The 1979 Daytona 500 had more influence on NASCAR‘s growth than this race will. The 1992 Hooters 500 saw the end of one driver’s era (Richard Petty), the start of another (Jeff Gordon) and a classic battle for the Winston Cup between Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki. And the 2004 season-ending battle at Homestead saw three drivers battling right into the final turns for a championship, with Kurt Busch holding off Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon despite actually finishing behind them in the race.

Statistically, however, this race trumps them all. This was the first time since points were instituted in NASCAR in 1975 that the season series ended in a tie. And it was also the first time that a driver came from behind to win the championship by winning a race.

From the drop of the green flag, with Edwards leading the first lap, this was a race dominated by the two finest drivers in NASCAR this year. Early on, Stewart faced the potentially season-demolishing problem of a damaged radiator grille, likely due to debris off Kurt Busch’s car. But rapid repairs and nonstop optimism from Stewart kept the Office Depot No. 14 team focused on the ultimate goal. “They’ll really feel bad when we kick their ass after this,” Stewart prophesized, and he would end up being exactly right.

All Chase long this was a battle of supreme consistency versus supreme speed, and this race distilled that battle down to its essence. Edwards, whose 4.9 average finish in the Chase would have won any Chase before this one, led more laps at Homestead than any driver. But Stewart, who would win half the Chase races this year, passed 118 cars, overcoming the radiator problem and a pit miscue to lead the final laps of the race and set a pace that even the hyperconsistent Edwards couldn’t match.

So yes, it’s perhaps too early to call this race the best in NASCAR history; the confetti hasn’t come down yet and Stewart hasn’t slept. But it deserves mention among the very best, and history will look very kindly on both Carl Edwards and 2011 Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart. We won’t see another race this good, this momentous, any time soon.

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