Kyle Larson beats Chris Buescher at Kansas in closest NASCAR finish ever

 In the closest finish in NASCAR history, Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher to the checkered flag by roughly one inch to win Sunday night’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.

After a spin by Kyle Bush on Lap 261 of a scheduled 267 sent the race to overtime, Buescher took the lead on the restart of the two-lap shootout, only to have Larson pull even on the backstretch on the final lap.

Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet and Buescher’s No. 17 Ford banged doors twice coming to the finish line. Buescher held the edge a foot from the stripe, but Larson surged ahead to win in a photo finish, with timing and scoring showing a margin of 0.001 seconds.

The victory was Larson’s second of the season, his second at Kansas and the 25th of his career. The win was the sixth this season for Hendrick Motorsports, most in the NASCAR Cup Series so far this year.

In overtime, Chase Elliott was third, 0,059 seconds behind Larson, followed by Martin Truex Jr., who trailed the leader by 0.075 seconds.

The caution for Busch’s spin negated the fuel-saving measures that had dominated the final stage of the race. The lead-lap cars pitted en masse on Lap 263, with most taking right-side tires only, and Truex opting for fresh rubber on all four corners.

Fifth-place finisher Denny Hamlin was first off pit road and chose the bottom lane for the overtime restart with Larson behind him and Buescher to his outside. But Larson ducked to the inside entering Turn 1, abandoning Hamlin and allowing Buescher to surge into the lead.

Buescher, who scored his first career top five on an intermediate speedway, held the top spot until Larson surged ahead by a half-car-length on the backstretch to set up the wild drag race to the finish line.

 The race featured 27 lead changes among 10 drivers and seven cautions for 43 laps. Except for stage breaks, the race ran caution free until Lap 176, when contact from Corey LaJoie’s Chevrolet sent seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson spinning in a three-car accident that slowed the race for seven laps.

Three more cautions followed in rapid succession, creating varying strategic options as drivers either chose to pit for fuel or to stay out. Truex, who had ample fuel, was closing fast late in the race on then-leader Hamlin, who was saving gas, when the caution for Busch’s spin forced the overtime.

Pole winner Christopher Bell ran sixth, followed by Alex Bowman, Busch, Noah Gragson (scoring his third straight top 10) and Michael McDowell. 

Notes: Hamlin won the first stage and Buescher the second… The previous closest finishes in NASCAR history were Ricky Craven’s 0.002-second win over Kurt Busch on March 16, 2003 at Darlington and Jimmie Johnson’s victory over Clint Bowyer at Talladega on April 17, 2011 by the same margin… Corey Heim finished 22nd in relief of injured Erik Jones, who will return to action next weekend at Darlington… Larson extended his series lead to 29 points over Truex in second… Larson’s victory by the closest of margins kept Ford drivers winless through 12 races this season.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – AdventHealth 400

Kansas Speedway

Kansas City, Kansas

Sunday, May 5, 2024

(4)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 268.

(12)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 268.

(9)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 268.

(13)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 268.

(14)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 268.

(1)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 268.

(18)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 268.

(5)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 268.

(3)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 268.

(8)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 268.

(30)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 268.

(26)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 268.

(29)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 268.

(25)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 268.

(17)  Josh Berry #, Ford, 268.

(21)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 268.

(23)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 268.

(35)  Justin Haley, Ford, 268.

(2)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 268.

(15)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 268.

(10)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 268.

(20)  Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 268.

     (36)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 268.

    (22)  Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 268.

(16)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 268.

(28)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 268.

(27)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 268.

     (32)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 268.

(24)  Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 268.

(33)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 268.

(38)  Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 268.

(6)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 267.

(34)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 267.

(11)  Joey Logano, Ford, 266.

(37)  Riley Herbst(i), Ford, 266.

(31)  Harrison Burton, Ford, 262.

(7)  Austin Cindric, Ford, Accident, 184.

(19)  Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, Accident, 175.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  126.481 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 10 Mins, 42 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .001 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 43 laps.

Lead Changes:  27 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Bell 1;R. Chastain 2-32;C. Bell 33-35;D. Kraus 36-41;R. Chastain 42-43;K. Larson 44;R. Chastain 45-50;K. Larson 51-62;D. Hamlin 63-64;K. Larson 65;D. Hamlin 66-83;R. Chastain 84-87;C. Bell 88;K. Larson 89-118;T. Reddick 119-125;C. Buescher 126-168;K. Larson 169-183;K. Busch 184-197;K. Larson 198-201;T. Gilliland 202-205;D. Hamlin 206-207;C. Buescher 208-214;D. Hamlin 215-227;C. Buescher 228;D. Hamlin 229-262;B. Keselowski 263;D. Hamlin 264-265;C. Buescher 266-268.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Denny Hamlin 6 times for 71 laps; Kyle Larson 6 times for 63 laps; Chris Buescher 4 times for 54 laps; Ross Chastain 4 times for 43 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 14 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 7 laps; Derek Kraus 1 time for 6 laps; Christopher Bell 3 times for 5 laps; Todd Gilliland 1 time for 4 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,1,5,20,17,54,19,8,10,9

Stage #2 Top Ten: 17,5,11,8,19,54,48,45,1,10