Top photos of the Daytona 500, NASCAR's most famous race, through years

Pre-Daytona 500: Bill France Sr., center, and others gather at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1947 for meetings that resulted in the formation of NASCAR.

Pre-Daytona 500: An aerial view of the North Turn and grandstand as cars race on the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1950.

Pre-Daytona 500: One year before the first Daytona 500, Glen Wood (22) leads Banjo Matthews (M-4) in a 1958 Modified Sportsman race in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Lee Petty (42), driving an Oldsmobile, and Johnny Beauchamp (73), driving a Thunderbird, were neck and neck on the last lap of the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959, but Petty nosed out Beauchamp at the finish line.

Junior Johnson leads Fireball Roberts and Richard Petty during the 1962 Daytona 500. Roberts won the 1962 race two years after Johnson won his lone title in 1960.

Richard Petty poses with the championship trophy after earning the first of seven Daytona 500 wins in 1964.

Fred Lorenzen (28) outdueled Junior Johnson (27) to win the 1965 Daytona 500.

Former Miss USA Diana Batts, of Washington, D.C., gives a big kiss to Mario Andretti after he won the 1967 Daytona 500. Andretti remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship (1978).

Richard Petty holds the record for most Daytona 500 wins with seven. Here he drives to victory during the 1971 race.

A.J. Foyt gets a big kiss from Union 76 Racestopper Cheryl Johnson after winning the 1972 Daytona 500. Foyt is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (which he won four times), the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Former taxi cab driver Benny Parsons raises the championship trophy after winning the 1975 Daytona 500.

David Pearson was able to coax his wrecked car across the finish line to win the 1976 Daytona 500.

In one of the most famous crashes in NASCAR history, David Pearson and Richard Petty wreck while racing for the lead on the final lap of the 1976 Daytona 500.

Cale Yarborough, right, kicks and pushes Bobby Allison, center, who is catching his leg as Donnie Allison, left, tries to pull his brother free from the fight which started after Yarborough collided with Donnie on the last lap of the 1979 Daytona 500.

Richard Petty, (middle, with STP cap and sunglasses), poses with his family after winning his sixth Daytona 500 title in 1979. Petty won for the seventh and final time in 1981.

Cale Yarborough takes the checkered flag at the Daytona 500 for the final time in 1984. Yarborough also won in 1983, '77, and '68.

Bill Elliott won the second of his two Daytona 500 titles in 1987. He won his first Great American Race two years earlier in 1985.

Bobby Allison, right, celebrates his victory in the 1988 Daytona 500 by pouring a Miller beer over the head of his son Davey Allison, who he beat in an emotional finish. Davey Allison won the 1992 race, while Bobby Allison also won in 1982 and 1978.

Darrell Waltrip celebrates his lone Daytona 500 title by performing the "Ickey Shuffle," a dance created by NFL player Ickey Woods, after winning the 1989 Great American Race.

Dale Jarrett lets out a yell as he climbs out of his car after winning the 35th annual Daytona 500 in 1993. Jarrett would add two more Daytona 500 titles, in 1996 and 2000.

Jeff Gordon (24), Terry Labonte (5) and Ricky Craven (25) led Hendrick Motorsports to a 1-2-3 finish at the 1997 Daytona 500. Gordon would win the Daytona 500 twice more: in 1999 and 2005.

Crew members line up along pit road to congratulate Dale Earnhardt as the NASCAR legend finally wins his first Daytona 500 in 1998, 20 years after his first Daytona 500 start in 1979.

Dale Earnhardt (3) hits the wall after getting hit by Ken Schrader (36) during the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt died as a result of the crash that stands as one of the most horrific moments in NASCAR history.

Shortly after winning the 2001 Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip talks about the death of friend and competitor Dale Earnhardt, who died after crashing on the last lap. Waltrip would have a chance to better celebrate after winning the 2003 Daytona 500.

Two-time Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin gets a reprimand from a track official after he tried to pull a bent piece of sheet metal away from his tire during a red-flag stop in the 2002 race. Marlin's gaffe will forever be part of NASCAR's lore, with some saying his illegal attempt to fix his car under the red flag cost him a victory.

Ward Burton, center, is showered with confetti in victory lane after winning the 2002 Daytona 500 after Sterling Marlin's penalty.

Crew members converge on Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, at the start-finish line after he won the 2004 Daytona 500, three years after his father died as a result of a last-lap crash in the 2001 event.

Ryan Newman won his only race of 2008 at the Daytona 500, bringing Penske Racing its first win at The Great American Race.

Workers repair damage to the track as a result of a pothole in Turn 2 on lap 122 during the 2010 Daytona 500. The race was red-flagged for almost two hours before Jamie McMurray eventually won.

Trevor Bayne, at 20-years, one-day old, became the youngest winner of the Daytona 500, in 2011.

Safety crews work to put out a fire from a jet-fueled track dryer that was hit by Juan Pablo Montoya's car (not pictured) under caution during the 2012 Daytona 500.

Safety workers clean up the track with Tide laundry detergent after a jet-fueled track dryer burst into flames when it was struck by Juan Pablo Montoya's car under caution during the 2012 Daytona 500.

Matt Kenseth earned the second of two Daytona 500 wins in 2012. He won his first in 2009.

Jimmie Johnson crosses the finish line to win the 2013 Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr took the 2014 Daytona 500 on the 10th anniversary of his first win there.

Joey Logano wins the 2015 Daytona 500.

In the closest finish in history, Denny Hamlin (11) beats Martin Truex Jr. (78) to win the 2016 Daytona 500 by .011 second.

Kurt Busch celebrates with New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski after winning the 2017 Daytona 500, the first race of the rebranded Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team celebrate their victory in the 2018 Daytona 500, 20 years after Dale Earnhardt Sr. captured his lone Daytona 500 title in the same car while driving for Childress.

Denny Hamlin sprays champagne in victory lane after winning his second career Daytona 500 in 2019.

Ryan Newman (6) goes airborne after crashing into the wall and getting hit by Corey LaJoie (32) on the final lap of the 2020 Daytona 500, won by Denny Hamlin (not pictured) in a photo finish.

Safety crews rush to move driver Ryan Newman to an ambulance after his car crashed, flipped, landed upside-down and then skidded down in a shower of sparks and flames on the final lap of the 2020 Daytona 500.

Michael McDowell celebrates winning the 2021 Daytona 500 on Feb. 14 for his first NASCAR Cup Series win in 358 career races.

Austin Cindric jumps from the hood of his No. 2 Ford into the arms of his Team Penske crew after winning the 2022 Daytona 500 on Feb 20. Cindric making just his eighth NASCAR Cup Series start became the second youngest winner in Daytona 500 history at age 23.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. climbs the fence at Daytona International Speedway after winning the 2023 Daytona 500 to snap a 199-race winless drought.