NASCAR is unique in that there is no insurmountable lead. Whether you lead second place by a whole lap or merely half a second, a flat tyre, blown motor or any other variable can send you from victory lane to the garage in an instant.
Because of the natural, painful nature of racing, NASCAR has experienced its fair share of heartbreaking losses over the years. Here are some of the most agonising NASCAR losses and the background behind them.
Dale Earnhardt, 1990 Daytona 500.
Earnhardt, touted as NASCAR’s best driver of all time, always seems to get into problems at the sport’s biggest race. He lost $500 in fuel mileage when flipping down the backstretch and because a seagull damaged his car. But his biggest Daytona setback had to come in 1990. Earnhardt was only two turns away from winning his first Daytona 500 when his tire went flat entering turn three, gifting Derrike Cope the trophy. In the end, everything worked out; Earnhardt not only won the Winston Cup championship in 1990, but also the Daytona 500 in 1998.
Regan Smith, 2008 AMP Energy 500.
Talladega has long been known for delivering underdog champions, and it appeared like another was about to experience the grandeur of NASCAR victory lane in the fall of 2008. Smith, then 25, won his first career race while driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., which was on its way out. NASCAR concluded that Smith passed race winner Tony Stewart below the double-yellow line on the apron, even though Stewart appeared to have forced Smith below the line. Smith went on to win his sole Cup Series race at Darlington in 2011, but the pain of Talladega was likely never forgotten.
Carl Edwards’ 2016 Ford Ecoboost 400
The 2016 NASCAR Cup Series championship race in Homestead concluded with a historic storyline: Jimmie Johnson won his seventh NASCAR championship, tying Earnhardt and Richard Petty’s record. However, the story could have been quite different on that November evening, when Carl Edwards’ clumsy block on Joey Logano destroyed his chances of capturing his first championship. Like in 2011, it appeared that Edwards was not destined to win a title, and he would retire over the offseason.
Mark Martin, 2007 Daytona 500.
As good a man and racer as Martin was, the sport’s top awards appeared to have a grudge against him. If he couldn’t win a Cup Series championship, a Daytona 500 was undoubtedly in his destiny. Unfortunately, fate had other plans, as Kevin Harvick’s last-lap charge on the final lap of the 2007 Great American Race guaranteed Martin’s role as bridesmaid in one of the greatest NASCAR finishes of all time.
Aric Almirola, 2018 Daytona 500.
It’s natural that NASCAR’s biggest race generates the most agonising defeats, but it’s even more terrible when fans and drivers relive the moment when eternal glory was taken away from them. Almirola had a good NASCAR career, winning three Cup Series races and reaching the playoffs five times. His fourth victory, however, may have been at the 2018 Daytona 500 if not for Austin Dillon. On the final lap of the race, Dillon knocked Almirola out of first place, leaving the best vehicle in Daytona Beach as a burning bit of scrap metal on the infield grass.
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