Every sport has it’s big one. The Super Bowl. The  World Series. The World Cup. But in Nascar, the ultimate prize is not the last race. It’s the first. The Daytona 500. For more than 70  years, Nascar has raced in the fabled city of Daytona. And for every driver who wins there, fame, fortune, and eternal recognition await them. And the 2017 Daytona 500 was one which lived up to that standard.

The race which debuted the new segment system was expected to be exciting. The Duels at Daytona featured plenty of great racing, so the hopes were high. And with fan favorites Chase Elliot and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the front row, this promised to be a race for the ages.

The hype about an exciting race was not wrong. From the green flag, drivers drove like the white flag had waved. Drivers were swapping positions and paint every lap. Yet, somehow there was no major wreck in the fist segment. Just an insane battle for the segment win. Drivers were all wanting to claim the lead and the bonus points that came with it. Various strategies  were used to get to the front, but short pitting at the beginning of the segment helped the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers reach the lead. And Kyle Busch led them as the first segment concluded.

However, that strategy had some unfortunate effects in round two. Drivers were now getting the hang of the system, but you can’t prepare for unusual circumstances, About midway through the second segment, Kyle Busch blew a tire while leading his pack. Busch spun around, straight into the pack, taking more than half a dozen cars, including rookie Eric Jones, and former 500 winners Matt Kenseth and Dalr Jr. The wreck eliminated 3 of the 6 Joe Gibbs Racing affiliated drivers.

In the mean time, the varying strategies were causing chaos. Some drivers were leading, but needed fuel and tires soon. Some were barely on the lead lap, but in place to gain the lead when the others pitted. However, that came to an end when a caution flew when the crash occurred that took out the JGR drivers. The result was just what one group, the Stewart-Hass Racing drivers, wanted. It left them on the lead with just a couple laps left in segment two. Led by Kevin Harvick, the four quickly asserted themselves as the leaders. However, as the segment closed, several drivers attempted to break the SHR hold on the lead. However, Danica Patrick, Kurt Busch, and Clint Bowyer held off the field as Harvick took the segment victory.

Most of the drivers, including the SHR ones, came to pit road for fuel and tires. However, it was doing so that was their undoing. The final segment was destined to be one of the most thrilling, and chaotic, thus far. Jimmie Johnson, who had started at the back due to a car change, had raced his way to the front. But while battling for the lead, he was bump drafted by Jamie McMurray. This pushed Johnson down the track, and right into Trevor Bayne, and chaos erupted. Johnson spun into the pack, and the ensuing wreck damaged several cars, Kurt Busch, Trevor Bayne and Kyle Larson among them. It took out Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint Bowyer, thus eliminating all but one of the SHR cars (Kurt Busch.).

And that was the beginning of the segment. Just laps later, Trevor Bayne once again was in a wreck, this time collecting teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Elliot Sadler, and tagging  Ryan Blaney. Ironically, Bayne was once again able to drive away.

And still, the drivers weren’t done.  Driving down the backstretch, just minutes after the wreck previous, Jamie McMurray, who deserved the title of the race’s most aggressive driver, tried to swerve inside of Chase Elliot, and tagged the 24. Chase nearly went into the inside lane, but saved it. Jamie wasn’t so lucky. The pack built behind him, and a massive pileup began. Among those taken out were rookie Daniel Suarez, Brad Kesloski, Jamie McMurray, Ty Dillon, and multiple others were damaged. However, Elliot managed to escape with minimal damage.

There were now 46 laps remaining, and drivers were carefully watching their fuel. All had come to pit road, but none had been required to go this far on one tank all week. But with the biggest prize in Nascar on the line, none were questioning the gamble. The green flag waved, and the duel began. Driver after driver took the lead, then lost it to each other. Veteran Joey Logano, the only 500 winner still in the lead draft, took the lead, and seemed that as long as his technical teammate Ryan Blaney was on his tail, he would be unstoppable. But there was one who wasn’t willing to run in line.

Chase Elliot, the pole and Duel winner, drove his damaged 24 car through the field, and fought Logano with the speed of five drivers. Logano desperately blocked the blue 24, but Chase wouldn’t be denied. And with 26 laps remaining, Elliot took the lead. And led. And led.

Lap after lap, fans sat on the edge of their seats (myself among them), as they watched the best driver in the field drive like there was no tomorrow. And as the laps wound down, everyone wondered, who would run out of fuel?

With three to go, we found out. Elliot stuttered, and drifted down the track. He was out of fuel. Fans gasped, and Martin Truex Jr, who lost this race by inches last year, took the lead. And ran out with a lap and a half remaining. Fans gasped again, and cheers erupted. Because young gun Kyle Larson, who has become a bit of a fan favorite, took the lead. Larson drove hard as he took the white flag… and ran out of gas.

This time, drivers scattered, all desperately trying to gain the lead of Nascar’s most coveted event. However, it was Kurt Busch, driving his battle tested and hardened 41 car, who slipped beneath Larson for the lead. Ryan Blaney, another young, was hot on his tail. Busch drove into turns 3 and 4, gas pedal all the way down, unable to even look in his rearview mirror (it fell off with 30 laps remaining). Could this be it? For Almost 17 years, Kurt Busch has been a Cup Series driver. And in that time, he has a Chmpionship, 25 plus wins, but no plate wins. Talladega and Daytona have eluded him. And most hurtful of all: he has three runner up finishes in the Daytona 500. Would history repeat itself, and cost him his biggest victory?

Not gonna happen. Kurt kept the pedal down and Blaney in check, and crossed the finish line to win his first Daytona 500, after all that time. And for the first time in a long time, Busch wasn’t met with boos. The fans cheered as Kurt collected the checkered flag, and did what burnout he could with his meager fuel. After all, it’s hard not to cheer win someone has achieved the greatest achievement in Nascar: a Daytona 500 victory.

P.S. fun fact: despite being in or causing almost every wreck all day, Trevor Bayne somehow finished 10th. And Michael Waltrip, making his last career start, finished 8th.