Best Finish Ever
Wind Tunnel Question of the Week
Category:Auto Racing

Sam Hornish Jr.’s pass of Marco at Indy. After Sam lost momentum trying to pass Marco on lap 199 he caught up with him between turns 3 and 4 and passed him at the finish line. He also had to pass Michael to get to Marco.
It doesn’t get ant better than that.

Shooter

October, 2000 at Talladega when Dale Earnhardt came from 18th with two laps to go and won it!

Joe Nelson

The best racing finish I have ever seen was the 2003 Darlington race with race winner Ricky Craven, by inches, and Kurt Busch. They were beating and banging all the way down the front stretch. Neither would concede for the victory on the final lap. What a great job of not taking each other out of the race and fighting for the almighty win! It was truly exciting!!

Thank you, June Toledo, OH

The 200th win of Richard Petty over Cale and Cale driving down pit road instead of crossing the finish line in second place. I guess you could call it an Earnhardt, Jr. moment in this day and age.

Willard Wiliams

It’s got to be the 79 Daytona 500.

Historically, the 66 Le Mans race is unforgettable. USA took on and beat the world.

Personally though I watched Dale Earnhardt win the 1990 PIR race. We sat in turn 1 at the top of the grandstand, with Grandma & Pa. Walking out of the race, we bumped into Dale and Teresa on the their way up the sponsors suite. It was unforgettable.

Gary

The end of the ‘82 Indy 500, with Rick Mears and Gordon Johncock nose to tail, with the massive crowd cheering them on wildly, like a giant wave as they passed by, lap after lap that was loud enough to drown out the race-cars noise. I was beside victory lane, and could just seem them flash by, but, I felt as well as heard the noise of the crowd all around the Speedway. It still gives me goosebumps.

Rick Moris
The Indy 500 in 1992.. Al Unser Jr. over Scott Goodyear. Goodyear chased Little Al down over 6 laps,but didnt have enough at the stripe, what a great finish and one of the closest.

Derrick

2008 Sharpie 500 when Carl takes Kyle out!! Priceless, fans were on their feet cheering for Carl. I loved it!! Go #99

Deb Kelter

What has to be the best finish I’ve ever seen? No question. Last year’s GP of Brazil, last corner of the last lap of the last race of the season. All Lewis Hamilton has to di is finish fifth to win the driver’s title. He does due to an incident in the last corner of the last lap - and by one point.

James Brooks

Last week at Phoenix because it was great to see my favorite, Mark Martin win. I also picked 1-4 finishers correctly on the SPEED TV boards.

Hammer

New Hampshire CART race 1993. Watching the reigning world champion Nigel Mansell get schooled by former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi and young lion Paul Tracy.
Then he quickly digested those lessons and re-passed them both to win the best oval race I’ve ever seen. Even my stick and ball family and friends were sitting up and taking notice of American Open Wheel racing back then.

Snortin Moron

1993 Winston All-Star Race
I was at the race that year and had conceded on Mark Martin winning, to the point when Terry Labonte blew up with two laps to go I headed for the restroom. Watching from the stairs outside the restroom I witnessed The Man in Black do what he did so often, convince me that he was the best!!

#3 Forever
Dan Clay

It had to be when Jeff Gordon beat Jeff Burton in Darlington for the Winston million. Why - because Burton was running Gordon down and on the very last lap after taking the white flag, Burton dove to the inside down the front stretch and Gordon took him down to the wall. This killed Burtons momentum and he couldn’t make up the lost time in 3/4 of a lap. What made it even more special was that Jeff was the only other driver than Bill Elliot to win the “true” Winston million - for winning 3 of the 4 “BIG” races - Daytona 500, World 600, Talladega 500, and Darlington Southern 500.

GORDON RULES !!!

Lowdog

Best racing finish ever, Ricky Craven & Kurt Busch @ Darlington. For the final 2 laps they tried like hell to wreck each other to get the lead. Then ended up finishing milliseconds apart at the finish line.

