Mark Martin had never won the Daytona 500 and was clearly the sentimental favorite to do just that. Kevin Harvick had yet to win the premier event either.

Martin was leading at the white flag. He hugged the yellow line. Harvick came to the outside, bringing a second line. Martin got loose for a moment, allowing Harvick to pull alongside. The field began crashing behind them, with Clint Bowyer flipping, but the race stayed green for the leaders as Martin and Harvick stormed to the line, with Harvick snaring the win by 0.02 seconds.

With NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup taking the headlines, Roush Fenway Racing teammates Greg Biffle and Mark Martin posted an epic run to the finish.

Biffle had the lead and appeared to have the race in hand when Martin got a run coming off Turn 4 on the final lap. Martin surged to Biffle's inside and closed the gap quickly, almost catching him at the line. Biffle held on for the win at the track where he would take three consecutive victories. Biffle won by 0.017 seconds.

What is it about those restrictor-plate races and tight finishes?

Kevin Harvick was riding Jamie McMurray's tail entering the final lap, with the pair on the inside line. Juan Pablo Montoya and Denny Hamlin were working together on the outside. McMurray and Harvick, with no help from behind, pulled away from the field.

Harvick pushed McMurray into the tri-oval, then slipped to the inside and ran along the yellow line as McMurray got a little loose, sling-shotting past McMurray at the line. Harvick won the race by 0.011 seconds, snapping a 115-race streak without a win.

Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Labonte were enjoying strong seasons in early 2000, the year that Labonte would go on to win his Cup championship.

Their battle heated up at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where they fought to the checkered flag.

Earnhardt had the lead at the white flag, but Labonte was riding his rear bumper.

Labonte caught him again off Turn 4 and briefly had the lead as he moved to the inside to set up the battle to the line. Earnhardt rallied on the outside and nipped Labonte at the line. He won by 0.01 seconds.

It was the final race at the track known as "The Rock," and it was everything that fans could have hoped to see. 

It was a wild, crash-filled day, one in which Carl Long crashed so hard that his car rolled on the track.

Kasey Kahne was making his second career Cup start and was challenging leader Matt Kenseth on the final lap. Kahne moved to the inside and got a run on Kenseth, pushing him to the line. Kahne moved alongside Kenseth and barely missed taking the win from the Cup veteran. Kenseth won by a mere 0.01 second. 

Ernie Irvan (left) looked to be in charge, taking the white flag in front at Daytona. But Jimmy Spencer pulled up alongside on the backstretch and went two-wide from there until the very finish — winning by a margin of 0.008 seconds.

Kevin Harvick was making his third start for Richard Childress Racing, taking over the team of the late Dale Earnhardt after his tragic death in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Emotions were running high for fans and for the team. Fans were holding up three fingers in honor of Earnhardt on the third lap of every race. Harvick, 25, hadn't even expected to be driving full time in the Cup series that season, but he had managed the pressure well.

He showed those steely nerves as he battled Jeff Gordon to the line.

Harvick held the lead at the white line, but went higher on the track. Gordon jumped into the opening down low and moved alongside Harvick heading to the line. But Harvick stomed back ahead, winning by inches at the line. Harvick won by 0.006 seconds, and provided a step in the healing process for Earnhardt fans.

Two weeks after the loss of Alabama favorite Davey Allison, the field headed to Talladega Superspeedway.

Dale Earnhardt, who had already won four times on the restrictor-plate track, looked like he would settle for second this visit as Ernie Irvan led the field into the final lap. With cars running three- and four-wide behind them, Earnhardt and Irvan engaged in a stellar battle at the front. Irvan was on the inside and appeared to have the edge, until Earnhardt ripped past him at the line. Earnhardt earned the win by a margin of 0.005 seconds.

Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Busch and Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray battled to the line in the Pepsi 400.

Busch stormed in front of teammate Jimmie Johnson to take the lead just hours after winning the Nationwide Series race at the track. McMurray powered the outside line on the drafting track with five laps to go. Jeff Gordon pushed McMurray to the lead with three to go. McMurray was riding a winless streak of 166 races, dating to his second career Cup start when he won at Charlotte Motor Speedway filling in for Sterling Marlin.

Kurt Busch moved onto his brother's bumper to push the inside line, as McMurray held strong on the outside with teammate Carl Edwards pushing him. McMurray surged ahead of Busch right at the line, taking the victory by 0.005 seconds. 

Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick were battling Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin for the apparent win when Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. shot into contention. At Talladega Superspeedway, the drivers needed to work in pairs to take the win. Those six were doing just that as they stormed at speeds topping 190 mph to the finish on April 17, 2011. Johnson, pushed by Earnhardt Jr., rode the low line, with Bowyer and Harvick higher and Gordon and Martin trailing in the middle. Johnson pulled alongside Gordon and then past him, then just past Bowyer to nip him by 0.002 seconds. That tied the closest finish since NASCAR began electronic timing and scoring.

Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven enjoyed fender-banging action to the line in a race that tied for the closest finish since NASCAR began electronic timing and scoring.

Apparently unafraid of the Darlington stripe, Craven rode high against the wall in the closing laps as he tried to close the margin on Busch. Then Busch tagged the wall trying to hold off the field. Busch had the lead at the white flag, with both he and Craven driving aggressively on the tough, tight track.

Craven went to the inside off of Turn 4. The two banged and appeared locked together, side by side, as they stormed to the line. Craven's car was sideways just after the line, tires smoking as the drivers battled for control shortly after the checkered flag waved for Craven's win. The margin of victory? 0.002 seconds.

NASCAR races have always been competitive, but some finishes have gone to photos, video replays and electronic scoring to determine the winner.

Jimmie Johnson (48) and Kevin Harvick battled to the line in the Gatorade Duel non-points race at Daytona International Speedway in 2010, but that was just one of many epic drives to the line.

Here's a look at our top-10 favorite finishes in NASCAR points races: