75 things for NASCAR’s 75th anniversary: Greatest races
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Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
We are closing in on the final handful of weeks of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the stock car series’ 75th anniversary campaign. To celebrate, each week through the end of the season, Ryan McGee is presenting his top five favorite things about the sport.
Top five best-looking cars? Check. Top five toughest drivers? We’ve got it. Top five mustaches? There can be only one, so maybe not.
Without further ado, our 75 favorite things about NASCAR, celebrating 75 years of stock car racing.
Previous installments: Toughest drivers
Top five greatest races
We started our season-long power slide through NASCAR’s 75th anniversary celebration with a look at some of the racers, so it feels only natural to upshift our focus toward the events they raced in — the greatest ever run by stock car racing’s premiere series. Whittling it down from 2,700 races to just five perfect events was no easy task. Then again, neither was the job of competing in these legendary showdowns, let alone being the racers who rolled into Victory Lane when they were over.
So, grab a camera and some trophy polish and read ahead as we present our picks for NASCAR’s five greatest races.
Honorable mention: 1950 Southern 500, Darlington Raceway
Labor Day weekend 1950 in the South Carolina Sandhills was only slightly less warm than the equator of the sun as 75 — yes, 75! — cars took the green flag and hammered their way into the first turn of NASCAR’s first-ever asphalt speedway, an egg-shaped oval plowed into peanut fields. The Strictly Stock division was in only its second season and had run only short tracks and almost exclusively on dirt. No one was ready for the 1.25-mile beast we now know as the Track Too Tough To Tame. Less than half the field finished the race and collectively popped so many tires that crewmen started stealing wheels off the vehicles of fans parked in the racetrack infield.
Hollywood stuntman Johnny “Madman” Mantz won by nine laps, having smartly bolted on a set of thick truck tires and then riding around the flat apron while his rivals ruptured their rubber rings blasting around the high groove. Was it a great race competition-wise? No. Was it the race that propelled NASCAR into its superspeedway future? Absolutely.
5. 1995 Goody’s 500, Bristol Motor Speedway
There are those who will argue that the Bristol night race run four years later — aka the night Dale Earnhardt rattled Terry Labonte’s cage — was better, but this event had more drama, involved the same pair of future NASCAR Hall of Famers and threw in a third for good measure. The rain-stuttered evening began when Earnhardt turned Rusty Wallace on the frontstretch. It ended with “The Intimidator” doing the same to Labonte, but “The Iceman” managed to hang on to his out-of-control Chevy and took the checkered flag with the entire hood mashed flat.
When Earnhardt pulled into the garage, he received a water bottle to the noggin and a lot of cuss words to his ears, via a still-seething Wallace. For a more extensive oral history of that night, read this feature that I wrote in 2015.
4. 1984 Winston 500, Talladega Superspeedway
When it comes to star power, it’s hard to beat the names found in any and every box score of the 1984 Cup Series season. But with all due respect to the more famous July Fourth Firecracker 400 showdown between Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough attended by Ronald Reagan, that was a bad race with a great finish. The event held on May 6 at Talladega involved more legends and a lot more action.
There were a mind-bending 75 lead changes, a record that stood for 26 years. The top six finishers were Yarborough, Harry Gant, Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, Benny Parsons and Petty. All but one of them are already in the NASCAR Hall and the lone absentee, Gant, is a nominee this year. By the way, how wild was Talladega back then? The next race later that summer, with 68 lead changes among 16 drivers and won by Earnhardt, might have been better.
3. 2003 Dodge Dealers 400, Darlington Raceway
The best races are the ones that create the most tension — like a rubber band pulled slowly over the course of four hours, with all of us left to wonder when it will finally snap.
In March 2003, Kurt Busch was just beginning to step into his Darth Vader persona and one year away from his thrilling Cup Series title. Meanwhile, Ricky Craven had managed to battle his way back from the brink of career extinction, having miraculously recovered from a frightening series of concussions to pilot Cal Wells’ Tide Ride. Their duel over the final laps of a typically tough Darlington afternoon is still the most YouTube-able moment of NASCAR’s modern era, won by Craven by a record .002 seconds as they banged doors all the way down the frontstretch and under the checkered flag. The finish was so awesome that the perpetually short-fused Busch wasn’t even mad about it, showing up in Victory Lane to celebrate with Craven.
2. 1979 Daytona 500
If you track down the video of this race, do yourself a favor and fast-forward to the last five laps. The 195 circuits before it were a sloppy, rainy mess, including an early wreck involving Bobby Allison.
