O.K., before I get into this list let me tell you where I got it from.
The original series was developed in the U.S. and is now available in many countries with books in the series being produced especially for that country, for example, I was given a free copy of ‘The 10 Most Inspiring Canadians”.
Anyway, one of the books was entitled “The 10 Most Unforgettable NASCAR Moments”.
So here is the list from that book;
10) Dale Earnhardt winning the Daytona 500 in 1998 ending ‘20 years of frustration’.
9) Closest Finish ever between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch at Darlington (2003 I believe). That was a good finish.
The 1976 Daytona 500 Finish where Pearson and Petty wreck coming out of the last turn and Petty stops just feet short of the finish line in his wrecked car unable to restart it while Pearson’s even more crippled car refires and he is able to limp across the finish line first.
7) The ‘Pass in the Grass’ during The Winston in May of 1987. Have you ever seen the footage of ‘the pass’? It really wasn’t a pass, Earnhardt never gave up the lead as Elliott backed off thinking Earnhardt was going to wreck but he didn’t and went on to win the race.
6) Sept 1, 1985: where Bill Elliott wins the Million dollar bonus offered that year to the driver who can win so many races at certain tracks during the course of the season.
5) May 16, 1992: the first all-star race held under the lights with Davey Allison wrecking hard just after he took the checkers for the win. He hit so hard that he missed the victory lane celebrations as he was taken to the hospital for observations.
4) Sept 6, 1965: Ned Jarrett wins at Darlington 14 whole laps ahead of second place.
3) May 6, 1984: Cale Yarborough wins the race with the most lead changes in a race. The record of 75 scored lead changes still holds today.
2) The Daytona 500 finish in 1979 where Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough wreck all the way down the backstretch into turn three and then get out of their cars and start beating on each other. Bobby Allison would then pull off the track and come to Donnie’s aid and go after Yarborough himself. All of this happened televised live on national television as this was the first Daytona 500 to be broadcast live on national TV.
1) Feb 18, 2001. The death of Dale Earnhardt in turn 4 of the last lap of the Daytona 500.
I would have to agree with almost all of these except I probably would have put Richard Petty’s 200th win at Daytona in front of the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan on the list instead of Dale Earnhardt’s one and only Dayton 500 victory.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m the biggest Earnhardt fan there is, but I think Petty’s 200th win, in front of the President no less, was more significant to the sport than Earnhardt’s Daytona 500 victory.
