DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jamie McMurray's heart sank when he saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. lurking in his rearview mirror. Of all the guys bearing down on me, he thought, it has be one who seems destined to win the Daytona 500.

Then McMurray looked up at the finish line. I don't think he can beat me to it, he thought.

Turns out McMurray was right. Just barely.

The truth — the hole truth — is that the 33-year-old McMurray won the Super Bowl of NASCAR yesterday in a spectacular finish. Race officials just hope it makes fans forget about a pothole on the track that required two stoppages and delayed stock car racing's greatest spectacle by more than two hours.

Those who turned away missed an amazing show.

"I can't really put it into words the way it feels," said McMurray, who broke down in tears several times after the race. "I'm trying to be genuine and as sincere as I can and not sound cliche: as a kid growing up, this is what you dream of, of being able to win the Daytona 500."

McMurray did it with a huge push from former teammate Greg Biffle to move past leader Kevin Harvick on NASCAR's second attempt at a "green-white-checkered" finish — a two-lap overtime policy that was tweaked this week to create exciting finishes. It worked.

Once out front, McMurray still had to contend with Earnhardt, a 12-time Daytona winner who was bearing down on his rear bumper. When he beat him to the finish line by .119 seconds, McMurray climbed from his car, sprinted to the race logo in the infield grass, and dropped to his knees in a tear-soaked celebration.

"Fans deserve probably more of a show, so that's what they got," said Earnhardt, who settled for second.

Because the drivers weren't positive the patch of pavement between turns 1 and 2 could hold, they couldn't risk holding back after the second repair. It was possible that the track would split again over those final 80 miles, and the race would be called before its conclusion.

So the drivers beat and banged their way through the field in a white-knuckle final 32 laps. Then a flurry of late-race accidents created three two-lap sprints. It was that final segment that was so breathtaking, in part because of Earnhardt's unbelievable moves.

In 10th on the final restart, he weaved in and out of traffic, shoved his Chevrolet into three-wide lines, and eventually moved himself into position to win. It was vintage Earnhardt, and McMurray was terrified to see him gaining ground.

"I looked in my mirror and saw the 88 — I'll be honest, I was like, '(Darn), this guy has won a lot of races here. His family has an incredible history here,' " McMurray said. "I believe everything happens for a reason. I just was like, 'I hope this isn't his turn to win the Daytona 500, I hope this is mine.' "

But with just two laps to make up so much ground, Earnhardt ran out of time and had to settle for second as McMurray sailed to his first career Daytona 500 victory.

"I didn't know where I was, you know, till I really kind of got done almost wrecking down the back straightaway," Earnhardt said of his charge. "Then I looked up — there's just one car in front of me, 'Jamie's gonna win this damn race!'

"I was happy for him. He deserves it. They've been through a lot. It's a great team."

The end left McMurray sobbing with joy in Victory Lane during the celebration with his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team. Between photographs, he rested his head on the trophy he cradled in his arms.

It was McMurray's first race back with Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates, who gave him his Sprint Cup Series shot in 2002. But McMurray bolted for a high-profile job with Roush Fenway Racing, where he spent four frustrating seasons before losing that ride at the end of last season when NASCAR forced Roush to drop a team to meet its four-car limit.

"I'm not quitting again," he told Ganassi hours after the 500 victory. "Just so you guys know, I'm staying."

McMurray had to fight to get a seat back with Ganassi, and it included convincing sponsor Bass Pro Shops' owner Johnny Morris to take a chance on him. He helped his cause with an October win at Talladega while driving for Roush, and the rehiring was announced a few weeks later.

The risk was well rewarded yesterday with the biggest victory of McMurray's career.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP-DAYTONA 500

At Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Fla.

Lap length: 2.5 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (13) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 208 laps, 100.2 rating, 190 points.

2. (2) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 208, 92.1, 175.

3. (23) Greg Biffle, Ford, 208, 111, 170.

4. (9) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 208, 119.4, 165.

5. (20) David Reutimann, Toyota, 208, 80.5, 155.

6. (14) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 208, 111, 155.

7. (5) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 208, 125, 156.

8. (24) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 208, 66.7, 142.

9. (27) Carl Edwards, Ford, 208, 93.2, 138.

10. (8) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 208, 94.8, 139.

11. (39) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 208, 72.8, 130.

12. (1) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 208, 67.9, 132.

13. (32) Paul Menard, Ford, 208, 66, 124.

14. (7) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 208, 96.3, 126.

15. (22) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 208, 71.3, 118.

16. (19) David Ragan, Ford, 208, 76.7, 120.

17. (25) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 208, 68, 117.

