KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The NASCAR Cup Series saw the Kentucky Derby finish on Saturday and said hold my motor oil. Kyle Larson won the closest race in Cup Series history by 0.001 seconds over Chris Buescher at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.
Larson and Buescher bumped and banged heading toward the finish line with the Hendrick Motorsports driver picking up the win by the slimmest of margins.
"That was wild," Larson said after the win. "That race from start to finish was amazing... [The fans] got their money's worth today."
Buescher thought he won the race until the official announcement was made. Larson's spotter even told him that Buescher had won.
"That sucks to be that close," Buescher said. "I thought I may have had that one... [it] hurts."
Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. finished side by side for third and fourth spot just behind the two lead cars.
Larson, Buescher, and Denny Hamlin were the three dominant cars throughout the race. Hamlin started the final restart in the lead but was shifted back shortly after the green flag.
The race started nearly three hours late because of a rain delay and finished under the lights.
Christopher Bell started on the pole but was quickly passed for the lead by Ross Chastain. Kyle Larson soon after fought Chastain for the lead but they were both passed by Denny Hamlin before the end of the first stage.
Hamlin was blocked by Austin Hill on pit road under caution, causing him to lose several spots.
Chastain led to start stage two but lost the lead on the restart to Larson. Chris Buescher shot his way through the field to second on the restart. Larson had a slow green flag pit stop on the next pit cycle, allowing Buescher to take the lead.
Buescher led the rest of the stage and instantly became a top contender for the win. But a pit road issue left yet another lead car back in the field when Buescher's crew failed to remove a plastic windshield tear from his car properly. The tear was visibly stuck on the top of Buescher's car, forcing him to start in the back of the field.
The beginning of the final stage proved the adage, "Cautions breed cautions."
On the first restart, Jimmie Johnson checked up which forced Corey LaJoie to slam him in the back. Johnson, LaJoie, and Austin Hill all spun out. The wreck ended Johnson's day and relegated the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion to last place, 38th.
The next restart was short-lived when Hamlin squeezed Austin Cindric into the wall. Cindric wrecked and collected Bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell in the process.
Harrison Burton spun on his own on the next restart, bringing out another caution.
It wasn't over there, though, as Chase Briscoe swiped Joey Logano, forcing him into the infield grass and brining out yet another caution.
The field survived the next restart and went on a long green flag run. The mix of cautions of various pit strategies allowed Hamlin, Buescher, and Larson to populate the top spots in the waning laps. Hamlin and Buescher were in full fuel conservation mode and it was uncertain if they would make it to the finish without pitting.
But with under 10 laps to go, Kyle Busch spun out and prompted a caution. That allowed everyone to come to pit road and force a restart with two laps to go.
Hamlin and Buescher started on the front row on the restart. Larson started behind Hamlin but quickly made his way around him as the race went green. Buescher distanced himself from Larson on the final lap but Larson reeled him back in. The two slammed each other coming out of the last turn and flashed across the line simultaneously, with Larson just a hair ahead.
It's the second win of the year for Larson and slight redemption after he finished just behind in second at Dover a week ago.
Before Sunday's race, the closest official NASCAR Cup Series finish was the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 when Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds. NASCAR implemented electronic scoring in 1993.
The NASCAR Cup Series is next in action on May 12 at Darlington Raceway. William Byron is the defending winner.
