NASCAR Cup Series: Top 5 races to watch in 2020

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 17: William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

3. Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway
Race 1/36
Sunday, February 16 at 2:30 pm ET on FOX

This is a race that really needs no introduction, but we are going to give it one anyway.

The Great American Race. The Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing, held at the World Center of Racing.

There is no doubt that in its 61-year history, this is the most prestigious race in NASCAR.

From the inaugural photo finish between Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp that took three days to figure out (way before the advent of electronic timing and scoring for those watching since the 2010s), to the 1976 finish between Richard Petty and David Pearson, the top two winners in Cup Series history, to the first flag-to-flag Daytona 500 broadcasted on CBS in 1979 that featured Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison taking each other out while “The King” scored what would be his sixth Daytona 500 win, to the 1988 race featuring Bobby Allison beating son Davey for the win, to Dale Jarrett winning his first 500 in 1993 with father Ned calling his victory, to Dale Earnhardt winning in his 20th try in 1998, to Kevin Harvick going from fifth to first in a half a lap to beat Mark Martin in a photo finish while chaos ensued in 2007, to the first primetime Daytona 500 in 2012 on a Monday night that went into the early hours of Tuesday due to a freak jet dryer accident, this race is one of the best in not just all of NASCAR, but in all of motorsports.

As we come into 2020, this Daytona 500 will be the first with the new superspeedway package, which does not include a restrictor plate but will still provide a lot of pack racing to the checkered flag.

Could we see drivers such as Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. or Chase Elliott win their first Daytona 500? Can Jimmie Johnson get his third Harley J. Earl Trophy in what could be his final attempt, or will an underdog such as Matt DiBenedetto, Christopher Bell or Brendan Gaughan spoil the party like Trevor Bayne did in 2011?

What two races could top this one?

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