Jason

The Daytona 500 with the wreck between Petty and Pearson in 1975. I was working in the pits for Richard and we knew it would happen before the wreck. Dale had told me to go to the Wood Brothers pits and tell them they had better not crash us. It was too late! By the time I got to Glenn, it had happened. Greatest finish in history! Never forgotten…
Wayne Finley
Greenville, SC

I believe the best finish I ever saw was Ricky Craven vs. Kurt Busch at the
2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Speedway. What a finish, I believe the will to win played such a huge factor in the outcome of the final laps in that tremendous battle to the checkered flag!

Tim

1974 SCCA Runoffs Road Atlanta. Lee Mueller and Bob Tullius in 2 factory Jags and Bill Jobe in a Corvette. One of the Jags punted Jobe off in the 1st turn 1st lap & he came back on course far behind. He just put his head down and drove the wheels off. Caught Mueller around half distance and Mueller crashed trying to out-brake him in turn 1. He caught and passed Tullius on the last lap. Greatest race & finish I have ever seen.
Runner up finish- 1970 Sebring. Andretti’s car broke and in the last hour or so he took over a team car and ran the Porsche (Revson and McQueen) down. I was working the pits with the Firestone engineers and we were not sure who won for a bit. There wasn’t much lighting in those days on the pit straight.
John Clark

1975 Indy Mile. Kenny Roberts pulls out a TZ750 Dirt Tracker for the first time to race against the Harleys and uses the hay bales for traction on a last lap pass to win the race. After that race AMA outlaws the bike from dirt track events.

Doc Brown

2003 Darlington,Kurt Busch vs Ricky Craven,this was the best finish I have ever seen. If we had more finishes like this, everyone would be a fan.

B. Blakemore

The finish of the 1982 Indianapolis 500, in which Gordon Johncock held off a late race charge by Rick Mears, was the best racing finish I have ever seen.
It took place long before the major series became “spec” series, which has accustomed us to so many close finishes in recent years. At the time, it was the closest ever finish in the world’s biggest race and it took place between two of the biggest names in the sport. Mears had a much faster car for the final stage of the race, but Johncock drove the wheels off a poorly handling car to hold him off just long enough to win the race. It was a battle that went on for a number of laps, in cars that didn’t look exactly alike, in an era when split second finishes weren’t nearly so common as they are today.

Bill Winslow

Why? The shoe was on the other foot. The time Jeremy Mayfield went on to win a race at Pocono right after Mayfield “rattled Dale Sr’s cage” coming out of turn four on the last lap!

Gene Monroe

1967 USGP at Watkins Glen. Jim Clark had a big lead with a few laps to go and the right rear suspension on his Lotus 49 started collapsing. Clark slowed drastically. Graham Hill, his teammate, in 2nd turned up the heat and closed rapidly. it was awesome. Hill was wringing the last ounce of speed out of his Lotus, Clark was wringing the last ounce of structural integrity out of his. Clark finally crossed the line just ahead of Hill with about 40 degrees of camber in the right rear wheel.
It was the best racing finish I ever saw because it involved two of the best drivers anybody ever saw in one of the best F1 cars ever.

Jim Malloy

The best racing finish i have ever seen would have to be the daytona 500 dale sr won simply because that race completed his legacy. Nearly all nascar fans was one their feet cheering for him and the huge wall of pit crews to congratulate him for finally winning the elusive daytona 500 was a pleasure to watch.

Chris Patterson

2002 season at a little 1/4 mile bullring naed Texas Thunder Speedway Killeen, Tx. P.J Egbert and Keith White racing the last 10-15 laps side by side one lap high the next lap they swapped and at the finish line........
Dead Heat/Tie.

Nathan

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THE BEST FINISH I HAVE EVER SEEN WAS THE INDY 500 IN 2006 MARCO ANDRETTI CAME PAST ME IN THE SHORT CHUTE BETWEEN 1 AND 2 WITH A DECENT LEAD ON THE LAST LAP I THOUGHT THIS WILL BE COOL TO SEE THE YOUNGEST WINNER EVER BUT WE ALL KNOW HOW IT FINISHED WHEN SAM HORNISH CAME PAST AHEAD OF MARCO ON THE COOL DOWN LAP I ALMOST CHOKED ON MY BEER MICHAEL ANDRETTI WAS IN CONTENTION LATE ALSO BUT PENSKE WON AGAIN. MY HONORABLE MENTION WOULD GO TO DANICA PATRICK AND DAN WHELDON IN 2005 THAT WAS EXCITING TO SEE HER LEAD THE RACE LATE.

