With Christmas in the rear view mirror, thoughts of the Daytona 500 and a new race season begin to dance in my head. The holidays usually provide time to reminisce and with 50 days until the 2009 Daytona 500 we thought it would be a good time to look back on some of the memorable moments the Great American Race has provided in the past 50 years.

The first Daytona 500 in February 1959 was an exciting event, even by today's standards, and would set the tone for many years of close finishes. Lee Petty established his family name at the world center of racing by winning the inaugural race in a photo finish. It took NASCAR officials three days to decide the outcome.

Mario Andretti led 112 of the 200 laps to win his only NASCAR Cup Series race in the 1967 Daytona 500.

Driving for the famed Wood Brothers, Cale Yarborough passed LeeRoy Yarbrough with five laps remaining in the 1968 race to score his firstDaytona 500 win by 1.3 seconds.

David Pearson crashed two laps short of winning his first Daytona 500 in 1975 handing Benny Parsons his first 500 victory.

No one will ever forget the last lap duel between Richard Petty and David Pearson in the 1976 Daytona 500. The two were fierce rivals at the time and battled to the wire in many races but history remembers this one as a classic. After trading the lead several times on the last lap, the cars of Petty and Pearson made contact as they exited turn four. They spun and crashed down the front stretch headed to the checkered flag with Pearson able to keep his car running and cross the finish line ahead of Petty to claim the victory.

Bobby Allison broke a 67 race winless streak when he drove a Bud Moore prepared Ford to his first  Daytona 500 victory in 1978. He passed Buddy Baker with eleven laps to go to take the popular win.

America was introduced to the first live flag to flag television coverage of the Daytona 500 in 1979 and we were not disappointed. Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison had quite an advantage on third place Richard Petty when they were given the white flag. Yarborough and Allison tangled down the long backstretch, crashing into each other several times before hitting the outside retaining wall and coming to rest on the apron of turn three. The ensuing fist fight between the two, along with Bobby Allison who stopped to help brother Donnie, was caught on national television as Petty won his sixth Daytona 500. Television stations across the country broadcast clips of the fight for several days and the story made the front page of the New York Times sports section. This race was instrumental in expanding the NASCAR fan base on a national level.

Buddy Baker ushered in the eighties by winning the 1980 Daytona 500 at a speed of 177.602, the fastest Daytona 500 in history.

Richard Petty gambled heavily on pit strategy, taking fuel only on his final stop with 24 laps remaining, to win his seventh Daytona 500 in 1981.

Bobby and Davey Allison made history in the 1988 Daytona 500 as the only father and son to finish one-two in the superbowl of racing.

Darrell Waltrip won the 1989 Daytona 500 and performed the "Ickey Shuffle" in victory lane.

Who can forget the disappointment in Dale Earnhardt's face after suffering a blown tire on the last lap while leading the 1990 Daytona 500? Earnhardt's bad luck that day set the stage for one of the biggest upsets in Daytona history as Derrike Cope won his first NASCAR Cup Series race.

Davey Allison led the final 102 laps to win the 1992 Daytona 500, his only Daytona 500 victory.

In one of the most popular Daytona 500's to date, Dale Earnhardt added the 1998 Daytona 500 to his long list of accomplishments after 20 years of trying. Crewmembers from every team lined pit road to congratulate Earnhardt on his way to victory lane.

Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., both driving DEI prepared Chevrolets, crossed the line first and second in the 2001 Daytona 500 as Dale Earnhardt perished in a crash in turn four. NASCAR would institute many changes to its safety rules and procedures after this race.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. posted his first Daytona 500 victory in 2004, a win that was very popular among fans.

Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin dueled all the way to the line in the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick edged Martin by .002 seconds for the win, the closest since Lee Petty's historical win in that first Daytona 500 in 1959.