On the final lap, when Yarborough attempted the backstretch slingshot move that everyone knew was coming, the other Allison, Donnie, moved to block it. They ended up plowing the third-turn wall and sliding into the infield grass, and Cale climbed out to confront Donnie but found an angry Bobby instead, having pulled over to check on his brother. Those three commenced to beating on each other live on CBS, which was televising the Daytona 500 live flag to flag for the first time, with commentator Ken Squier famously shouting, “There’s a fight!”
As America watched the brawl, few realized there had been a wild finish. A.J. Foyt, who’d been third and inherited the lead, slowed his car when he saw the wreck, allowing Petty to slide by to nab his sixth Daytona 500 win, followed closely by Darrell Waltrip. Star power, a wreck, a fight, all on live TV? “Greatest” isn’t a strong enough word for what this day was.
1. 1992 Hooters 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway
But our pick for the greatest of them all isn’t a season-opening Daytona 500, but rather a season-ending finale that had every fan on the edge of their seats and digging through the kitchen junk drawer looking for a calculator.
First, it was Petty’s final race, the end of a season-long retirement celebration that just that weekend had sold out the brand-new Georgia Dome for a Petty tribute concert. Second, it was Jeff Gordon’s Cup Series debut, the first of his 805 starts that produced 93 wins, four championships and a Hall of Fame career.
The story of the day, though, was the three-man title fight between Davey Allison, “Underdog” Alan Kulwicki and home-state hero Bill Elliott. All three took turns up front, but in the end, Kulwicki’s strategy won him the title, even as Elliott won the race. As both men celebrated, Petty did a final parade lap to thunderous applause. Spoiler alert: I have a feeling this isn’t the last time you’ll be reading about this day …
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Greg Wyshynski
I fully admit that most of my 2024-25 NHL preseason predictions were a waste of pixels: a collection of bad calls, faulty logic and the bold prediction that the Buffalo Sabres would make the playoffs — which should qualify me for some sort of cognitive examination.
But I got something right: The two teams I predicted would battle in the Stanley Cup Final are part of the 2025 NHL postseason bracket. However, after 82 games of data, results and analysis, I’ve decided to punt on one of those picks while remaining ride-or-die on the other one — most likely to my detriment, given their current predicament.
Here is how the Stanley Cup playoffs will play out, from the opening round through the last game of the Final. I apologize in advance for spoiling the next two months for you, as obviously all of this is going to happen exactly to script and none of these picks will be incorrect.
Let’s all enjoy the best postseason in sports together, no matter how it goes.
The 2024-25 NHL season is officially in the rearview mirror. Sixteen of the league’s teams have made the postseason bracket, and 16 have been eliminated.
Before the first-round series begins, ESPN’s experts have identified their picks for each matchup, along with the team that will win the Stanley Cup in June and the player who will win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP).
More: Full schedule
Megapreview
Lapsed fan’s guide
Betting intel
Contender flaws
Atlantic Division
Sean Allen: Maple Leafs in seven
Blake Bolden: Maple Leafs in six
John Buccigross: Maple Leafs in seven
Ryan Callahan: Maple Leafs in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Maple Leafs in five
Sachin Chandan: Senators in six
Meghan Chayka: Maple Leafs in five
Ryan S. Clark: Senators in seven
Linda Cohn: Maple Leafs in six
Rachel Doerrie: Maple Leafs in six
Ray Ferraro: Maple Leafs in seven
Emily Kaplan: Maple Leafs in six
Tim Kavanagh: Maple Leafs in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Maple Leafs in five
Steve Levy: Maple Leafs in six
Vince Masi: Senators in seven
Victoria Matiash: Maple Leafs in six
Sean McDonough: Senators in six
Mark Messier: Maple Leafs in six
Mike Monaco: Maple Leafs in five
Arda Öcal: Maple Leafs in six
Kristen Shilton: Maple Leafs in six
Bob Wischusen: Maple Leafs in six
Greg Wyshynski: Maple Leafs in five
Consensus prediction: Maple Leafs (20 of 24 picks)
Sean Allen: Panthers in six
Blake Bolden: Lightning in seven
John Buccigross: Lightning in seven
Ryan Callahan: Lightning in seven
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Panthers in six
Sachin Chandan: Lightning in five
Meghan Chayka: Lightning in six
Ryan S. Clark: Panthers in seven
Linda Cohn: Lightning in six
Rachel Doerrie: Lightning in seven
Ray Ferraro: Lightning in six
Emily Kaplan: Lightning in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Lightning in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Lightning in seven
Steve Levy: Panthers in seven
Vince Masi: Lightning in six
Victoria Matiash: Panthers in six
Sean McDonough: Lightning in seven
Mark Messier: Lightning in seven
Mike Monaco: Lightning in six
Arda Öcal: Panthers in six
Kristen Shilton: Lightning in seven
Bob Wischusen: Lightning in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Lightning in seven
Consensus prediction: Lightning (18 of 24 picks)
Metropolitan Division
Sean Allen: Capitals in six
Blake Bolden: Canadiens in six
John Buccigross: Capitals in seven
Ryan Callahan: Capitals in five
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Capitals in five
Sachin Chandan: Capitals in five
Meghan Chayka: Capitals in five
Ryan S. Clark: Capitals in six
Linda Cohn: Capitals in six
Rachel Doerrie: Capitals in five
Ray Ferraro: Capitals in five
Emily Kaplan: Capitals in 6
Tim Kavanagh: Capitals in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Capitals in five
Steve Levy: Capitals in five
Vince Masi: Capitals in six
Victoria Matiash: Canadiens in seven
Sean McDonough: Canadiens in six
Mark Messier: Capitals in six
Mike Monaco: Capitals in six
Arda Öcal: Canadiens in seven
Kristen Shilton: Capitals in seven
Bob Wischusen: Canadiens in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Capitals in five
Consensus prediction: Capitals (20 of 24 picks)
1:58
Ovechkin tells McAfee his chase for the goal record was great for hockey
Alex Ovechkin joins “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss his achievement of surpassing Wayne Gretzky as the all-time goals leader and the impact on the game.
