Richard Petty celebrates the 200th win of his storied career on July 4, 1984.

It wasn't long ago that the NASCAR schedule wasn't strictly confined to weekends - and no, that doesn't include the recent rainout that caused this year's NEXTEL Cup Series event at Dover to take place on a Monday afternoon.

Years before television contracts ruled the landscape and the Car of Tomorrow took to NASCAR's streets, stock cars raced on July 4...regardless of where the holiday fell on the weekly calendar. For years, NASCAR celebrated the nation's long-standing independence in the best way it knew how: racing on the high banks of Daytona.

Many of the most memorable moments in NASCAR's history have occurred on Independence Days past, but perhaps no memory is more unforgettable than what transpired in Daytona Beach on July 4, 1984.

Richard Petty, two days past his 47th birthday and a winner in 199 previous races in NASCAR's top circuit, lined up in the sixth starting position of the Pepsi Firecracker 400 behind the wheel of the No. 43 STP Pontiac. Since winning at Dover six weeks before, Petty had tried four times to secure his 200th NASCAR Cup win. Engine failure and a bad fuel pump had each doomed The King once, with Petty contemporary Cale Yarborough and eventual 1984 series champion Terry Labonte winning the other two events. Petty had not registered a single top-10 finish since the win that left him one short of 200.

However, with President Ronald Reagan on hand and a distinct feel of patriotism in the air, the day had come for America's racing star - in a red, white, and blue car, no less - to take his final crowning victory.

As Reagan watched from the suite of NASCAR co-founder and chairman Bill France Sr. - who bragged of the sport's ability to land the nation's leader for an appearance on such a special day - Petty and Yarborough waged an intense battle as the race neared its 160th and final lap.

Approaching the first turn of Lap 157, caution flew, and Petty and Yarborough each knew that whoever could race back to the start/finish line the fastest would be declared the race winner - for this was long before the era of the green-white-checkered finish. Petty led for the first half of what was now the ultimate lap, but Yarborough cut low to take the lead entering the third turn. As Yarborough's No. 28 Chevrolet drifted up the track, Petty's Pontiac pulled even.

The two legends stayed even approaching the finish line, but it was Petty with the shorter route to the yellow flag. Yarborough did his best to bang the King's No. 43 off of the short line, but Petty held on for victory, winning the race by less than a foot.

The win marked the final trip to Victory Lane in Petty's storied career, and it marked a hallmark moment in NASCAR's rich Fourth of July tradition.

The most recent July 4 race came 15 seasons ago, as Ernie Irvan drove to victory in the 1992 Firecracker 400 behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet prepared by Morgan and McClure. Ironically enough, that final July 4 race at Daytona also marked the final Daytona appearance for Petty, who had amassed 10 victories on the speedway in 74 starts dating back to 1959.

In all, three of Petty's 200 victories came on the Fourth of July, tying him with Bobby Allison for fourth on the all-time Independence Day win list.

Yarborough, though not the winner in 1984, took victories in 1967, 1968, 1976, and 1981 to come in second with four wins.

David Pearson (1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978) and Fireball Roberts (1956 and 1958 in Raleigh, N.C.; 1959, 1962, and 1963 at Daytona) are the all-time Fourth of July champs, with five wins apiece on the nation's birthday.

Listed below are NASCAR's winners on the Fourth of July. All races were held at Daytona unless otherwise noted:

1952 (Oswego, N.Y.), Tim Flock
1953 (Spartanburg, S.C.), Lee Petty
1954 (Weaverville, N.C.), Herb Thomas
1956 (Raleigh, N.C.), Fireball Roberts
1957 (Raleigh, N.C.), Paul Goldsmith
1958 (Raleigh, N.C.), Fireball Roberts
1959, Fireball Roberts
1960, Jack Smith
1961, David Pearson
1962, Fireball Roberts
1963, Fireball Roberts
1964, A.J. Foyt
1965, A.J. Foyt
1966, Sam McQuagg
1967, Cale Yarborough
1968, Cale Yarborough
1969, LeeRoy Yarbrough
1970, Donnie Allison
1971, Bobby Isaac
1972, David Pearson
1973, David Pearson
1974, David Pearson
1975, Richard Petty
1976, Cale Yarborough
1977, Richard Petty
1978, David Pearson
1979, Neil Bonnett
1980, Bobby Allison
1981, Cale Yarborough
1982, Bobby Allison
1983, Buddy Baker
1984, Richard Petty
1985, Greg Sacks
1986, Tim Richmond
1987, Bobby Allison
1992, Ernie Irvan