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The 10 closest finishes in NASCAR history

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Greg Biffle (16) beat Mark Martin (6) to the line by a narrow margin of 0.017 seconds in the 2005 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but it just missed the cut in NASCAR's top 10 closest finishes of all time.

10. Talladega Superspeedway, April 2010 -- Kevin Harvick by 0.011 seconds

Kevin Harvick (29) and Jamie McMurray (1) took off on the final restart, which set up a last-lap battle between the two drivers. Harvick locked onto McMurray's bumper on the final lap, strategically diving underneath McMurray through the tri-oval at the last second to take the victory.

T-7. Daytona International Speedway, February 2016 -- Denny Hamlin by 0.010 seconds

In the Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin (11) made a bold move by making it three-wide between teammate Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. (78) in Turn 4 on the final lap. As Kenseth got loose and faded, Hamlin's move set up a sprint to the line -- where Hamlin edged Truex Jr. for the closest finish in race history.

T-7. Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 2000 -- Dale Earnhardt by 0.010 seconds

Atlanta is notorious for photo finishes. On the final lap of the Cracker Barrel 500, Dale Earnhardt took the high line in the final corner, while Bobby Labonte dove low. Despite a huge run by Labonte coming off Turn 4, Earnhardt was able to hold off Labonte at the line -- earning his 75th Cup victory.

T-7. North Carolina Speedway, February 2004 -- Matt Kenseth by 0.010 seconds

Matt Kenseth (17) held off Kasey Kahne (9) at the line. This race marked the final time NASCAR would visit 'The Rock.

6. Daytona International Speedway, July 1994 -- Jimmy Spencer by 0.008 seconds

The Pepsi 400 featured an exciting battle between Jimmy Spencer and Ernie Irvan. After sizing up Irvan for a number of laps, Spencer used the high line in Turns 1 and 2 to build up a huge run on the backstretch. Spencer in the No. 27 McDonald's Ford raced side-by-side with Irvan to the line, edging the No. 28 Texaco Havoline Ford for his first career Cup win.

5. Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 2001 -- Kevin Harvick by 0.006 seconds

One year after Dale Earnhardt narrowly beat Bobby Labonte in a photo finish at the same track, Kevin Harvick was able to hold off a hard charge by Jeff Gordon coming off Turn 4 to win his first Cup race in the No. 29 Goodwrench Chevrolet. It was only Harvick's third career Cup start for Richard Childress Racing following Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.

T-3. Talladega Superspeedway, July 1993 -- Dale Earnhardt by 0.005 seconds

Earnhardt took the lead away from Kyle Petty with four laps to go in The Diehard 500. Earnhardt maintained the lead until the final lap, when Petty dove underneath the iconic No. 3, allowing Irvan to make it three-wide off the exit of Turn 2. This exchange set up a hard side-by-side battle to the finish line, where Earnhardt narrowly beat the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet of Irvan.

T-3. Daytona International Speedway, July 2007 -- Jamie McMurray by 0.005 seconds

After the final restart in the Pepsi 400, Jamie McMurray (26) raced from third to take the lead away from Jeff Gordon with five laps to go. Kyle Busch (5) restarted seventh, but quickly powered to the front. The last four laps featured McMurray and Busch exchanging the lead multiple times. Busch had the lead out of Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag, but one last burst of momentum allowed McMurray to beat him at the line.

T-1. Talladega Superspeedway, April 2011 -- Jimmie Johnson by 0.002 seconds

With two laps to go, Jimmie Johnson (48) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) were 11th and 12th, respectively. A hard battle between Jeff Gordon (24), Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer (33) and Kevin Harvick (29) coming off Turn 4 on the final lap allowed Johnson and Junior to take the low line, setting up a six-car race to the line. Johnson narrowly beat Bowyer to tie the closest finish in history.

T-1. Darlington Raceway, March 2003 -- Ricky Craven by 0.002 seconds

With two laps to go, Ricky Craven passed Kurt Busch for the lead, slamming Busch into the Turn 1 wall in the process. Busch quickly rebounded and bumped Craven out of the way to reassume the lead coming out of Turn 2. But Craven was able to fight back on the last lap, edging Busch at the line after they bounced off each other multiple times.

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I remember watching them all .The Irvan finishes had me on my feet.They were really exciting.It was too bad neither were victories for him.
I disagree on there being a tie for the closest finish.

Although both races had the same margin of victory of 0.002 seconds, the speeds at Talladega were much higher then at Darlington which made the physical distance between 1st and 2nd larger at Talladega, thus Darlington is still the closest finish in NASCAR history.
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I disagree on there being a tie for the closest finish.

Although both races had the same margin of victory of 0.002 seconds, the speeds at Talladega were much higher then at Darlington which made the physical distance between 1st and 2nd larger at Talladega, thus Darlington is still the closest finish in NASCAR history.
YES! Finally someone agrees with me. Same times, yes. Distance? Nope. Darlington is No. 1.
I disagree on there being a tie for the closest finish.

Although both races had the same margin of victory of 0.002 seconds, the speeds at Talladega were much higher then at Darlington which made the physical distance between 1st and 2nd larger at Talladega, thus Darlington is still the closest finish in NASCAR history.
YES! Finally someone agrees with me. Same times, yes. Distance? Nope. Darlington is No. 1.
Majority rules. I switched the 2 T-1,s. :)
I agree too but you can't tell that to the writer.;)
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I disagree on there being a tie for the closest finish.

Although both races had the same margin of victory of 0.002 seconds, the speeds at Talladega were much higher then at Darlington which made the physical distance between 1st and 2nd larger at Talladega, thus Darlington is still the closest finish in NASCAR history.
This post just blew my mind.
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