Sean Allen: Hurricanes in five
Blake Bolden: Devils in seven
John Buccigross: Hurricanes in seven
Ryan Callahan: Hurricanes in five
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Hurricanes in six
Sachin Chandan: Devils in six
Meghan Chayka: Hurricanes in five
Ryan S. Clark: Hurricanes in seven
Linda Cohn: Devils in seven
Rachel Doerrie: Hurricanes in six
Ray Ferraro: Hurricanes in six
Emily Kaplan: Hurricanes in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Devils in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Hurricanes in six
Steve Levy: Devils in seven
Vince Masi: Hurricanes in seven
Victoria Matiash: Hurricanes in six
Sean McDonough: Hurricanes in seven
Mark Messier: Hurricanes in seven
Arda Öcal: Devils in six
Kristen Shilton: Hurricanes in four
Bob Wischusen: Hurricanes in six
Greg Wyshynski: Hurricanes in six
Consensus prediction: Hurricanes (17 of 23 picks)
Central Division
Sean Allen: Jets in five
Blake Bolden: Jets in six
John Buccigross: Jets in seven
Ryan Callahan: Jets in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Jets in five
Sachin Chandan: Jets in four
Meghan Chayka: Blues in six
Ryan S. Clark: Jets in seven
Linda Cohn: Jets in six
Rachel Doerrie: Blues in seven
Ray Ferraro: Jets in seven
Emily Kaplan: Jets in six
Tim Kavanagh: Jets in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Jets in six
Steve Levy: Jets in seven
Vince Masi: Jets in seven
Victoria Matiash: Jets in six
Sean McDonough: Jets in five
Mark Messier: Jets in six
Mike Monaco: Blues in seven
Arda Öcal: Blues in six
Kristen Shilton: Jets in six
Bob Wischusen: Jets in six
Greg Wyshynski: Jets in five
Consensus prediction: Jets (20 of 24 picks)
Sean Allen: Stars in seven
Blake Bolden: Avalanche in six
John Buccigross: Avalanche in seven
Ryan Callahan: Avalanche in seven
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Avalanche in seven
Sachin Chandan: Avalanche in six
Meghan Chayka: Avalanche in six
Ryan S. Clark: Stars in seven
Linda Cohn: Avalanche in six
Rachel Doerrie: Avalanche in six
Ray Ferraro: Avalanche in six
Emily Kaplan: Avalanche in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Stars in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Avalanche in seven
Steve Levy: Avalanche in seven
Vince Masi: Avalanche in five
Victoria Matiash: Avalanche in six
Sean McDonough: Avalanche in six
Mark Messier: Avalanche in five
Mike Monaco: Avalanche in six
Arda Öcal: Avalanche in seven
Kristen Shilton: Avalanche in six
Bob Wischusen: Avalanche in six
Greg Wyshynski: Stars in seven
Consensus prediction: Avalanche (20 of 24 picks)
Pacific Division
Sean Allen: Wild in seven
Blake Bolden: Golden Knights in five
John Buccigross: Golden Knights in seven
Ryan Callahan: Golden Knights in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Golden Knights in six
Sachin Chandan: Golden Knights in five
Meghan Chayka: Golden Knights in five
Ryan S. Clark: Golden Knights in six
Linda Cohn: Golden Knights in six
Rachel Doerrie: Golden Knights in six
Ray Ferraro: Golden Knights in five
Emily Kaplan: Golden Knights in sixe
Tim Kavanagh: Golden Knights in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Golden Knights in five
Steve Levy: Golden Knights in five
Vince Masi: Golden Knights in six
Victoria Matiash: Golden Knights in six
Sean McDonough: Golden Knights in five
Mark Messier: Golden Knights in five
Mike Monaco: Golden Knights in six
Arda Öcal: Golden Knights in five
Kristen Shilton: Golden Knights in five
Bob Wischusen: Golden Knights in six
Greg Wyshynski: Golden Knights in five
Consensus prediction: Golden Knights (23 of 24 picks)
