As we move away from the sometimes hectic holiday season and begin the new year, preseason testing is starting to heat up down in Daytona.

Only forty-one days until the start of the 2008 season and the 50th running of the Great American Race, it’s time to reach into the archives and revisit some of those classic Daytona 500 finishes.

 1959

The first running of the Great American Race cemented the race’s prestige, while the finish laid the groundwork for the next fifty years. The race came down to a duel between Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp. The final lap saw the two leaders come across the line three-wide with the lapped car of Joe Weatherly on the outside. Beauchamp was given the win, the trophy and the kiss, however after further review – and a little help from a photo taken at the finish – Petty was determined the winner 61 hours later.

1979

With a little help from a major snowstorm that kept the majority of the northeastern United States at home, Americans tuned into the first fully televised flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500. Those that tuned in that day were not disappointed.

After a race full of slingshot passes and drafting, it all came down to a last lap battle between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough. Coming down the backstretch Cale looked to the inside of Donnie for the lead, the two made contact and banged off each other a few times before sliding up into the Turn 3 wall. Richard Petty – driving along in third – was in the catbird seat as he passed the two leaders on the apron on the corner to capture the win.

As the TV coverage showed Petty pulling his No. 43 to Victory Lane, announcer Ken Squire uttered those famous words, “And there’s a fight on the backstretch.” After Allison and Yarborough took each other out of contention, neither was too happy.

Apparently, neither was Donnie’s brother Bobby who pulled over next to the two wrecked race cars and confronted Yarborough. After a few choice words, Bobby and Cale started to fight and history was made. The last lap mayhem took the country by storm and made the front page of the New York Times Sports section the next morning.

1981

With about 24 laps to go in the race, drivers began making their final pit stops for tires and fuel. Richard Petty came down as the leader, took only one can of fuel and was able to maintain his lead over the competition. This surprising stop – made in little over six seconds – was a huge gamble for the Petty bunch. With the finish quickly approaching, Petty did everything he could to conserve fuel. The gamble worked and The King was able to coast home to his historic seventh Daytona 500 victory.

1998

Finally! After twenty years of trying and twenty years of hard luck and struggles, Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500. The race that had eluded him for years seemed to be destined that day. Prior to the start of the event, a young girl gave the Intimidator a penny which he glued to the dashboard of his Chevrolet for luck. Racing back to the caution after a late race spin, Earnhardt was able to keep the rest of the field behind him as the crowd went crazy celebrating the win.

2001

The beginning of a new era for NASCAR saw the first race covered by FOX Sports. The bump drafting was intense and the field raced each lap as if it were the last. A horrific incident in the late stages of the race began when Robby Gordon got together with Ward Burton and Tony Stewart. Stewart’s car lifted off the ground and began tumbling over the entire field finally landing on the hood of teammate Bobby Labonte, in all sixteen cars was involved.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. led the charge the remainder of the day with Michael Waltrip out front and Dale Jr. and Dale Sr. pushing him along and keeping the rest of the field at bay. With the field getting restless on the last lap, Dale Earnhardt Sr. did everything he could to keep the field behind him and his cars out front. In Turn 4 the black No. 3 lost control and slammed the outside wall collecting Ken Schrader. As older brother Darrell called his brother’s first career victory, you could hear the worry in his voice as he expressed concern about Dale. That day NASCAR lost Dale Earnhardt.

2007

Kurt Busch dominated much of the afternoon in the 49th running of the Daytona 500. Using the entire track, he was able to block Tony Stewart who was one of the hardest charging cars of the day. Stewart was able to make his way past Busch for the lead but bobbled going through Turn 4. With nowhere to go, Busch got into the back of Stewart sending the two leaders hard into the outside wall, ending their days and starting a season long feud. The excitement was far from finished.

With one lap to go, Mark Martin – making his first start for his new team – led the youngster Kyle Busch and the rest of the field down the backstretch. Five cars back, the second line was led by Kevin Harvick being pushed by Matt Kenseth. As Martin was trying to keep Kyle Busch behind him, Harvick was able to drive around the outside between Turns 3 and 4. Behind the battle for first, Kyle Busch lost control of his No. 5 Chevrolet triggering the 'big one.'

As the two leaders crossed the start finish line inches apart, Harvick’s teammate Clint Bowyer slid across the finish line on his roof and on fire. Many challenged that Martin was ahead of Harvick when the crash began, however NASCAR withheld the yellow flag and allowed the leaders to determine the race at the line.

With the COT being used for the first time this year, the 50th running of the Great American Race promises to be one for the record books. Each one of those 43 drivers that will strap in their cars on February 17 will be going for the biggest victory of their careers. A win at the Daytona 500 stays with you for the rest of your life, and winning the 50th running of NASCAR’s biggest race will definitely merit some bragging rights.