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If there is one thing NASCAR fans celebrate, it’s the iconic moments. The Hail Melon, Cale Yarborough vs. Donny Allison, and others live on in NASCAR legend that fans of all eras can enjoy. No moment is more celebrated, however, than a win. The sport is filled with iconic ones that live on forever. But which wins are the greatest? Which ones stand out amongst the rest? We’re going to dive into the top five greatest NASCAR wins of all time!
2003 was a critical year for Pontiac and the Darlington Raceway. The manufacturer had just lost Joe Gibbs Racing to Chevrolet and was beginning its final season in the Winston Cup Series. They had yet to win a race and were looking for a spark in a lame-duck season. As for Darlington, it was facing uncertainty. With the sport expanding to new markets, the track was rumored to be on the chopping block for the 2004 NASCAR schedule. Going into the fifth race of the season, Darlington needed a big race to continue its place on the schedule.
That’s what made Ricky Craven’s win so important not only for the driver, who won his second and final Cup Series race, but for everything surrounding it. His win over Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 97 Ford, was the closest finish in Cup Series history at the time (0.002 seconds). It put Darlington back on the map as a can’t-miss track that fans looked forward to every race. Craven winning the race put Pontiac back in victory lane for the final time and made the driver of the No. 32 a household name amongst NASCAR fans. A powerful moment for the sport and a win that deserves to kick off this list.
The 1994 Brickyard 400 was the first year of the famed race. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway would host a NASCAR race for the first time in history. Fans filled the grandstands, and more than 80 cars attempted to qualify for the event. A race this big needed a big-time driver to win to solidify it as a crown jewel race. That’s exactly what the race got when sophomore driver Jeff Gordon crossed the yard of bricks for the inaugural win.
The story wrote itself for Gordon’s second career win. The driver raised in Indiana dreamed of becoming an IndyCar driver, coming to the Brickyard and beating juggernauts like Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Terry Labonte. Gordon won the Coca-Cola 600 earlier in the season, but this win put the driver of the No. 24 on the map for the whole world to see. It helped launch the Brickyard 400 as NASCAR’s newest crown jewel and began the legend that was Jeff Gordon.
If there is one word to describe the 1984 Firecracker 400, it’s “historic.” Two things make this race stand out from the rest: President Ronald Reagan’s role and Richard Petty’s winning his 200th career Cup Series race. The King was in the later stages of his career but was only one win away from the historic 200 mark. On top of that, the president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, would give the starting command from Air Force One. The stage was set for an iconic moment in NASCAR history.
It felt as if Petty was meant to win this race. The president attended the track where Petty won a record seven Daytona 500s. Who else would win this race? The iconic shot of Air Force One landing behind the track and Reagan in victory lane with The King. It’s Petty’s most iconic win and one of the most iconic wins in NASCAR history.
As the sport returned to Daytona for the Pepsi 400, all eyes were on Dale Earnhardt Jr. The sport returned to the track that took legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. just a few months ago. While Steve Park and Kevin Harvick’s wins helped the healing, everyone knew that seeing Jr. return to the track that took his father’s life would be the story to watch. Little did anyone know how Jr. turned a tragedy into a celebration by winning the July Daytona race.
Jr. dominated the night, leading over 100-plus laps. What made the win more remarkable was how he won. Restarting sixth, he picked off the leaders just like his father used to do at plate tracks to retake the lead. Adding icing on the cake was Michael Waltrip, who won at Daytona back in February, slotted in second, and pushed his teammate to the victory in front of over 100,000 people. This was the moment that showed not only that Jr. could move forward but also the sport. It’s a win no one will forget. But there’s only one race that could top the iconic 2001 win from one Earnhardt to another.
Dale vs. Daytona. A storyline that lasted for 20 years. Dale Earnhardt had won everything the sport had to offer. The seven-time champion, top-10 all-time in wins, and has a legacy that no driver has yet to match. But one thing alluded Big E for nearly his entire career: the Daytona 500. No matter how many laps or when he led, something would always go wrong and relegate him outside the P1 spot. That all changed in 1998 with the greatest win in NASCAR history.
There are so many things to say about this win. From Mike Joy’s iconic call in the broadcast booth to every crew member on pit road congratulating Earnhardt, it was a 20-year storyline that was capped off in celebration and triumph. Honestly, one and two on the list could be swapped. They’re both iconic for their reasons. But when fans think of Dale Earnhardt, not only do they think of the Man in Black, but they think of his triumph in the 1998 Daytona 500.
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