Last Lap: Instant classics
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
October 10, 2006
10:42 PM EDT (02:42 GMT)




As Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. slid wildly down the Talladega Superspeedway backstretch apron Sunday evening, dust and fury billowing from a 197 mph collision, utterly bewildered by what was happening to them, a quarter-million attendees and millions of television viewers whispering would-be screams of "Holy... Did that really just happen?" Brian Vickers sped by unimpeded to the first victory of his Nextel Cup career.


No one saw it coming. Everyone was left stunned, mouths agape, uncertain where to cast blame, on whom. Ultimately, it was on Vickers. He'd dumped a teammate, taken out two Chasers that stood to gain crucial championship points in the wake of an early exit by points leader Jeff Burton.

It was the tangible deflation of the Earnhardt Nation. You could feel it.

It makes for one helluva soap opera; an instant classic finish. But is it among the best finishes in Cup Series history?

Is it worthy of standing alongside Allison/Yarborough/Petty in the 1979 Daytona 500? Or Earnhardt/Labonte in 1999 at Bristol? Or Derrike Cope's 1990, Daytona 500 win?

No.

It was good, controversial, made for a great story. But by no means was it legendary.

What is the best last-lap finish ever?

Personally, the Gordon/Burton 1997 Southern 500 duel gets my vote. That race is special to me. That's the race that made me pay attention.

Darlington also played host to the consensus favorite in today's query: Craven/Busch, 2003 won going away.

ducky201811: Hands down: Busch and Craven at Darlington in 2003. How could anything possibly beat that finish?

NOW THAT WAS CLOSE
It's not often that stock car racing is called a game of inches. In the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, it was all that and more.

Seriously, BP, you can't script stuff that good. There were so many dynamics involved in the Craven/Busch duel. There was the David vs. Goliath factor, with multi-car brute Roush Racing battling single-car scrapper PPI. There was youth vs. experience factor, brash up-and-comer vs. resurgent veteran.

And when the loser of a 10-lap, door-slammin' fender-bangin' epic like that can't help but smile ear-to-ear, knowing he'd just engaged in a clash for the ages, then runs to Victory Lane to pat the winner on the butt, you know it's special.

And, of course, it is NASCAR's closest finish ever -- .002 second.

Speaking of movie scripts...

DanM34: Classic in a sense that it will be used in newsreels and highlight films forever, but in terms of showcasing NASCAR talent, no way! Vickers made a bonehead move and he can blame Junior all he wants, he wrecked a teammate and the leader, and seriously hurt both drivers' chances for the Cup, and it's a cheap win. He ought to be fined.

Best finish -- Cole Trickle coming from the back of the pack to win Daytona in Rowdy's car. "This one's for you Harry!"

Heard that, NutriSlim. Days of Thunder takes serious flak, but holds elite rank in my DVD collection.

Harry: Alright. While we're still under a caution, I want you to go back out on that track and hit the pace car.
Cole: Hit the pace car?
Harry: Hit the pace car.
Cole: What for?
Harry: Because you've hit every other (beep!) thing out there, I want you to be perfect.

Classic. Maybe I'll do an offseason mailbag on best Days of Thunder lines.

Now, on a serious note, the notion that Vickers should be penalized is absolutely ridiculous. He didn't blatantly dump Johnson to win. He made a mistake. A costly one.

Wallly57: Agree with the comment that this shouldn't even be considered as a classic. It did prove, however, that Brian shouldn't finish the season and Jr. is now a grown up.



If Juan Pablo Montoya continues to excel in ARCA and is cleared for Nextel Cup Series competition before year's end, I truly believe you'll see Casey Mears in the No. 25.

Sources close to both teams tell me that is the desired plan, but for the time being it's contingent on Montoya's progression.

And yes, Earnhardt's reaction to Sunday's disappointment was extremely impressive, not to mention humorous.

sc8fan: Oh, I doubt that this will go down as the best last-lap finish. Pretty much any finish at Atlanta is pretty high on the list. Earnhardt vs. Labonte, '00. Gordon vs. Harvick, 01. And how about Darlington? Busch vs. Craven, '03?

This was good, but it doesn't compare to the 1976 Daytona 500. Petty vs. Pearson. Wow. Or Bristol '95. Or Bristol '99. But props to Vickers. 'Bout time someone had the gull to take out both the overrated Earnhardt and the overstepping-his-bounds Johnson!

Dang, tough crowd. An Earnhardt fan saying his own driver is overrated. Might be time to change that screen name there, Coach Spurrier.

Back to the '76 500 for a moment:

sandy1207: I can't believe no one has mentioned the last lap at Daytona with Richard Petty and David Pearson crashing and spinning, but only Pearson could limp his car across the finish line. That was truly a classic. However, I think the Craven/Busch finish ranks right up there with it.