KEN LASH,MIDLOTHIAN, IL

In late summer of 1972, an ongoing four year battle for the USAC sprint car championship between Larry Dickson and Gary Bettenhausen reached an unforgettable climax on the high banks at Winchester Speedway. On that long-ago afternoon, Bettenhausen jumped into a sprinter he had never driven before, started last in the final 50 lap feature of the day, and proceeded to blast into third place as the white flag flew. Then...somehow...he managed to edge by the two leaders to take the win in a photo finish.
All these years later, it’s still hard to believe it really happened.

John Atlas

Dave, a couple of the closet finishes in open wheel or stock car racing history involve two racers from Bakersfield Ca. Guess who? Rick Mears& Kevin Harvick. Must be the water! Great show.

Timmy Moore

Kurt Busch vs. Ricky Craven at Darlington!

It wasn’t just the finish that was great, it was the last 10 lap battle, back and forth passing til the best finish ever, beatin and bangin all the way off of turn 4 to the finish line!!! That’s great racing!!!!!

Brian Cowart

‘98 Daytona 500. Nothing can match the emotion of that day. There has been close races, crash finishes, but nothing comes close to the pure emotion that poured out that day. Not just for Dale fans and crew, but for the Nascar Nation. No other race finish has resulted in so many tears of joy as that one did.

Cheers.

Chris.

Edmonton, Alberta.
(Canada, for those that don’t know)

Andretti and Montoya at MIS, Busch and Craven at Darlington and Gilles and Arnoux at Dijon. Even though these are all very different disciplines, they are all very similar in that you have two protagonists who have an extraordinary drive to be in front of the other guy. For a moment, it is almost like the Laws of Physics are suspended…

Don Hopings

The 1981 Dogwood 500 at Martinsville. Why? My dad was a Richie Evans fan, I rooted for Geoff (not Geoffrey). We argued all the way home to Castleton, NY. I miss my dad.

Carey Ryan

I still remember the finish of the NASCAR trucks at Daytona some years ago, with 3 trucks crossing the line almost simultaneously, and Rick Crawford (I think) winning the race. It reminded me of the finish of the first Daytona 500 which couldn’t be decided until the film had been developed. To me, that’s what racing looks like.

Gulf Porsche

dale sr. win at ‘daga with herman in tow

Jim Coffey

Pretty much any NHRA Pro Stock race qualifies as a “best racing finish ever”. Races are often won by inches and the start is everything.

Frank Piambino

1996 Champ Car at Laguna Seca Zanardi “the pass” at the corkscrew over Herta on the final lap for the win.

D. Stark

The 1989 Indy 500 by far! Non-spec racecars, drama, wheel to wheel racing, fierce competition and sportsmanship. All of the necessary ingredients for a classic.

Tom Anderson

Benny Solis edged out Leandro Mercado by the smallest of margins to win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.You have kids who ride better then most adults leanning on each other with not fenders!! AND its motorcycles!!!!!!

Patrick Moorman

Toss-up: Indy 92 and Indy 06.
No matter how many times I see it, I think Scott Goodyear is going to nip Little Al at the line. And no matter how many times I see it, I think Marco is going to hold Sam Hornish off!

Ivan Beckles

Without a doubt it was the 1979 French Grand Prix featuring Rene Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve. Five overtaking maneuvers in the space of one lap, wheel banging in F1 cars at every turn, drivers fighting for every inch of the road, and this was for SECOND PLACE!

David Lessmann

The best finish I’ve ever seen is anything that makes you think how the hell did that happen, whether it’s in your favor or not. Last year’s F1 finale in Brazil comes to mind as an example, I’m a red car fan.

