Credit: Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports.
While a celebration is something that is common in every sport, NASCAR does things a little bit differently when it comes to showing how they feel about coming out on top.
What makes a celebration memorable?
Maybe it was the conclusion of an incredible moment on the track and the scene of watching a driver and his team react is something that just sticks with you as a fan. Maybe it’s a victory celebration gone wrong or maybe it’s just one of those moments that doesn’t have words and all you can do is sit there and watch.
Many things make a moment of celebration memorable and this countdown will look at five of the most memorable victory celebrations of the last 20 years. As I mentioned above, each celebration is going to be memorable for a different reason.
Be sure to comment below and let us know which celebration you remember the most.
Mistakes Happen
Jimmie Johnson has done it all in the span of 14-year career in the Cup Series. He’s won countless races, dominated multiple seasons, captured seven championship and even accidentally celebrated once after a huge wreck at Watkins Glen in 2003. Well, it wasn’t exactly an incident as he was probably just happy that he was able to walk away in one piece, but he did stop to do a fist pump to celebrate
The incident occurred at Watkins Glen in 2000, when Jimmie Johnson lost the brakes in his car and ran full speed into the sand trap, which eventually ended in him hurdling towards the wall. When the incident was over, Jimmie Johnson climbed up to the roof of his car and celebrated to let his team and the media know that he was okay.
Brick City
It’s not always the intent that is memorable, but the action. That was the case in 2015 when Kyle Busch managed to win his very first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and decided he would celebrate with a burnout on the bricks. While doing a burn out on the bricks has been done before by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart , something about Busch’s celebration rubbed some the wrong way.
Unfortunately for Busch, who later told media that he didn’t have a disrespectful intent in doing a burnout on the historic bricks, track officials didn’t take kindly to the incident and sent Busch a letter to voice their displeasure. Of course this later had a snow ball effect and gave fans the illusion that Busch had done the celebration in a show of disrespect.
In the end, the problem was forgotten by time Busch hoisted his very first Cup Championship later that year, but it is still a great example of how one-sided the media can be when it comes to certain drivers and certain situations.
Top Of The World
You can’t talk about victory celebrations without discussing how Dale Earnhardt JR choose to celebrate after winning the 2001 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. It’s no secret that Little E. was still hurting after the tragic death of his legendary father at The Daytona 500 and many wondered how JR would celebrate his win at the track that ultimately took his father’s life.
Jr, who had just won the first race of his career at Daytona, slid his car into the grass after the race and was greeted by his entire team after he climbed on the roof of his car to further celebrate the victory. JR was then greeted by Michael Waltrip, and the two teammates shared a heartfelt and tearful hug on top of June Bug’s #8 Chevrolet.
Standing Ovation
There’s nothing quite like capturing the final win of your career. Of course Jeff Gordon and the fans in the stands at Martinsville didn’t know this was the case, but they all seemed determine to celebrate as if it actually was. In fact, when Gordon crossed the line ahead of Jamie McMurray and locked up a final four chase spot at Homestead Miami, he was met with a standing ovation from the entire crowd.
Not only was this a huge sign of respect for a legend that was riding off into the sunset in just a few weeks’ time, it was also great television for NASCAR fans around the world as well. The celebration was made even more memorable when NASCAR decided to hold victory lane festivities at the start finish line which further drove home the point that this was a special moment in the sports history.
High-Five’s All Around
The Daytona 500 is a race that Dale Earnhardt had struggled to win his entire life. Sure, the man in black came close to the winning the race so many times, but it took the seven time champion 20 years to nab the most prestigious crown in all of auto racing. When he finally won the Daytona 500 in 1998 however, The Intimidator celebrated in one of the most historic fashions imaginable.
Mere minutes after beating Bobby Labonte to the line to capture his first ever 500 victory, Earnhardt drove to pit road and high-fived every crew member that came out to congratulate him on the monumental feat. He followed that up with a couple burnouts in the infield grass, which drew a huge round of cheers from the fans in the stands.
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