KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson It took all of his talent and a little luck to finish the closest in NASCAR Cup Series history.
Larson et Chris Buescher leaning on each other door-to-door over the final hundred yards as Larson edged Buescher by 0.001 second on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
“It was good for me to be outside of him,” Larson said. “And it was great for me to stay there. The rest of it? Definitely a bit of luck.”
“With the way these cars are aerodynamic, I think I’m about to break the barrier.”
NASCAR timing and scoring initially showed Buescher as the winner, but NASCAR photo finishing system showing Larson as the winner.
“We touched on a little bit [Turn] 4 [and] I noticed that he was going to run backwards, so I turned to the left and tried to kill his momentum,” Larson said of his side pulling technique.
“I’ve seen it a lot of times in NASCAR, if a guy runs, you can just block him and it stops. That’s what happened, and I got to the finish line not knowing if I win or not. I guess I care but I don’t really care because I just think, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing.'”
Takeaways after Larson and Buescher, followed by Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.
Larson thought he had lost
Larson thought he lost on the final lap. Crew chief Cliff Daniels told him the timing and scoring showed he had finished second, and after NASCAR officials announced over the race control radio that Larson had won, his supervisor It was Tyler Monn who forwarded the message.
The confusion continued as Larson began celebrating in the front seat.
“I went crazy and… I got the crowd excited [with a burnout]and I looked forward and thought, ‘Oh s—‘ –Buescher was in the front seat and I said, ‘God, I hope they don’t reverse the call and I look like an idiot,'” Larson said.
Kyle Larson wins the PHOTO FINISH at Kansas
Larson then continued to celebrate when he saw Buescher drive down pit road after learning he did not win.
“It was wild,” Larson said. “I’ve never been part of such a finish in a stock car.”
Buescher Thinks He Won
On the other side, Buescher thought he had won.
“The tower put us ahead — we were celebrating,” Buescher said. “We were at the top of the tower and I was sitting on the front bench and they said, ‘That’s number five. [of Larson] suddenly.”
“I’m confused at the moment.”
Chris Buescher initially thought he had won on Sunday before finding out Kyle Larson was vicious
Buescher crew chief Scott Graves met with NASCAR officials after the race. The problem is that the line drawn on the track is slightly curved, but NASCAR’s camera system – the same system often used at major sporting events like the Olympics – has a fixed scoring line that it uses.
Graves said they would not object to the termination.
“They showed the painting they created using lasers — we just wondered if they used line drawing,” Graves said. “They do not have. They have a much more accurate imaging system than that.
“They showed us pictures of it. It is what it is. It’s not easy to swallow at all.”
Buescher had no problems with the way he raced.
“There was a lot of pushback from me — I definitely could have done more and should have done more, I guess,” Buescher said. “It was really tight there and obviously we were in touch.
“I’m sure he also wished he had more space and slammed the door on the front seat all the way to the row.”
Chris Buescher crew chief Scott Graves said he accepted NASCAR’s decision
Hamlin, Truex have their eyes on victory
Denny Hamlin was the leader when Kyle Busch spun with six laps remaining, and while he was first across pit road as nine drivers took two new tires, he was unable to hold on for the win.
“[Larson] made the right move in dividing me [on the restart]”, Hamlin said. “I was in a difficult situation where I was stuck in three corners, I had no motivation and was coached by everyone to deliver the goods.”
Denny Hamlin talks about problems on pit road and the final restart
Hamlin might not have won if Busch hadn’t been able to spin. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. is gaining significant ground and will likely have a chance to overtake him.
“Half a lap — I caught him quickly,” Truex said. “I easily passed him, but it didn’t matter because caution came out.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He spent decades covering motorsports, including more than 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal . Follow him on Twitter @Clover.
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