Mike in Grand Rapids, MI

The 2006 Indy 500 and Sam Hornish Jr’s. sprint to the finish. Weldon and Kanaan tried to bottle him up in turn four on the restart, but he blew by them and then he passed two Andretti’s in the last five laps -it doesn’t get much better than that !!!

Bill in Indy

The finish in the Darlington race between Ricky Craven & Kurt Bush by far is the best I’ve seen on TV.
Now live at the local dirt tracks is another story. There I’ve seen too many to keep track of. Off the last corner, sideways, dirt flyin’ and having to jump up as the cars cross under the flag side by side not knowing who won is the greatest thing there is. Be it Sprint cars or Modifieds or Super Stocks, dirt finishes are the best!!!!

Mark Taylor

The best racing finish I’ve ever seen was the Fall 2000 Cup race at Talladega, when the entire field crossed the finish line 3-4 wide in a span of about 3 seconds.

Bob & Ann Marie Kleiber
Middlesex, NJ

Any race that Jeff Gordon and Dale SR. finished 1st and 2nd. What battles they had!! Also because they were great friends, that made it even better!

Jim Dagley

Let me take you back to 2002, when the IRL was still in line with TG’s VISION...imagine an upstart kid from northwest Ohio who even the CART snobs thought could be the real deal...imagine a Penske racing juggernaut that left CART a year early with its Brazilian dream team to lead the shift of power to the IRL.  Sam Hornish and Helio go toe to toe all year for the series crown and it all comes down to 30 laps at Texas in the series finale.

30 laps...speeds over 215 MPH...front wheels touch several times...championship on the line...and what do you know...the American kid in the single car of an IRL-only team takes the win and the championship (oh yeah...by .0096 seconds). 

Now that’s a finish.

Clint Costa
Chicago, IL

Where do I begin? Basically most IRL races. But if we are talking NASCAR, 1992. Alanta Hooters 500. Five drivers could win it. Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, Bill Elliott, Harry Gant, and Kyle Petty. Us old school folks remember what happened. It also brought the end of the King (last race) and the begining of a new era, more or less.

Shae

When Dale sr. wrecked Terry Labonte & Terry drove his car into Victory Lane all steaming & tore up.I liked watching Dale sr. race but I liked it more to see someone beat him At his own game, you know what game that was.
Crashing people to WIN! He didn’t like it when he lost at his own tactics.

Jeffery Holder

It’s definitely Danica Patrick leading Dan Wheldon at the 500. My seat was between Turn 1 and pit exit. You could hear the crowd roaring from Turn 4 as they turned on to the straightaway. That’s a mile away, friend.

Janis Vitolins

The 2002 World “100” when Brian Birkhofer made a last lap pass for the win beating Scott Bloomquist by about 3 feet!

Dan Wemett

Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven at Darlington!
Josh Sorick

I just finished watching the last two rounds of the ‘06 MotoGP Championship. Pedrosa takes out Nicky with a
more than ‘optimistic’ maneuver about 4 laps into the Estoril round. Leaving a 4 bike swarm of Rossi, Edwards, KRJR and as Vale called him, the “Devil” Tony Elias. Tony’s backing in the bike to all of the corners looking like he’ll never keep it on the black stuff. Rossi could let him go but ‘decided to play the game’ and races Tony for the win.

Meanwhile KRJR played it smart keeping the other three just in sight makes his move with 2 to go, thinking there was one to go by missing his pit board. Final lap KRJR fades to third Rossi has Elias seemingly beat but Tony gets a head of steam coming out of the long, long right hander leading to the stripe and beats Valentino Rossi by .002 of a second! Giving everyone in the house a thrilling race and Nicky a shot at the title again at the last round in Valencia.

Nicky showed his guts and mettle in that last round in Valencia. Getting a fantastic start he even gave Vale a
little bump on the way by saying “I won’t be intimidated today!” He pushed when he needed to, took the fight to Rossi and when the chips were down, Nicky was the one who stayed rubber side down. Hayden’s grace in victory and
determination that season have made me a Nicky fan for life!

