to Sterling Marlin put him in the catbird seat with a few laps remaining. The 2002 victory was the first Daytona 500 win for Dodge since Richard Petty in 1974.

In a stunning upset at the end of an action-filled, rain-interrupted 2021 Daytona 500, Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series victory after charging into the lead during a brutal multi-car wreck in Turn 3 on the final lap. The race has seen its share of surprise winners, and McDowell winning for the first time with 358 starts under his belt certainly qualifies.

Pete Hamilton was a rarity, a visitor from the Northeast in the days when NASCAR was still a relatively Southern-based sport. The Massachusetts native made himself at home in the 1970 Daytona 500, taking a winged Petty Enterprises Plymouth to victory. Hamilton won four races in his 64-race career in NASCAR's top series, none bigger than his first.

In the first race after championship heartbreak the previous season, Jimmie Johnson picked up his second Daytona 500 win in the 2013 running of the race. The race was Johnson's 400th, becoming the sixth driver to win a race in his 400th NASCAR Cup Series start.

By 1980, Buddy Baker had already wowed stock-car observers nearly 10 years earlier with NASCAR's first-ever 200-mph lap in an official speed record run at Talladega Superspeedway. But the 1980 Daytona 500, slowed by just five brief yellow flags, was another event that put Baker into the record books. Baker led 143 of 200 laps in the Harry Ranier-owned "Gray Ghost" No. 28 Oldsmobile, putting all but runner-up Bobby Allison one lap down. That rapid pace registered an average speed of 177.602 mph, still the fastest running of the Daytona 500 in history.

Kurt Busch -- carrying Monster Energy on his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford entry -- won in the debut of the newly branded Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He even got to party with former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski in Victory Lane.

An exhibition of speed that spanned a long weekend was Matt Kenseth's season-opening story in 2012. Driving for Roush Fenway Racing, Kenseth steered the No. 17 Ford to victory in one of the Can-Am Duel qualifying races, then poured it on in the featured event, winning a bizarre Daytona 500, run on a Monday for the first time because of rain.

The 1975 Daytona 500 saw Richard Petty work with the eventual winner of the race -- Benny Parsons -- to reel in the rival of "The King" in David Pearson. Pearson later crashed with Cale Yarborough to hand the victory to one of the race's wild-card winners in Parsons.

Lee Roy Yarbrough outfoxed "Chargin" Charlie Glotzbach in the late stages of the 1969 Daytona 500, timing his winning pass until the last lap. He explained after the race that he had waited to use an aero slingshot move in the late stages to keep Glotzbach from passing him back before the checkers. The win was also a battle between drivers-turned-owners who would both eventually become NASCAR Hall of Famers. Junior Johnson logged his first triumph as a team owner at Daytona International Speedway after winning as a driver nine years earlier, outdueling Cotton Owens' effort with Glotzbach in his No. 6 Dodge.

Two years after winning the Daytona 500 on NASCAR's darkest day, Michael Waltrip earned an emotional victory for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated after the shortest race in the event's history was cut down to 109 laps due to rain.

Jeff Gordon added a topper to his legacy as a Daytona 500 champion in 2005, landing his third and final victory in the "Great American Race." A flurry of late caution periods forced the race past the scheduled 500-mile distance for the first time in history. With a late restart bunching the field, Gordon held off Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. down the stretch at the 2.5-mile track.

Dale Jarrett picked up his third Daytona 500 win in this one in 2000, leading 89 laps from the pole to the checkered flag -- the last driver to lead the field to green and land in Victory Lane.

The 200-mph lap was not a new phenomenon in 1987. Qualifying speeds in the three previous years had topped that magical plateau. But it was an especially eye-popping number when Bill Elliott broke NASCAR's all-time qualifying record at 210.364 mph. Elliott backed up his qualifying effort with his second Daytona 500 win, and went on to best that record at Talladega Superspeedway in the spring with a stunning 212.809-mph lap. Horsepower-sapping carburetor restrictor plates slowed qualifying speeds the next year at The Great American Race, and Elliott's 1987 lap still stands as the Daytona International Speedway track record.

Though never a full-time NASCAR driver, A.J. Foyt still knew how to compete on the biggest stock-car racing stage. He guaranteed a win for this one and delivered, leading a whopping 167 laps along the way in 1972.

Sterling Marlin and the Morgan-McClure No. 4 team ruled restrictor-plate racing for a brief window in the mid-1990s, amassing five victories between Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway in a three-year span. Among those triumphs were two big scores for NASCAR's biggest prize in 1994-95. With his plate-track dominance, Marlin became just the third driver to win the Daytona 500 in consecutive years. Only Denny Hamlin has done it since.

"The King" added to his royalty in this one, becoming the first of just three drivers in NASCAR's history to win the race in back-to-back years in 1974. It was his fifth overall, which was the most at the time.

Danica Patrick's first start as a full-time driver in the Great American Race back in 2013 was momentous, as she became the first woman to win the pole position during her rookie year in the NASCAR Cup Series. She backed up her speed in the race, leading five laps and posting an eighth-place result, the best finish by a woman in the event's history.

En route to his first of a record-tying seven titles, Jimmie Johnson kicked off his 2006 season on a good note by winning the sport's most iconic race for the first time. The Hendrick Motorsports driver did so without long-time crew chief Chad Knaus, too, as he was suspended for the season's first four races after the No. 48 failed pre-race inspection.

At 24 years old, Bubba Wallace wept openly during his post-race news conference, his emotions pouring over after kicking off his rookie season in NASCAR's big leagues with a runner-up finish.

"It's a sensitive subject, but I'm just so emotional over where my family has been the last two years, and I don't talk about it, but it's just so hard,” Wallace said through tears, “and so having them here to support me is … pull it together, bud, pull it together. You just finished second. It's awesome."

DeWayne Louis Lund -- known to almost all as "Tiny" despite standing a burly 6-foot-5 -- became a storybook Cinderella under extreme circumstances in the 1963 edition of the Daytona 500. Just 10 days earlier, Lund had pulled Marvin Panch from a fiery sports-car wreck at the speedway. At Panch's urging, Lund took his place as the Wood Brothers' driver in the main event. He prevailed for his first premier-series win as stout challenges from Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett ran short on fuel.

Not only did Bobby Allison become the first driver to win both the Daytona 500 and what is now the Busch Light Clash in 1982, he did so without a bumper after losing it mid-race. This race also marked the first time it kicked off the season.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson took his skills as an innovator to a new level in 1960, winning the second running of the Daytona 500 with a eureka moment on the track. The event still stands as the slowest "Great American Race" on record (124.74 mph average speed), but Johnson found previously undiscovered oomph with a tactic that's now commonplace -- the aerodynamic draft. It was Johnson's only 500 win as a driver, but his teams also gave him two Daytona 500 victories as a car owner.

Becoming the first female driver to race in the Daytona 500, Janet Guthrie piloted her No. 68 Chevrolet to a more-than-respectable 12th-place finish in 1977. She later topped her feat in 1980 with an 11th-place finish in the race.

Richard Petty's role as "The King" of NASCAR also extends its royal touch to the Daytona 500. Petty scored in the 1981 running, posting his record seventh 500 victory on the strength of savvy pit strategy from Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman. His pit-road plan derailed strong challenger Bobby Allison, who coasted into the pits out of gas on his final stop. Two laps later, Petty pitted for service and gained ground with a fuel-only stop. The margin was just enough to hold off the charging Allison, who started from the pole.

On Lap 11 of the 2019 Daytona 500, pit crews from all four Joe Gibbs Racing teams -- along with several others on pit row -- stood to honor JGR co-founder J.D. Gibbs, who had passed just one month earlier. J.D.'s favorite number was 11. The moment was made all the more memorable when Denny Hamlin, a driver J.D. Gibbs discovered, drove the No. 11 Toyota to victory.

Despite furious battles and lead changes from the beginning of the race, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts won the 1962 race from the pole -- the first to do so -- in an event that saw exactly zero caution flags. Roberts died two years later after a fiery crash in what is now the Coca-Cola 600.

The 1973 gas crisis put a bit of a damper on the 1974 season, as several races had their distances cut short to cut down on fuel usage. Thus, this one was more of a "Daytona 450" after starting the race on Lap 21.

By 1990, the perception of a Daytona 500 hex on Dale Earnhardt's career had already begun to take root. Derrike Cope was his foil for this edition of the "Great American Race," pouncing on the lead when the right-rear tire on Earnhardt's No. 3 was punctured with half a lap remaining. Cope then sailed to the first of his two career victories in the series, capping one of NASCAR's most surprising results.

Denny Hamlin becomes the fourth driver -- joining Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Sterling Marlin -- to win back-to-back Daytona 500s with his 2020 victory.

The Daytona 500 victory Dale Earnhardt pursued for so long came much quicker for his son. In his fifth try, Earnhardt Jr. prevailed in the 2004 "Great American Race," warding off Tony Stewart by 0.273 seconds at the finish. The win gave Dale Earnhardt Inc., its third Daytona 500 win in a four-year stretch. It also offered a foundation for Earnhardt Jr.'s winningest season, a six-victory campaign.

Twenty years after Dale Earnhardt was finally victorious in the Daytona 500, Austin Dillon held off Aric Almirola in a thriller of a finish to cap off the biggest win of his career to date.

“This is so awesome to take the No. 3 car back to Victory Lane. This one is for Dale Earnhardt Sr. and all those (Dale) Sr. fans. I love you guys."

