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Sunday, February 17
Updated: February 20, 2:36 PM ET

Anything can happen at Daytona
Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The penalty for trying to fix his car under a red flag that cost Sterling Marlin a chance for a Daytona 500 victory is just the latest bizarre ending in a race that has seen many.

"I think that's what makes the Daytona 500 such a special race," NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said after Sunday's race, which was won by Ward Burton. "It's unpredictable, it's unbelievable and it's unforgettable."

Hunter has seen them all:

The first came after the inaugural in 1959. NASCAR gave the trophy to Johnny Beauchamp, then took it away a few days later when a photo proved Lee Petty got to the finish line first.

In 1976, Richard Petty and David Pearson crashed on the final lap and stopped in the grass not far from the line. Pearson managed to get his car going and took the flag at about 5 mph before the rest of the field caught up.

Three years later, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison banged repeatedly on the backstretch, crashed and fought each other on the apron of the third turn. Richard Petty raced by to get the sixth of his seven victories in the race.

Dale Earnhardt, trying to win the race for the first time, dominated for 499 miles in 1990 but ran over debris in the third turn, blew a tire and gave the victory to Derrike Cope.

Although Earnhardt knew the cars he owned -- those driven by winner Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- were headed for a 1-2 finish last year, he never saw the end. The Intimidator was killed when he crashed in the fourth turn seconds before Waltrip crossed the finish line.

On Sunday, Marlin was taken out of the lead with six laps remaining because he tried to pull a dented fender away from a tire after spinning out Jeff Gordon. Marlin wound up eighth. NASCAR rules prohibit anyone from working on a car during a red-flag period.

"This was sort of like a soap opera," Hunter said. "It was like every 30 minutes, we went from one episode to the next. The story line of the race changed about every 40 or 50 laps."

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