Sean Allen: Kings in six
Blake Bolden: Kings in seven
John Buccigross: Kings in seven
Ryan Callahan: Kings in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Oilers in seven
Sachin Chandan: Kings in seven
Meghan Chayka: Oilers in six
Ryan S. Clark: Oilers in seven
Linda Cohn: Kings in seven
Rachel Doerrie: Kings in seven
Ray Ferraro: Kings in seven
Emily Kaplan: Oilers in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Kings in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Kings in seven
Steve Levy: Kings in seven
Vince Masi: Oilers in seven
Victoria Matiash: Kings in six
Sean McDonough: Kings in seven
Mark Messier: Oilers in six
Mike Monaco: Oilers in six
Arda Öcal: Oilers in six
Kristen Shilton: Oilers in six
Bob Wischusen: Kings in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Oilers in six
Consensus prediction: Kings (14 of 24 picks)
1:05
Mark Messier: The Kings are going to be a problem for the Oilers
Mark Messier explains why the Kings are a different team this year and present a bigger challenge to the Oilers.
Stanley Cup
Sean Allen: Maple Leafs
John Buccigross: Avalanche
Ryan Callahan: Golden Knights
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Avalanche
Sachin Chandan: Avalanche
Meghan Chayka: Golden Knights
Ryan S. Clark: Golden Knights
Linda Cohn: Jets
Rachel Doerrie: Avalanche
Ray Ferraro: Golden Knights
Emily Kaplan: Golden Knights
Tim Kavanagh: Golden Knights
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Golden Knights
Steve Levy: Golden Knights
Vince Masi: Lightning
Victoria Matiash: Jets
Sean McDonough: Golden Knights
Mark Messier: Oilers
Mike Monaco: Avalanche
Arda Öcal: Maple Leafs
Kristen Shilton: Avalanche
Bob Wischusen: Jets
Greg Wyshynski: Stars
Prediction breakdown: Golden Knights (9), Avalanche (6), Jets (3), Maple Leafs (2), Lightning (1), Oilers (1), Stars (1)
Conn Smythe (playoff MVP)
Sean Allen: Mitch Marner
John Buccigross: Brock Nelson
Ryan Callahan: Jack Eichel
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Cale Makar
Sachin Chandan: Nathan MacKinnon
Meghan Chayka: Jack Eichel
Ryan S. Clark: Jack Eichel
Linda Cohn: Connor Hellebuyck
Rachel Doerrie: Nathan MacKinnon
Ray Ferraro: Jack Eichel
Emily Kaplan: Jack Eichel
Tim Kavanagh: Jack Eichel
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Jack Eichel
Steve Levy: Jack Eichel
Vince Masi: Brayden Point
Victoria Matiash: Connor Hellebuyck
Sean McDonough: Jack Eichel
Mark Messier: Connor McDavid
Mike Monaco: Nathan McKinnon
Arda Öcal: William Nylander
Kristen Shilton: Nathan MacKinnon
Bob Wischusen: Connor Hellebuyck
Greg Wyshynski: Jake Oettinger
Prediction breakdown: Jack Eichel (10), Nathan MacKinnon (3), Connor Hellebuyck (3), Mitch Marner (1), Brock Nelson (1), Cale Makar (1), Brayden Point (1), Connor McDavid (1), William Nylander (1), Jake Oettinger (1)
The Edmonton Oilers on Saturday signed defenseman Ty Emberson to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.3 million.
The Oilers, who will take on the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, inserted 24-year-old Emberson into the lineup for 76 games this season, recording two goals and 13 point. He averaged 15:07 of ice time for the defending Western Conference champions.
Emberson has turned into a reliable force on Edmonton’s penalty-kill unit, and figures to maintain that role vs. the Kings. Emberson led all Edmonton defensemen in total short-handed time on ice (149:32) this season, while ranking second in hits (125).
The Kings will host Game 1 on Monday night at 10 p.m. ET at Crypto.com Arena.
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