The ol' Silver Fox had the presence of mind to keep the clutch engaged and thus the car idling, then eased 'er over the line at about 25 mph. He was one smart dude, Pearson. Bob Moore, longtime motorsports writer, said this about him:

"Pearson was one of the smartest drivers that has ever raced in any form of the sport. He was always thinking ahead. He was always a step ahead in that department. He won a lot of races by out-thinking -- as well as out driving -- the opposition."

1dalejr8fan: A classic last-lap finish is one in which the competitors battle for a while and one nips the other at the line. A classic finish is NOT one in which someone wrecks the leader(s) to win.

A true classic finish was Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven at Darlington or Harvick's win at Atlanta (his first career win). What Vickers did Sunday was idiotic. It may have been a mistake, but wrecking the leaders takes no talent.

His first win should be something to celebrate, but this was cheap. Harvick's first win was awesome.

Rarely is the media moved to cheer. We were that day.

I don't recall which PRN Radio announcer made the call at the line that day, presumably Mark Garrow, but "IT'S HARVICK!" is still one of the greatest calls ever, makes my hair stand on end (even more than normal) every single time I hear it.

djorjd: Hendrick Motorsports' address is 4400 Papa Joe Hendrick Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28262, if you need to send a care package of Kleenex's and hankies for all the crying Gordon and JJ are doing.

This is so stupid for crying "he pushed me" or "they need to move over to let us top 10 to get by" or "don't race me too hard." I wish Dale Sr. was still around. He would laugh at them and probably spin those two just for being a big baby.

Gee, look at the points now they are tightened back up, so even 10th place still has a chance. It isn't over until the fat lady sings, and my sister-in-law isn't singing yet. Congrats to Brian Vickers.

Well, Junior Daniel got me. Milk and cereal all over my desktop. No lie, that one made me laugh out loud. Hilarious, man.


KING7: Robby Gordon vs. Kurt Busch. Last lap Watkins Glen Cup Lite Race. Nothing Better.

I'd never have given that one thought, Richard. But you're right, Gordon wore that car plumb out trying to pass Busch, hopping curbs and slamming gears and banging doors. Awesome.

Goody2888: I say it would be The Winston at Charlotte in 1992. Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt were battling for the lead on the last lap in the 10 lap ($100,000) segment. Kyle is on the inside of Dale in Turn 3, meanwhile Davey Allison is screaming through the pack.

Dale gets loose going into Turn 4 and Davey catches and gets on the inside of Kyle coming off of 4. Davey beats Kyle to the finish line by a foot and then they get together after the finish and Davey slams the wall.

He was taken to a hospital with a concussion, but was OK. The driver and car never made it to Victory Circle, but the last lap was one to remember.

Phenomenal call, Carolyn. One Hot Night. Davey Allison was the man.

99sforme: Sunday's race among the best ever? Couldn't even make the first couple of pages of the list! There's way too many finishes in the history of our sport that involved great driving, drama and skill, not intentional or unintentional wrecking of the lead car(s).

For sheer drama, excitement, and display of nearly magical skill and will to win, it would be hard to think of a finish that could compare to Atlanta last spring.

"Carl Who?" coming from nowhere in the closing laps, a straightaway behind; tires completely gone; so loose that even most of today's Cup drivers couldn't have kept the back wheels behind the front at that speed.

Sideways, literally running on the cords -- nothing but pure magic, surviving a block from one of the dominant drivers of the time in a far-superior machine, using the wall as a berm to keep a nearly undrivable car pointed in the right direction to pull off one of the most memorable wins in the history of the sport.


NASCAR 24/7Kurt Busch weighs in on Sunday's last lap
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No doubt, Nancy. And very well written, I might add.

Edwards was the bus driver that day. He flat took Johnson to school. Johnson, it seems, is a good pupil. He used Edwards' lesson to beat Bobby Labonte in the Coca-Cola 600 later that year.

There are far too many great finishes to mention. There's Talladega, '93, when Big E out-sprinted Ernie Irvan to win Talladega by .005-second. There's Earnhardt/Labonte, Atlanta 2000. On-and-on.

NASCAR is defined by contact. Fenders, when properly used, are one of the staples that make the sport great.

Cause rubbin', son, is racin'.

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mrsmopar12 Fan Club Member #1
Intimidator1951-2001
If this was the 1950's, Jeff Gordon would be Pat Boone and Dale Jr. would be Elvis....both were great singers, but we know who had the most fans.

Thank you DRIV3R, that was an excelent article! I was able to visualize most of those from clips I have seen!