Cheers,
Alex
Elk Grove Village, IL

That answer is quiet simple Dave. The 2007 Daytona 500 was the best racing finish I ever seen. Why? I had everything! A photo finish, a big crash, and a car coming across the finish line on its roof on fire. You can’t beat that.

John

The best finish to me is Jim Clark’s victory in the 1967 US Grand Prix. It was the first F1 race I saw in person, and I couldn’t believe what I saw.
With two laps to go, the right rear suspension of his Lotus 49 broke, tilting the wheel in at about a 30 degree angle to vertical. Somehow he managed to not only keep going, but pretty much keep pace and finish ahead of his team mate Graham Hill. Spectacular car control.

Rob Graham

Indy Mile, 1977 or 78. The race is red flagged after 23 laps with Jay Springsteen having a slight lead. The race could be called complete but the riders say they want to finish the full race for the fans. Springsteen wins by a whisker and a blanket could cover the top three bikes.

Hdbadger

There are 2 best finishes for me.
Manzanita Speedway 1978 Sprint Cars. Lealand McSpadden has about a 1/3 or more lap lead half way through but you can see a red hot brake rotor. Buddy Taylor begins to catch him in the late stages. Last lap they come off turn 4 side by side Taylor won by maybe 3 feet. It’s was Buddy’s last win at Manzy.
(We lost him a month later) Track announcer Windy McDonald said “Brother if you don’t like this don’t bother coming back it doesn’t get any better” I repeated that quote to my son at the 2006 Indianapolis 500

David Iles
Phoenix, AZ

The best race that I have ever seen was the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix between Giancarlo Fisichella and Kimi Raikkonen. As a Kimi fan, that has to be the highlight of his career besides the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix where he won the world championship. Kimi started at Suzuka in 17th place, which along with his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya was the worst starting position for the McLaren team for a long time. Kimi slowly picked his way through the field, passing drivers such as the great Michael Schumacher. By the last 15 laps he was in second place and was catching Giancarlo at more than 1 second per lap. He then caught him and passed him on the last lap of the race, taking his 9th career win. Another great thing about this win was that Kimi had just lost the championship to Alonso the race before, and proved in Japan that he was still committed to winning, which most people doubt him for.

Rob

Mt. Clemens (MI) Race Track, late 1970’s. Joy Fair and John Anderson raced side by side for the last 20 laps of a 50 lapper. Anderson won by about 2 feet. Two legends of Michigan short track racing on a track that I spent a lot of my growing up years at but no longer exists. The good old days were never better than that.

Dale Straughen
Lowell, IN

1966 U.S. Grand Prix

Jim Clark won this race in a Lotus 43 using a borrowed BRM H16 engin. It was the only win for the H16 and I seem to remember that Clark’s Lotus had a broken rear suspension when he crossed the finish line.
This was my first Grand Prix and in many ways one of the best races ever at The Glen.

Allyn Wagner

Kenny Roberts at the 1975 Indy mile! Why, I do not think drivers or riders are willing to try so hard or take the risk of trying something so different.

Yancey Farris Jackson, MS

Best racing finish I have ever seen happened in the biggest race of the year. The 2002 World 100 at Eldora Speedway - the slide job heard ‘round the world! An up and coming Brian Birkhofer started 15th, ran down and then passed one of the best ever, Scott Bloomquist, with a final lap, turn four slide job that no one in attendance will ever forget!

Ryan

1992 Indianapolis 500.Al Unser Junior wins over Scott Goodyear by 43/1000th of a second. Goodyear started 33rd and ALMOST took the checkers. Poor Roberto Guerrero crashed from the pole on the Parade Lap on cold tires. 13 cars were eliminated in accidents. Michael Andretti led 160 of the 200 laps.

Gregg Leary

1992 Indy 500, with Little Al edging Scott Goodyear by 0.042 seconds. What was considered the biggest race in the world, a very cold and windy day.
There were 14 cautions, you had to beat the elements and try to survive the day.
Nobody gave Galles-Kraco Racing a chance, Little Al in the new Galmer drove a typical Unser race, be there at the end.

David Blakeman

The best racing finish I have ever seen is always the same one; it’s the LAST one that I have seen at my local track, because there just isn’t any better racing to be found than at your own local racing venue.

