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Kyle Larson NASCAR Chevy Wins In Closest Finish In History: Video

The Cup Series has had not one, but two photo finishes so far in 2024, and now, Kyle Larson will go down in history as the victor in the closest finish in the division. His No. 5 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1 crossed the line just one one-thousandth of a second ahead of the second-place car at Kansas Speedway on May 5th, 2024.

When the No. 8 Camaro of Kyle Busch went for a spin with six laps left, a caution was waved and the stage was set for a NASCAR Overtime finish. Several of the frontrunners pitted before taking the green flag. Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, surged into the lead, but Larson was able to keep pace with him as they headed toward the checkered flag.

The two race cars slammed doors twice, but they managed to stay out of trouble, drag-racing to the finish line. Buescher was ahead just a foot from the stripe, sweeping low to find the fastest way around the track, while Larson stayed to his outside. While Buescher’s transponder initially put him ahead at the line, a review of the photo finish showed the splitter of Larson’s No. 5 NASCAR Chevy just ahead when the checkered flag waved.

“That was wild,” said Larson after the race. “I was obviously thankful for that caution [when Busch spun]. We were dying pretty bad. Was happy to come out third [off Pit Road], and figured my best shot was to choose the bottom and try and split three-wide to the inside.”

He added, “Worked out my car turned well and was able to get some runs. Got through [Turns] 1 and 2 really good down the backstretch and had a big tow on Chris, and got him to kind of enter shallow, and I just committed really hard up top.”

It’s also worth noting that the third-place finisher, Chase Elliott, put the No. 9 Camaro across the line just 0.059 seconds behind Larson, and the fourth-place No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry of Martin Truex Jr. was just 0.075 seconds back from the leader.

Larson’s 0.001-second margin of victory makes Kansas the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, dethroning Kurt Busch’s win by 0.002 seconds at Darlington Raceway in 2003.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, Kansas Speedway, May 5, 2024
Finish Start Car Number Driver Team Laps Run Laps Led Car
1 4 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 268 64 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
2 12 17 Chris Buescher Castrol Edge Ford 268 53 Ford Mustang
3 9 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
4 13 19 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
5 14 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 268 71 Toyota TRD Camry
6 1 20 Christopher Bell Yahoo! Toyota 268 5 Toyota TRD Camry
7 18 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
8 5 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 268 14 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
9 3 10 Noah Gragson Bass Pro Shops Winchester Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
10 8 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
11 30 6 Brad Keselowski Consumer Cellular Ford 268 1 Ford Mustang
12 26 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
13 29 42 John Hunter Nemechek Family Dollar Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
14 25 38 Todd Gilliland Long John Silver's Ford 268 4 Ford Mustang
15 17 4 Josh Berry # Overstock.com Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
16 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Minute Rice Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
17 23 23 Bubba Wallace MoneyLion Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
18 35 51 Justin Haley Children's Mercy Hospital Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
19 2 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Crocs Chevrolet 268 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
20 15 45 Tyler Reddick Monster Energy Toyota 268 7 Toyota TRD Camry
21 10 14 Chase Briscoe Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
22 20 43 Corey Heim(i) Dollar Tree Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
23 36 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
24 22 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life/Creative One Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
25 16 3 Austin Dillon Get Bioethanol Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
26 28 7 Corey LaJoie Gainbridge Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
27 27 99 Daniel Suarez Choice Privileges Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
28 32 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
29 24 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
30 33 31 Daniel Hemric LA Golf Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
31 38 16 Derek Kraus projectwyoming.com Chevrolet 268 6 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
32 6 54 Ty Gibbs SiriusXM Toyota 267 0 Toyota TRD Camry
33 34 33 * Austin Hill(i) United Rentals Chevrolet 267 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
34 11 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 266 0 Ford Mustang
35 37 15 Riley Herbst(i) Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford 266 0 Ford Mustang
36 31 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 262 0 Ford Mustang
37 7 2 Austin Cindric Snap on Ford 184 0 Ford Mustang
38 19 84 * Jimmie Johnson AdventHealth Toyota 175 0 Toyota TRD Camry

# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver

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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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