There have been thousands of races run throughout the 77-year history of the NASCAR Cup Series, and the vast majority of them are largely forgotten but for mere statistics in the record books.
Some, however, will live in immortality. From the beaches of Daytona and backwoods North Carolina dirt tracks to the bright lights of metropolitan areas all arcoss the country, there's been no shortage of all-time classics.
Without further ado, here are the 10 greatest races in NASCAR Cup Series history. This list is based on both the racing quality and the historical significance of each event.
10. 2010 Aaron's 499 (Talladega Superspeedway)
Three overtimes. An all-time Cup Series record 88 lead changes. And a photo finish on a last-lap pass. What else can you ask for at Talladega Superspeedway?
This race had it all, with 29 different drivers leading at least one lap before the thrilling conclusion. Kevin Harvick set up Jamie McMurray with a picture-perfect move in the tri-oval coming to the checkered flag, winning by 11 thousandths of a second.
9. 2024 AdventHealth 400 (Kansas Speedway)
The closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, and it's unlikely to ever be topped. At first, it looked like this race was going to be a fuel mileage derby, with Denny Hamlin leading but Martin Truex Jr. charging hard. Then, Kyle Busch spun, setting up an overtime restart.
Chris Buescher took the lead, with Kyle Larson in hot pursuit. In turn four on the final lap, the driver of the No. 5 machine rocketed around the outside and made contact with his RFK Racing competitor multiple times coming to the line, winning by one thousandth of a second.
8. 2011 Ford 400 (Homestead-Miami Speedway)
Perhaps NASCAR's greatest championship battle of all-time. Carl Edwards was the model of consistency all year, but Tony Stewart was red hot, winning four of the first nine races in the Chase for the Cup. He entered the season finale only three points behind, setting up a duel for the ages.
It should be no surprise that the two of them ran first and second. Stewart overcame an early overheating issue, then charged to the front and took the lead with a thrilling three-wide pass on a late restart. He won the race and the title, beating Edwards in a tiebreaker as the Missouri native finished runner-up for the seventh time in 2011. Had any one of those results been a win, he'd have been the champion.
7. 1959 Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway)
The first Daytona 500 in Cup Series history was a memorable one. After 200 laps of a caution-free event, Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp ran door-to-door to the line in a finish that was too close to call.
Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, but three days later, photo evidence revealed that Petty had been ahead. It was the race that originated the term "photo finish".
6. 2001 Cracker Barrel 400 (Atlanta Motor Speedway)
NASCAR had never needed a healing moment more than after the events of the 2001 Daytona 500, when the iconic Dale Earnhardt was killed in an accident on the final lap. The following race, his team's driver Steve Park won at Rockingham Speedway, but it would pale in comparison to what happened three weeks later.
Kevin Harvick stepped into the Richard Childress Racing machine Earnhardt had occupied, with the number changed from No. 3 to No. 29 and the color scheme changed from black to white. He ran near the front all day at Atlanta Motor Speedway (now EchoPark Raceway), finding himself in a five-way battle for the win late. He outmuscled Jeff Gordon on the final lap, winning by six thousandths of a second in his third career Cup Series start.
5. 2005 Coca-Cola 600 (Lowe's Motor Speedway)
It was the longest race in Cup Series history, and it was worth staying up late for. After an all-time record 22 caution flags, Jimmie Johnson, who came from deep in the field in the late going, passed Bobby Labonte in turns three and four to win by half a car length at the line.
It was Johnson's third consecutive win in the crown jewel event, at the track for which his sponsor Lowe's owned the naming rights at the time. For Labonte, who had entered the race a dismal 31st in points, he was denied what would have been his final career win.
4. 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 (Darlington Raceway)
For many years, this was the closest finish in Cup Series history. Still, there's a case it was the most naturally exciting. It wasn't a result of an overtime restart or at a track with artificial pack racing; it was at one of NASCAR's toughest circuits, and it featured two relentless competitors on the absolute edge of control at the end of a long tire run.
Kurt Busch made a three-wide pass on Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler in the closing laps at Darlington Raceway and appeared to be driving away from the field. But Ricky Craven had done a better job of conserving his tires, and he caught up with a few laps to go. They found themselves bouncing off of each other as they came to the line, with Craven's Tide machine earning the win by the length of his Pontiac's elongated nose.
3. 1979 Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway)
The race that put NASCAR on the map. A major snowstorm had trapped most of the East Coast indoors, and CBS happened to be broadcasting flag-to-flag coverage of the Great American Race. It was worth the watch.
Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison battled for the win on the final lap, slamming into each other several times on the backstretch before they both hit the wall and crashed. Richard Petty took the checkered flag, but all of the attention was on the massive post-race brawl between the two bitter losers. NASCAR gained more fans that day than perhaps any other in series history.
2. 1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta Motor Speedway)
Historically speaking, this was the most significant NASCAR race of all-time. It was the final career start for one legend in Richard Petty, and the first for another in Jeff Gordon. More than that, it was one of the most exciting championship battles in Cup Series history, with no fewer than six drivers entering the day with a mathematical chance to win.
Davey Allison was the points leader, but he got taken out in an accident early on. That left Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott to duke it out among themselves, and though the latter won the race, the former won the title for his "Underbird" independent race team by 10 markers.
The difference ultimately boiled down to the five extra points awarded for leading the most laps. Kulwicki led 103, and Elliott led 102.
1. 2007 Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway)
Kevin Harvick certainly had a knack for winning all-time thrillers. The 2007 Daytona 500 is the final of three entries on the list that he took home by fractions of a second, and this race was the definition of pure cinema. Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart were the story of the first three-fourths of the action, the former dominating while the latter put on a show driving through the entire field following a pit road penalty. Then, they crashed.
All bets were off now. The final 50 laps were some of the most increasingly suspenseful you'll ever watch, all while the sun setting over Central Florida provided the perfect backdrop to an unforgettable climax. It ended with Harvick coming from seventh to first in the final two-lap run to edge out Mark Martin while calamity ensued behind them. Clint Bowyer finished the race upside-down and on fire in the 18th position.
When you think about quintessential NASCAR, you think about the 2007 Daytona 500. On a week that began with 61 drivers entered in the sport's biggest event, it encapsulated everything magical about an era in which both the Cup Series' popularity and its competition were at their all-time peak.
Honorable mentions: 2001 Pepsi 400 (Daytona), 1976 Daytona 500 (Daytona), 2023 Grant Park 220 (Chicago Street Course), 2012 Finger Lakes 335 at the Glen (Watkins Glen International), 2022 Xfinity 500 (Martinsville Speedway)