In an absolute NASCAR classic, Kyle Larson captured his second win of the 2024 Cup Series season by a mind-boggling 0.001 seconds over Chris Buescher in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. It was the tightest margin of victory in the history of the sport’s top division.
The final laps were pure edge-of-your-seat drama as Larson, Buescher, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin arrived at the start/finish line absolutely door-to-door fighting for the win. Larson and Buescher made contact multiple times exiting turn 4, with Buescher appearing to have cleared Larson as they drag raced down the frontstretch.
However, Larson’s #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet somehow found a surge of speed right at the line to incredibly nip Buescher’s #17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford by mere inches. It was so close that even after taking the checkered flag, Larson admitted he had “no clue” if he had actually won or not.
“I was just like ‘Man, that was frickin’ awesome!'” Larson recounted of his thoughts in those final seconds. “It’s insane we were able to get there first by just 0.001 seconds. I’ll never forget this one, that’s for sure.”
While Larson and his team were euphoric in victory lane, Buescher and his crew were devastated at how agonizingly close they came to winning. Crew chief Scott Graves initially protested the result to NASCAR officials, but after being shown the photo finish evidence, he had no choice but to accept the heartbreaking outcome.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” a crestfallen Buescher said. “I sure can’t see in that picture who won. That just sucks to be that close and come up short.”
Buescher even jokingly tweeted afterwards that he should have pulled a “Lightning McQueen” move by sticking his tongue out to nose ahead of Larson at the line, in reference to the Pixar Cars movie.
The dramatic finish capped an enthralling race at the 1.5-mile Kansas oval. Late restarts and pit strategy calls set the stage for the frantic four-wide scramble to the finish between Larson, Buescher, Elliott, Truex and Hamlin. After cycling through the final round of pit stops, Larson’s crew got him off pit road first for the decisive restart with under 40 laps remaining.
From there, it was a gritty effort by Larson to stay out front as Buescher determinedly hounded him over the closing laps. As they took the white flag, Larson and Buescher had cleared Elliott, Truex and Hamlin just enough to set up their own private duel to the finish line.
“There’s definitely wins you can forget over time, but I don’t think anyone will forget this one even if the record eventually gets broken someday,” said Larson. “It was just awesome side-by-side racing all the way to the absolute end.”
Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 10 finishers in the historic 400-mile race. But all eyes were on the #5 and #17 cars in those final heart-pounding moments – an incredible showcase for NASCAR racing at its breathtaking best.