(PS; My current local track happens to be “the other” Devils Bowl in Fair Haven, Vermont )

Ron Antini

The best finish I have ever seen was a World of Outlaws Sprint car race at the now closed San Jose Fairgrounds Speedway. Winner, I don’ remember who, and 2nd side by side at checkered and 3rd was 1/2 car back.

Ron Lollar Jr.

Head to head racing would have to be Jaime Melo vs. Jorg Bergmeister in the final corner of the final lap of the 2007 12 hours of Sebring.

For sheer emotion it’s Felipe Massa winning the GP of Brazil, being world champion for those precious seconds only to see it slip through his hands.

As a Brazilian and Felipe Massa fan, I’ve never felt such excitement and excruciating disappointment in the very same minute.

Jonatas

Danny Sullivan’s 360 degree spin at the Brickyard and then going on to win the Indy 500.
I do not remember the year but it was a heck of a finish. (1985)

Gary R. Burns

Dave, there are MANY candidates for the best finish ever, but I must say the Andretti-Montoya battle in the final laps of the 2000 Michigan 500 are simply breathtaking when you consider they were fractions of an inch away at speeds well over 230mph.  It’s must-see TV!  And this is coming from a someone who’s not much of an oval fan.

Regards,

Benjamin Quinby
Eugene, OR

It was an AMA Junior short track race at the Houston Astrodome in the mid 1970’s. Terry Poovey and Larry Beale, Jr. literally changed the lead twice a lap for 25 laps with Poovey coming out on top by half a wheel at the checkered. I’ve never seen a better finish or a better race in any form of racing.

Cotton
Bronte, Texas

2008 SCCA Runoffs GT1 class race - Even after looking at three different shots of it, you STILL couldn’t see who won. Thank God for electronic scoring.

-D-Boy, Ashtabula, OH
Best finish ever? The 1960 Indianapolis 500. As a 12 year old, I sat in Turn
1 and watched Rodger Ward and Jim Rathman swap the lead at least a half dozen times during the last twenty laps. I had Ward’s name in a pool for 33 bucks...big money for a kid back then. Sadly, he had to settle for second with the cord showing through on his tires. I cried like Susan all the way home.

Tom Paligraf
Plantation, Fl

The best finish ever was Earnhardt’s last win in the fall of 2000 at Talladega. He came to win it from 18 in three laps. No other driver could ever do that again. If you weren’t a NASCAR fan before you became one that very day!

Jaydenmaher

I watch ALL motor sports! but, I think one of the best finishes was when Tony Schumacher had to set a national record AND win the final round to win the championship, which he DID! That was 2007 or 2008 (I’m old and my memory is a little fuzzy so, i hope I’m remembering this correctly).

mike in sahuarita,az.

The most exciting race finish I’ve ever seen was the 1982 Indianapolis 500.
The race started with a crash taking out contender Mario Andretti. The lead went back and forth between Gordon Johncock, Tom Sneva, and Rick Mears. The last pit stops were under green and pit strategy was the key to getting Johncock out front and the excitement built as Mears was running down the blue and red STP Wildcat. Mears pulled along side as they passed under the white flag and Johncock held him off going into turn one. Coming off turn 4 on the last lap you could see Mears gaining and he just ran out of time.

What a great race!

Joel
Avon, Indiana

DAVE YOU WILL HAVE TO FILL IN THE BLANKS BUT THE BEST FINISH EVER WAS ON THE MILE AT SPRIGFIELD,IL IN THE 60 S I THINK BERT LAWELL WON BY A 1/2 BIKE LENGHT AT THE FLAG AFTER NEVER LEADING.THE RACE WENT WIRE TO WIRE,NOBODY FELL IT WAS FANTASTIC.

STEVE CONES
EVANSVILLE,IN
I have another Springfield Mile finish.  Picture this, Labor Day weekend in 2000, triple-header weekend (short track, Hall of Fame Race, Sunday Mile race.) Nicky Hayden wins the Short Track, the Late Will Davis wins his first mile national, then on Sunday Scott Parker decides to end the weekend with a bang.

