KANSAS CITY, Kansas – Kyle Larson got around Chris Buescher on the final lap and slammed doors with him to the finish line Sunday, where he was declared the winner of the Cup Series race by Kansas Speedway officials in the closest finish in NASCAR history.
The official margin was a thousandth of a second – as close as the previous day’s Kentucky Derby – and Buescher was stunned and disheartened. His team began celebrating before learning he had finished second.
The dramatic finish came after a caution for Kyle Busch’s spin forced a green-white checkered finish. Larson fell behind Buescher on the backstretch of the final lap and then got around him on the outside of the final turn. Buescher appeared to have gotten ahead, and even Larson thought he had finished second, before it was announced that he had won.
“That was amazing,” Larson said. “I was grateful for this care. We were dying a lot. I was happy to come out third.”
It was a bright start to a busy month of May for Larson, who will attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, Memorial Day weekend. The victory was the second of the season for him in car no. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports, and a little payback by finishing second to Denny Hamlin last week at Dover and in the spring race at Kansas a year ago.
Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth on Sunday and Hamlin, who was leading at the final restart, dropped to fifth.
Meanwhile, Buescher took issue with the grainy black-and-white images of the photo finish, and the entire Ford contingent — which has yet to win any of NASCAR’s three major series this year — was left to lament the closest mistake in its history.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” Buescher said, shaking his head as he stood next to his No. 17 car. “I haven’t seen a replay other than the photo, and I sure as hell can’t see it in this photo. It’s a shame to be so close.
What made the situation even more upsetting for Buescher was the fact that he overcame a huge mistake midway through the race. He had just won the second stage and was leading the field onto pit road when a crew member jumped the wall too early. The penalty sent him to the back of the field, and he had to spend much of the final stage working to get back to the front.
Ultimately, he opted for a different pit strategy along with Hamlin, who had his own share of problems on pit road. And it could have worked for them if the race had ended in green. Instead, the late caution forced all the leaders to pit.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” Buescher said.
Christopher Bell started on pole but struggled to run at the front all day in a race that started after a 3½ hour rain delay, finishing sixth. He was followed by Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch, whose spin brought out the final caution. Noah Gragson and Michael McDowell gave Ford two more cars in the top 10.
YELLOW FLAGS
There were no warnings other than stage breaks, until Jimmie Johnson wrecked with 91 laps to go. The seven-time champion, back at number 84 for the second week in a row, was hit from behind by Corey LaJoie after getting a check-up.
“Just trying to get ready for the turn, I got a little help from behind and kind of hung in there,” Johnson said.
The yellow flags came quickly: Hamlin made contact with Austin Cindric, sending the No. 2 into a crash that took down Bubba Wallace and McDowell. Harrison Burton broke on the restart, then Joey Logano on the next.
HEIM TIME
Corey Heim, who won the Truck Series race on Saturday night, finished 22nd while replacing Erik Jones in the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club car. Jones was cleared to return after a crash at Talladega resulted in a compression fracture in his back, but the team opted to hold him out for another week to be on the safe side.
OFFAL
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 16th in his first race since signing a contract extension with JTG Daugherty Racing. He also did so after taking a wild ride in his race car Saturday night at nearby Lakeside Speedway. … Gragson had back-to-back strong weeks after finishing sixth at Dover. … The series heads to Darlington next for its annual throwback weekend.
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NASCAR:
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