KANSAS CITY, Kan. (WDAF) — A thrilling weekend of NASCAR racing came to a close Sunday night at the Kansas Speedway with Kyle Larson taking the checkered flag in the closest ever finish for a NASCAR cup series event.
“I was surprised I was able to get to his right rear and get next to him,” said Larson. “And when I did, I got sideways. And then it kind of got straightened back out and I noticed that I had – kind of – the edge on him.”
The separation between first and second place was just 1,000th of a second.
“It was just wild. I haven’t even seen a replay yet, but I know it was exciting…no matter what the replay shows,” said Larson.
Right out of the chute there were early aggressive battles for the lead between Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain in the AdventHealth 400 with both exchanging the lead several times.
There was another white-knuckle moment later in the race with five wide at the start-finish line where Chris Buescher shot a minuscule gap to escape calamity.
Pit road proved problematic for stage winners. Denny Hamlin won the first stage – his third stage win of the season – but got blocked in a subsequent pit stop and lost track position.
Stage two winner Chris Buescher was penalized in the pits after crew members jumped the wall too soon.
Cautions marred stage three with numerous crashes and flat tires as drivers maneuvered to position themselves for a shot at victory lane.
The final caution of the stage with eight laps to go set up a green-white checker. Hamlin had the lead off pit row with Chris Buescher and Larson on his rear. Buescher grabbed the lead then Larson won it at the last moment with the photo finish up to the line.