NASCAR official clarifies how close calls like Larson-Buescher's Kansas finish are decided

The two-wide photo finish at Kansas Speedway looked like a climax scene inspired by a movie script. Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher crossed the checkered flag side-by-side and Larson was deemed victorious by a margin of 0.001 seconds.

Chris Buescher of RFK Racing was initially announced as the winner but after reviewing video footage, NASCAR declared Hendrick Motorsports' Larson as the winner of the 12th NASCAR Cup Series race of the season.

In a recent conversation on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the NASCAR Cup Series MD Brad Moran elaborated on the technology used by NASCAR on the start-finish line and how it is not dependent on any other means such as the paint lines.

The NASCAR official said:

"We don't go off the accuracy of a painter that paints a line on the racetrack. It's for a fan, for a visual for the fans, for the teams to get a visual. But when we get talking this close and we make sure the finishes are right like in many other sports."

The Cup Series MD then explained in detail the system used at the start-finish line that captures thousands of images to determine race results.

"We have a laser line that is pencil-thin. This camera takes anywhere from 4,000 to 20,000 frames per second. That's how close it is that we see at the start-finish line. There's obviously different textures in the asphalt and the concrete. And by no means is that line, not that it was out by a lot or anything like that. But we obviously have a much tighter tolerance on who wins a cup race or any race for that matter in NASCAR," the NASCAR official concluded.

Following Brad Moran's explanation, NASCAR on Fox reporter Bob Pockrass clarified why the sports timing system used to capture thousands of frames during the Larson-Buescher side-by-side finish at Kansas Speedway did not capture the finish line. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"For those asking why finish line isn't in the scan - the image is created from photos taken when something in motion (could even be a fly to activate system) passes the plane of razor-thin line that NASCAR sets as finish line in system."

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JGR driver Denny Hamlin gave his take on Larson-Buescher's photo finish

During a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver talked about the clarity of the image of the #5 Chevy of Larson and the #17 Ford of Buescher at the finish line. Hamlin said:

"It is blurry. I’m not disputing Kyle Larson won the race at all. But I’m telling you, there is an optical illusion on this. There’s a reflection off of #5’s front splitter that makes it look further ahead than it actually is." [20:19]

"It’s definitely an optical illusion," Hamlin added [21:17].

Although the NASCAR MD Brad Moran clarified the technology used during the start-finish line, some members of the NASCAR community doubt the technology being employed.