There is some mixed reaction from the NASCAR fan base regarding which races are actually crown jewels.
While some would say the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500 are the four marquee events, others might say the Brickyard 400 is not a crown jewel and the Bristol Night Race should instead be included on that list.
Whatever the opinions may be, there is no denying the history behind the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 and why they are annual fixtures on the Cup Series schedule.
Ryan Blaney has interesting choice atop his crown-jewel rankings
Following Sunday’s playoff-opening Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the 2023 Cup Series champion was on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and was asked to rank the crown-jewel races.
“To me personally, there’s four crown jewels. I know a lot of people probably won’t agree with that, but it’s Daytona, Darlington, Coke 600 and Indy,” Blaney said. … “To me, I feel like it’s Coke 600, Darlington, Daytona, then Indy. That’s kind of my list. … It doesn’t matter if it’s number one, two, three or four, I’m gonna get flack for it. That’s just the way it goes.”