What has been the most exciting race you've ever seen?

Question

excluding Daytona 500's and the Ricky Craven/Kurt Busch Darlington race? (too easy)

Answer 1

last year's pepsi 400, with jamie mac and kyle busch fighting for the victory.  jamie won by the second smallest margin of victory since the current timing mechanisms have been employed (kurt and ricky craven have the smallest margin of victory).  

the storylines went beyond just the finish, however. kyle busch had won the busch race held earlier that morning (saturday race) which had been rain-delayed from the night before.  had he won, he would have been the first person to ever have won two majors (busch and cup) in THE SAME DAY.  

also, busch was on his way out from hms, and spent much of his post-race interview talking about how his days as being part of the hms team must be over, as gordon had a chance to help him (and johnson - they could have been three in a row coming to the line) and instead helped jamie mac.  and kurt ended up helping kyle to the line, before diving down and trying for the win himself.

in the end, jamie won, and in kyle's immediate post race interview, he was gracious and said he just tried side-drafting mcmurray a little too soon and got the "side-suck" too early, leaving time for jamie to come back and do the same to him, and win.

great race, great busch race earlier in the day, and great post-race interviews all around.

EDIT:  and, if i remember correctly, mcmurray had to fight his way all the way back from the back of the pack - he got a penalty for going beneath the yellow line i think. and he hadn't won a race since like the late 1930's ;-) and hasn't won one since.

Answer 2

Carl Edwards beating Jimmie Johnson at Atlanta sticks out in my mind but that is way behind Ricky and Kurt and the '07 Daytona 500. Any restrictor plate race has me on the edge of my seat.

Answer 3

Kevin Harvicks getting his first win by barley beating Jeff Gordon in the 2001,Cracker Barrel 500. Even though I am a Jeff Gordon fan, seeing Kevin Harvick honor Dale Earnhardt was very touching.

Answer 4

EDIT : d**n misread the question....

The race I thought was most exciting was when  Jeff Gordon won  at Talledega last year to tie Earnhardt Sr for all the races he'd won... That was really cool!

Answer 5

I really loved the 2001 Daytona 500, it was very excieting near the end...  Go Coors Light, oh wait, that wasn't for the win...

Answer 6

Well, darn it!  Can I still say the Ricky Craven/Kurt Busch Darlington race if I was actually there, sitting at the start/finish line about 10 rows up?????  

Awesome.  Best race I've ever seen.  And I don't even like either of those two drivers, lol

Answer 7

Hands down, 2000 Winston 500 at Talladega.

Dale Earnhardt came from about 18th place with 4 laps remaining to take the win. He was a No-Bull 5 contender and the win earned an extra $1,000,000 for him as well as the fan he was paired with, Richard Sturz.

Answer 8

Politic Freak took my answer LOL give him the 10!

I was pretty excited during the race Dale Jr won on July 7, 2001 the first time back to Daytona after his Dad got killed. The last few laps where he powered to the lead like a hot knife through butter were like magic.

Answer 9

2001 Pepsi 400.

Answer 10

1998 Daytona 500 Dale Sr finally gets the win.. Then the 2000 'dega race where Dale Sr came from 18th to 1st and won....I've got to many favorites..Last yrs Daytona 500 with Harvick and Martin was great also..

Go Dale Jr & Hms

Answer 11

For once Glory I'm tongue tied! There are quite a few, I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on if I can find where my dog Buster buried it.

Answer 12

Rockingham's last race in 2004 where Kasey Kahne came thisclose to his first win in only his 2nd start!

Answer 13

dang!  i had darlington in mind!!!lol

ok much as i dont miss a race, its always the plates that come down to it...all the others seem like pit strategy and fuel races

...mabey seeing kurt bush and robby gordon go at it  in the bush race at the glen couple years back last lap thro the bus stop!!!

Answer 14

The most exciting and the most emotional for me was spring race in Atlanta of 2001, Kevin Harvick beats Jeff Gordon by inches, the same way Dale Beat Bobby at the fall race in Atlanta of 2000.  

I will throw in also, Dale Jr winning the Dover race in 2001, the first race after 9/11.

Steve Park winning at Rockingham the race after Sr passed.

Dale Sr gets wrecked in the 49th running of the Daytona 500, car looks like h**l and he ask if the wheels are straight and if the car would crank up and he jumped back in the car and finished the race.

These are not exactly exciting to just everyone, but they are my most memorable.

Answer 15

1978 Dixie 500 in Atlanta.  Richard Petty took the checkered flag but was beaten to victory lane by Donnie Allison.  Allison's score keeper had him as the winner.  On the final restart after a caution, Petty restarted in the front of the top row (lead lap) and Allison restarted in the front of the bottom row (lapped cars).  Petty stated after the race that he let Allison go because he was not racing Allison for the win as he thought he was racing the guy directly behind him and so did the rest of the world.  It went back & forth for several hours.  My dad & I left the race track, drove home, & went to bed without knowing the official winner.  It was not until the next day after the scorers went over & over each lap that Allison was declared the winner.  Petty could have easily outrun Allison if he had known (along with the rest of the world) that's who he was racing.  I was a big Petty fan so of course I thought that Donnie Allison was a sneaky rascal.  But a win is a win & it's in the record books!

Answer 16

The one Ms. Earnhardt spoke of.....  Wasn't a big Petty Fan?

But what a mess that was !!

Answer 17

Can I state these two, even if I have never seen the one except for highlights?

Bill Elliott, coming from 2 laps down to win at Talladega in '85? I remember the official holding them in the pits making sure the tape on the car was on tight. (Kinda like putting wieghts on the race horse Phar Lap) After that Bill came out 2 laps down and came back under green to not only get his laps back but to win! Lets see someone do that in todays style of NASCAR!

The other would have to be Bobby and Davey Allison racing for the win at Daytona. Tha cagey ole veteran won but not by much. We might have seen the same from Earnhardt SR and Jr as well though we did some we will never know as Davey and Dale left too soon. But will never be forgotten even if the good ole days of running what you brung are gone forever.

Answer 18

2007 Coca Cola 600?