Daytona is full of history, but you know, the biggest story here is always the Big One, so instead of giving you a bunch of statistics and former winners this weekend, how about we just show you a couple of the "Big Ones" that help make the track all that it is?

Last year's Coke Zero 400 finished under yellow and no one really knew who won the race at the Checkers, but both Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch thought they'd won the race at the checkered flag but after the replay, Kyle Busch was eventually declared the winner, his sixth of the year.


In 2005, Tony Stewart would be the victor, in a race sponsored by Pepsi, rather than Coke.  Tony managed his "sort of signature move" that year, and climbed the fence to celebrate.   This video isn't a "Big One" but rather, NASCAR's own Big One, Smoke, celebrating in his own unique fashion.


Of course, 2005 also featured, two Big Ones, both equally spectacular.  The second one, involving, Kevin Harvick is here:


Daytona has had some close finishes and a few runaway wins,  It's a crap shoot really, and the winner is not always the best car of the field.  In fact, only a few times has the winner actually been the best car.  Dale Earnhardt Sr was the master of coming from way back in the pack with only a handful of laps to go to win, both here at Daytona and at Talladega.  Others have done the same, including Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon.  Dale Earnhardt Jr, on the other hand, has, in the past, led almost from the drop of the green flag, right to the checkers. 

What can we expect to see at Daytona this weekend? Well, drafting, close racing at 200 mph and at least one Big One.  Sam Hornish Jr and Greg Biffle have already crashed in practice and they won't be the first.  Chances are pretty good there will be a crash or two that take out a quarter of the field, perhaps more. It could even happen right at the beginning of the race, lap one or two.  We could see a first time winner in the season, a la Brad Keselowski at Talladega and we know the winner won't be Jeremy Mayfield, who couldn't put his team together in time to race, and couldn't convince anyone else to put him in their car. Thank God.

There is also a good chance Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or even Dale Earnhardt Jr could be in victory lane at the end of the race.  Then again, it could be the race that gives an RCR driver the boost he needs for the season, something Kevin Harvick, one of the "where did he come from?" drivers, has done before.

It's Saturday night under the lights at Daytona.  What could be better?

TNT airs the race at 7:30pm ET.  The Nationwide Race is Friday, same time, on ESPN, and the Trucks sit this weekend out, resuming at Kentucky on July 18th.  Qualifying gets underway today on SPEED, so if you have an extra day off and nothing to do, there's a lot of traffic on the track at Daytona today.