The list of NASCAR drivers who have three or more wins in the Daytona 500 is incredibly exclusive. Each of the five names on that list is a Hall of Famer: Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon. Every name on that list is a NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In February of 2005, Gordon added his name to that exclusive club.
Lost in the recent memory of Denny Hamlin’s 2016 photo finish with Martin Truex Jr. and Austin Dillon’s battle with Aric Almirola in 2018, the finish to the 2005 Daytona 500 is one of the best in the race’s history.
RELATED: 2005 Daytona 500 results | See every Daytona 500 winner
Names like Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch lined up along with Gordon with six laps to go, and the following laps put all fans on the edge of their seats. Four laps later, the caution would fly yet again setting up a green-white-checkered finish.
In the end, it would be Jeff Gordon holding off Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make history as the fifth driver ever with the title of three-time Daytona 500 champion.
Relive the 2005 Daytona 500 on NASCAR’s YouTube page in this classic full race replay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsq4za8C_xI