Kyle Larson wins out in closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history
KANSAS CITY, Ks. – Kyle Larson claimed victory in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, in what was the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.
Larson beat Chris Buescher by just 0.001 seconds. Although rain delayed the race over three hours due to rain, it couldn’t dampen the day for Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports team.
After the win, Larson stated, “Initially I thought we had won. But through time and scoring, we thought that we didn’t.”
Initially, the scoring pylon ruled Buescher the race winner. However, officials reviewed the replay and determined that Larson crossed the start-finish line first by a whisker.
As Kyle Busch brought out a caution, sending the race to overtime, it was Denny Hamlin who won the final race off pit road, with Buescher and Larson behind. All of them had two fresh tires. Martin Truex Jr. was the first with four in 10th.
Buescher took the initial lead on the restart. Larson stalked him, though, and got the outside lane in turns three and four. Coming to the checkered flag, he made an aggressive move to take the victory from Buescher.
Larson stated, “We probably weren’t the deserving winner tonight. The team executed again and we got the win.”
The win is the second of 2024 for Larson, in what is arguably the biggest month of his career. Larson will attempt to run his first Indianapolis 500 later this month, in addition to his full-time NASCAR schedule.
Kansas delivered one of the most exciting races of the year, which started strong with a stage one win from Denny Hamlin and a stage two win from Chris Buescher.
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, Chase Elliott
STAGE TWO TOP-10: Buescher, Larson, Hamlin, Busch, Truex, Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Chastain, Gragson
Four wrecks kicked off stage three in chaos. Jimmie Johnson wrecked out on lap 177 after a bump from Corey LaJoie. Austin Hill was also in the wreck.
On lap 186, Austin Cindric saw his day end after Denny Hamlin slid into him. The wreck also collected Bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell.
Then, two quick spins on lap 193 from Harrison Burton and lap 199 from Joey Logano ended the rash of cautions.
At that point, Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher emerged as the leaders. They swapped the lead four times before fuel mileage concerns set in.
Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski were good to go on fuel and tore through the field. Truex closed to within less than a second of Hamlin, who commanded the lead but was saving fuel, when the caution came out for Busch with five laps to go.
Pit stops before overtime shook the top-10 to Hamlin, Buescher, Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman, John Hunter Nemechek, Corey Heim and Martin Truex Jr.
When it was all said and done, the top-10 was as follows: Larson, Buescher, Elliott, Truex, Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Bowman, Kyle Busch, Gragson, Michael McDowell.
Next week, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400. It is the first of three races in the Carolinas. The Goodyear 400 is 3 p.m. ET next Sunday on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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