Revisiting when Kyle Larson denied a playoff spot to Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds at Kansas

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson stole RFK racing driver Chris Buescher's victory at the Kansas Motor Speedway on May 5, 2024. Larson historically crossed the victory line by just a mere margin of 0.001 seconds in the AdventHealth 400, claiming his second victory this season.

The race had seven cautions and 27 lead changes, and one restart helped the Hendrick Motorsports driver clinch his second victory of the season.

A caution flag was wavered in the 261 lap after Kyle Busch got spun out, leading the race to overtime. But Kyle Larson was thankful for the restart for his iconic victory, crossing the line just 0.001 seconds before Chris Buescher. The duo banged their doors twice before crossing the checkered flag in the final lap.

Kyle shared his experience in a post-race interview, telling NASCAR.com:

"Wasn’t quite sure if we were going to make it out the other side. I got super loose in the center, and then we’re just trying to… I’m trying not to get too far ahead of him to where he can side-draft, and then I was just trying to kill his run. It was crazy."

Chase Elliott finished in third place and was 0.59 seconds behind Larson, while Martin Truex Jr. came fourth.

NASCAR Insider credits Kyle Larson's aggressive style for his win

The nail-biting race at the Kansas Motor Speedway on May 5 between the #5 Chevy Camaro driver Kyle Larson and #17 Ford Mustang driver Chris Buescher caught the eyes of NASCAR insiders. During an episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, some of them shed light on the aggressive style of driving Larson adopted in the checkered flag lap.

Freddie Kraft, the spotter of the 23XI racing team driver Bubba Wallace, claimed that one couldn't afford to leave Kyle Larson on a lane, let alone get to the top towards the end of a race.

"I feel like if anybody on the racetrack, you can't let Kyle Larson get to the top or even leave him a lane. That's probably his preferred lane. He's been running there all night and to Chris's credit I mean he ran him clean he could have easily squeezed him in the fence or something," Kraft said. (0:01)

The spotter for 23XI racing believes that the #17 RFK racing team Ford Mustang driver could have won the race. Kraft highlighted that if Buescher tried to cut the space for Kyle Larson to take the outer lane, things would have been different.

"I think Chris (Buescher) probably is gonna win the race if Larson doesn't hang a left and just door the f**k out of him," added Kraft. (0:18)"

The Californian driver earned the #1 spot in the points table after this win with 470 points.