A young fella named Jeff Gordon at the height of his career picked up the first of his 10 wins en route to his second championship in this one. Gordon's victory to open the 1997 campaign made him the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history at the time.

Mario Andretti was an infrequent visitor to stock-car racing, making just 14 NASCAR premier-series starts from 1966-69. But he made the most of his occasional appearances, cashing in on NASCAR's biggest prize in the 1967 running of the "Great American Race." Andretti led 112 of 200 laps in a Holman-Moody Ford to edge out teammate Fred Lorenzen, becoming the first -- and thus far, only -- foreign-born winner of the Daytona 500.

Winner Denny Hamlin dominated this 2016 race, leading a whopping 95 laps, but had to pass his teammate Matt Kenseth on the final lap to do so. Martin Truex Jr. also stood in his way, and their race to the checkered flag was so close it took several replays to declare the winner -- the margin of victory was 0.010 seconds, the closest finish in the race's history.

Still the only Daytona 500 postponed from its scheduled date, the 2012 running featured a second-time winner in Matt Kenseth, but also one of the more bizarre incidents in stock-car lore. Just past the race's three-quarter mark, Juan Pablo Montoya's No. 42 car broke a rear trailing arm as it hurried to catch up to the field under caution. The car skidded into a jet dryer, severely damaging both vehicles and touching off a large fire. Brad Keselowski captured the chaos with a behind-the-scenes tweet from the backstretch under the two-hour red flag, causing a social-media stir.

In his 17th attempt, Darrell Waltrip -- in the twilight of his driving career -- pulled through for a fuel-mileage win in 1989 and gave one of the most iconic post-race interviews with Mike Joy. He also performed his interpretation of the "Ickey Shuffle" in Victory Lane, which was just as entertaining to watch as the thriller of a race.

The Daytona 500 has produced its share of underdog winners, with few bigger than 2011 champ Trevor Bayne. The upstart driver prevailed on NASCAR's grandest stage in just his second premier-series start, one day after his 20th birthday. The Daytona 500 victory, in a nerve-straining overtime finish, was the fifth for the venerable Wood Brothers Racing team, but its first in NASCAR's biggest race since 1976.

Dale Earnhardt was leading with two laps to go in in 1993, but future Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett battled him and a young Jeff Gordon to steal the victory from "The Intimidator." It marked the fourth occurrence of Senior leading in the final 10 laps without winning.

The first-ever running of the Daytona 500 in 1959 holds the record for longest time to settle the outcome, with Lee Petty declared the winner three days after the photo finish. Johnny Beauchamp was initially flagged as the winner, but Petty lodged a protest. A review of newsreel footage and photographs overturned the result. The unusual ending added a dash of controversy to an already monumental moment, the debut of the colossal Daytona International Speedway, by far the largest stock-car racing track of its day.

NASCAR's two leading drivers in terms of wins had perhaps their greatest battle in 1976 in arguably the most iconic finish in the sport's history. Battling hard on the final lap, Richard Petty made contact with David Pearson, sending both drivers spinning but handing the win to his silver-haired rival.

Bobby Allison beat Father Time to win the 1988 Daytona 500, becoming the event's oldest winner at age 50 -- a record that still stands. But the NASCAR Hall of Famer also had to outrun a challenger from his own family, edging his son, Davey, for a sentimental 1-2 finish and his third Daytona 500 victory.

A transformative moment in motorsports history where all the cosmic powers aligned. With much of the East Coast under a blanket of snow in 1979, a captive audience watched the first flag-to-flag broadcast of a NASCAR event. The historic nature of the event delivered, with Cale Yarborough feuding with Bobby and Donnie Allison after a calamitous last-lap crash and Richard Petty regaining his Daytona 500 crown. The fight added a captivating extra layer of drama that stole the national headlines and helped cement the prestige of the "Great American Race."

Following Brad Keselowski's emotional departure from the Team Penske No. 2 ride, Austin Cindric strapped in and won the 2022 Daytona 500 in his first start as a NASCAR Cup Series full-timer. Cindric's monumental win at the age of 23 years old made him the second youngest driver to ever capture the checkered flag in the Daytona 500.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. outdueled the field to win the 65th annual Daytona 500 in NASCAR's 75th anniversary season. The race is the longest Daytona 500 to date in terms of distance at 530 miles. Brad Daugherty became the first Black team owner to win the "Great American Race," while Jodi Geschickter became the second woman to win the Daytona 500 as a team owner.

While William Byron followed it up a year later by joining an exclusive club of back-to-back Daytona 500 winners, the No. 24 driver's 2024 Daytona 500 win is the one that will define Byron’s early legacy — the moment he crossed from "really good with a high ceiling" to "franchise cornerstone." The 2025 victory was arguably more impressive from a competitive standpoint, but is more confirmation than revelation. One made him. The other proved it wasn’t a fluke.