18. (43) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 208, 66.8, 109.

19. (30) Scott Speed, Toyota, 208, 73.8, 111.

20. (16) Joey Logano, Toyota, 208, 61.1, 108.

21. (42) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 208, 60.5, 100.

22. (6) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 208, 67.6, 97.

23. (10) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 208, 95.1, 99.

24. (12) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 208, 85, 96.

25. (38) Boris Said, Ford, 208, 49.2, 93.

26. (21) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 208, 88.2, 90.

27. (40) Bill Elliott, Ford, 208, 51.1, 82.

28. (34) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 207, 52.1, 84.

29. (35) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 205, 55.5, 81.

30. (4) Kasey Kahne, Ford, accident, 202, 91, 78.

31. (37) Robert Richardson Jr., Ford, accident, 202, 50.8, 70.

32. (15) AJ Allmendinger, Ford, 198, 84.9, 72.

33. (29) Michael McDowell, Toyota, drive shaft, 195, 33.5, 64.

34. (17) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, accident, 193, 50.2, 61.

35. (3) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, rear axle, 185, 67, 58.

36. (26) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 174, 46, 55.

37. (36) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 160, 39.4, 52.

38. (33) John Andretti, Ford, accident, 117, 44.6, 49.

39. (11) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 90, 29, 46.

40. (31) Max Papis, Toyota, engine, 89, 26.8, 43.

41. (18) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, engine, 79, 51.7, 40.

42. (28) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, accident, 76, 30.5, 37.

43. (41) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, accident, 64, 41.9, 34.

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 137.284 mph.

Time of Race: 3 hours, 47 minutes, 16 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 0.119 seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 40 laps.

Lead Changes: 52 among 21 drivers.

Lap Leaders: M.Martin 1-4; K.Kahne 5; M.Martin 6-12; J.Montoya 13; D.Earnhardt Jr. 14-17; K.Harvick 18-21; E.Sadler 22; K.Harvick 23-34; Ku.Busch 35-44; A.Allmendinger 45-47; Ku.Busch 48-49; J.Logano 50; R.Gordon 51; Ku.Busch 52-70; A.Allmendinger 71; K.Harvick 72; A.Allmendinger 73-79; D.Hamlin 80; Ku.Busch 81; G.Biffle 82-83; Ku.Busch 84; G.Biffle 85-94; Ky.Busch 95-97; J.Gordon 98-99; C.Bowyer 100-106; G.Biffle 107; C.Bowyer 108-109; G.Biffle 110; C.Bowyer 111-112; D.Ragan 113-114; C.Bowyer 115-118; T.Kvapil 119; B.Said 120; C.Bowyer 121-126; K.Kahne 127-129; E.Sadler 130; C.Bowyer 131; E.Sadler 132-135; C.Bowyer 136-137; K.Harvick 138-144; E.Sadler 145-147; M.Truex Jr. 148-150; K.Harvick 151-153; J.Montoya 154; K.Harvick 155-164; S.Speed 165-168; G.Biffle 169-175; S.Speed 176-183; G.Biffle 184-185; C.Bowyer 186-198; G.Biffle 199-202; K.Harvick 203-206; J.McMurray 207-208.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Harvick, 7 times for 41 laps; C.Bowyer, 8 times for 37 laps; Ku.Busch, 5 times for 33 laps; G.Biffle, 7 times for 27 laps; S.Speed, 2 times for 12 laps; M.Martin, 2 times for 11 laps; A.Allmendinger, 3 times for 11 laps; E.Sadler, 4 times for 9 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 1 time for 4 laps; K.Kahne, 2 times for 4 laps; M.Truex Jr., 1 time for 3 laps; Ky.Busch, 1 time for 3 laps; J.McMurray, 1 time for 2 laps; J.Montoya, 2 times for 2 laps; D.Ragan, 1 time for 2 laps; J.Gordon, 1 time for 2 laps; D.Hamlin, 1 time for 1 lap; J.Logano, 1 time for 1 lap; B.Said, 1 time for 1 lap; R.Gordon, 1 time for 1 lap; T.Kvapil, 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 12 in Points: 1. J.McMurray, 190; 2. D.Earnhardt Jr., 175; 3. G.Biffle, 170; 4. C.Bowyer, 165; 5. K.Harvick, 156; 6. D.Reutimann, 155; 7. M.Truex Jr., 155; 8. M.Kenseth, 142; 9. J.Montoya, 139; 10. C.Edwards, 138; 11. M.Martin, 132; 12. J.Burton, 130.

NASCAR Driver Rating Formula

A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.

The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.