The 15 Best Celebrations in Motorsports

Victory Lane, in any form of motorsports, is a special place. Some races have more prestige and tradition than others, but the thrill of victory is a food that never tastes bad.

There exist no bad celebrations, especially for first-time winners. How can you fault a person for celebrating however they see fit when they have worked their entire lives to get to that hallowed position?

Some, however, take on a character all their own. They can be attributed to a single driver. They can also own a moment in time that can never be recreated. Some just have a lasting appeal that have become ingrained within the sport.

Here are 15 of the best, most classic motorsports celebrations. My apologies in advance for it being a bit NASCAR heavy.

The Kyle Busch Bow

Year after year, this victory celebration is becoming more prevalent on the NASCAR scene. Kyle Busch does it in every level of NASCAR in which he races.

It might not be the most original celebration, but everyone now knows that when No. 18 crosses the finish line first, love him or hate him, the fans will be treated to a quick bow courtesy of Mr. Busch.

He may have been parked for overaggressive driving at Texas during the Camping World Truck Series race, but no matter—this is not the last of the bows we will see proffered by one of NASCAR's most versatile drivers.

Formula One Champagne

Formula One is the most expensive and classy of motorsports fields. It also celebrates in the most distinguished of traditions: Champagne!

American motorsports would not do itself a disservice in embracing technology the way Formula One has. Though NASCAR will never try to equal the technological innovation as put forth by Formula One, it would not hurt to take a nod from there celebratory tradition.

Would you rather be sprayed by Gatorade/Coca Cola or some nice champagne in Victory Lane? I'll take the bubbly; twice on Monday, if you please.

Darrell Waltrip Wins the 1989 Daytona 500

On the 17th day of February, on his 17th try, Darrell Waltrip pulled out a win at the Daytona 500.

He was already a great three-time NASCAR champion. He had nothing left to prove in the sport, but he obviously felt as though he did.

By the way, he did it in the No. 17. car. The emotion of the video speaks for itself.

The Back Flip

No one else does this in the sport today. Unfortunately for Carl Edwards, he has not been able to perform his famous stunt in the Sprint Cup Series for some time.

Judging from Tony Stewart's 2011 Chase onslaught, he may very well need to pull out another victory to secure his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

During the last two races of 2010, Carl was afforded the opportunity to flip twice. Can he repeat that magic?

Tony Stewart Climbing the Wall

Tony Stewart does not perform this stunt anymore. It's OK. He can still pull out the victories, as evidenced in the 2011 NASCAR season. After his win at Martinsville, he verbally declined to climb the wall, citing old age.

Still, if he ends up winning the championship, do you think he will bust it out one more time?

Pulling out the Broom

There has never been a celebration like it in NASCAR history. There may never be one again.

Certainly, this accomplishment can only be equaled at this point. Despite all his personal shortcomings, Kyle Busch will be remembered in the NASCAR history books even if he were to be parked indefinitely for the rest of his career

Alan Kulwicki's Polish Victory Lap

This was not the first time that 1992 Winston Cup Champion Alan Kulwicki had performed this stunt. However, it was the most glorious.

Fresh off the heels of one of the greatest comebacks in NASCAR history, what else could he do? It is a simple yet effective celebration of a paramount accomplishment.

Jimmie Johnson's Fifth Consecutive Championship

Whether you love or hate Jimmie Johnson, you are unlikely to see this kind of celebration again in your lifetime. Will we ever again see the celebration of a NASCAR champion winning his fifth title in a row? Highly doubtful.

The usually somber Johnson unleashes a moment of pure joy and and enthusiasm.

The announcer puts it perfectly: "That hammering you hear is the sound of the nail of the final coffin on the Chase contenders' hopes upsetting Jimmie Johnson."

In addition, Carl Edwards actually wins the race and performs his customary flip as Johnson burns out in jubilation of his unprecedented achievement.

Are you kidding me? Yeah... Unbelievable! 

Richard Petty Celebrates with President Ronald Reagan

July 4th, 1984 was a special day for NASCAR. The President of the United States of America was on hand to witness the magnanimous achievement of Richard Petty's 200th win at the Daytona International Speedway.

It had not happened before, and it has not happened since. They even shared a lunch of Kentucky Fried Ckicken after the conclusion of the race.

This has to be one of the most unique victory celebrations in the history of racing.

Carl Edwards Celebrates Life

There is not really much to say here. Carl Edwards stared death in the face and was able to run across the finish line.

Of course, that counted for nothing. However, it is heartening to see a driver able to climb out of the car from a wreck that horrendous and "finish the race," even if it means nothing in the points standings.

Hats off to NASCAR for making safety standards that were able to withstand such a horrible wreck.

(Apologies for the poor quality of the video.)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Win After Spetember 11th at Dover

If you do not care for the build up, just skip ahead to the 6:00 point in the video.

There will never be another celebration like this. Honestly, it would not really matter who carried the American flag around the race track. This was a special, if tragic, day for the United States of America.

Who better than Dale Earnhardt Jr. to run the flag around the track in the throes of such a tragedy?

It should not be forgotten that, after this race, many of our dead and fallen heroes would eventually land at Dover Air Force Base in coffins before their remains were turned over to their grieving families.

Dale Earnhardt Congratulations at Daytona

This does not happen. Dale Earnhardt had finally won the Daytona 500. Every team came out to congratulate his achievement.

Even when a driver wins a championship, this is a complete anomaly.

Rarely, if ever, will you see this amount of respect levelled to an individual driver in your lifetime.

Drinking the Milk

This is really, really hard to watch in light of recent events. However, there really are not many more classic celebrations in all of racing.

All drivers would trade the champagne, Coca Cola and Gatorade for a chance to quaff the most succulent milk in all of motorsports.

R.I.P. Dan Wheldon.

Burning out

The video is a little shoddy, but it gets the point across. This is the goal of every American stock car driver. Of course, it wastes a set of tires.

No matter, it is a tradition that cannot be avoided upon the eventual trip to Victory Lane in a NASCAR race.

I believe every NASCAR fan secretly wishes that they could get to do this just one time in their life.

Kissing the Bricks

All drivers want to do this. Very few get the chance. It is the most glorious single celebration in all of motorsports.

If much more explanation is needed, then I am a writer unequipped to supply the picture needed to understand the importance of this occasion.