Scott, retired from full time racing for the Harley Davidson team, gets on his trusty old steed tuned by Bill Werner.  He races like the Scott Parker of yesteryear, with a monster run down the back stretch passes and holds off his teammate Rich King to win his 94th and final AMA Grand National Flat Track race.  Scotty being the consummate showman that he is, gives a fan out of the crowd a checkered flag victory lap and gives another fan his winning trophy.

I have seen many a race at the Illinois Mile facility, but that Labor Day weekend in 2000 stands out the most as the best racing finish in my eyes…

Brent Pierce
Lima, OH

F1, Dijon France, 1979 french grand prix.
youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3tXJm9tYGM&feature=related

The drama begins in the last 5 laps. Renault in 1st. Ferrari in 2nd.
Renault in 3rd, and closing fast on the ferrari. Between a flat-12 Ferrari (gilles villenuve)and a turbo v6 Renault (rene’ arnoux). Arnoux passes for 2nd to make it a renault 1-2 IN FRANCE! But Villenuve would have nothing of it! He fights right to the furious last lap of amazing close racing. For second place. That’s the pure excitement we should be seeing. shifting, out braking, turning left and right. Full driving ability on display at the limit. They evevn bang wheels. It looked like Villenuve was ready to throw everything away just for a 2nd place finish.

There’s been close finishes and last lap heroics. But I have yet to see sustained heroics over 3 laps of maximum effort using every single driving ability possible and both drivers finishing without one of them crashing out.

That’s why this is the best finish ever.

Rob P.

Carl Edwards at Kansas City in 08

Sandy Swartz

Dave
The best finish I ever saw (live I assume) was at Eldora Speedway at the World
100 in 2002 when Brian Birkhofer passed Scott Bloomquist on the last lap. Its
better known as “The Pass Heard Around The World”. The pass made Birky an instant
overnight success and Bloomer went on to say the mistook the white flag for the
checkers. Maybe it was the second flagman on the Grassy Knoll?
Ron
Peru IL

Dave:  I do wonder how many others feel this way.

I can’t top your story about the finale in Springfield.

Tom D.
Lapeer, MI

Go Fairfield!  (My Dad bought an Olds there once.)

Hands down the best finish ever seen is the dicing between the Risi Ferrari and the Flying Lizards Porsche at the 2008 12 hours of Sebring race.  Even though I’m still upset the Lizards didn’t win, it was the best finish of all time.

Matt Chamblin
Red Bluff, CA

Dave,

There’s only one: 1979, Villeneuve vs. Arnoux – the two greatest laps ever run in any form of motorsport...!

Ron Hasid
Montreal West, QC

I believe Dale Jr’s 2001 Daytona July race was finish of all time… (I cried like a baby)… Randy from Long Island.

What has to be the best finish ever was the last lap of Sebring in 2007 with the Porsche of Jorg Bergmeister and the Ferrari of Jaimie Melo having a knock-down, drag-out, bare knuckles fight for win.

Larry Gilbert
Waycross, GA

Dave
The
best finish was the 2007 Daytona 500 when Kevin Harvick beat Mark Martin by inches, and then Clint Bowyer flipped over and caught on fire!! I was there, and we could feel the heat of Bowyer’s car! EVERYONE AROUND US WERE SPEECHLESS!!!

-Brendan
Daytona Beach, FL

Dave,

I have two, and for different reasons.

1. The 2006 Indy 500. Hornish coming through traffic to run down Marco Andretti and then the slingshot pass on the front straight...for a couple of Sam Fans....awesome.

2. 2000 Japanese GP, Ferrari wins their first driver’s championship since 1979. I was up well into the early hours of the morning to see that race and I was jumping up & down at the finish.

Kemort

Busch and Craven at Darlington:
Watching those two go at on the last laps….new tires vs old was an incredible display of skill and guts.

Dan Goff
Huntsville, AL

One that I will never forget it is 2001 Indy cars @ Michigan.
It was a 20 lap shoot out, Thomas Scheckter started 11 and won.
I stood up with my jaw on the bleachers the whole time.

Steve

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