In 49 races, the Dayton 500 has provided some of the greatest moments in auto racing. As we prepare for the 50th running of "The Great American Race," let's review five of those remarkable moments:

The photo finish

The first Daytona 500 in 1959 ran caution free but still boiled down to a photo finish between Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp. Both drivers claimed victory, and Beauchamp initially went to Victory Lane. NASCAR officials spent three days studying photos and TV footage before declaring Petty the winner.

The finish-line photo came to symbolize superspeedway stock-car racing.

The wreck

The 1976 Daytona 500 came down to a last-lap battle between the sport's two biggest stars — David Pearson, the Silver Fox, trying for his first 500 victory in the Wood Brothers' famous No. 21 and the King, Richard Petty, going for his sixth in Petty Enterprises' flagship No. 43. The two swapped the lead on the backstretch, then Petty took the lead off Turn Four. But the two cars touched, sending both crashing into the wall, and seemingly out of the race.

But Pearson pushed in the clutch pedal just as he hit the wall, and his engine kept running. Petty's powerplant stalled. So while Petty was pushing his starter button, Pearson was limping toward the checkered flag, finally crossing the line at about 20 mph.

The fight

The first live, flag-to-flag network coverage of the 500, in 1979, remains one of the most talked-about events in NASCAR history. With thousands on the East Coast stuck indoors because of a snow storm, and little else to watch, the 500 drew a remarkably large audience. And viewers weren't disappointed.

As leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison raced side-by-side down the backstretch, the two lost their cool and began ramming each other with their race cars. Both cars wrecked on the backstretch, allowing Richard Petty to win the race.

Then it got really interesting. Allison's brother, Bobby, already mad at Yarborough about an earlier incident, stopped by the crash site, and the Allison brothers and Yarborough began slugging it out. The TV cameras caught it all, and NASCAR had instant fans.

The triumph

In his first 20 tries, Dale Earnhardt's Daytona 500s ended in disappointment.

But the jinx ended in 1998, as Earnhardt fought off the fast cars of Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte and Jeremy Mayfield to get the victory. As he rolled down pit road after the race, crew members from competing teams lined pit road to congratulate him.

The tragedy

The 2001 Daytona 500 produced plenty of drama throughout, and as the pack headed to the checkered flag, Michael Waltrip, winless in his other 462 Cup starts, led his Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. out front. Their car owner, Dale Earnhardt, rode third. But as the pack entered Turn Four, the No. 3 Chevy slammed into the outside wall, then slid to a stop in the grass inside the track.

Hours later, NASCAR President Mike Helton confirmed everyone's worst fears: "We have lost Dale Earnhardt."

The sport still misses its biggest star.