One year ago at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Larson snatched the victory from a hard-charging Chris Buescher in a breathtaking photo finish. It was the closest finish in NASCAR history. This victory marked Larson’s second triumph at the 1.5-mile tri-oval and gave him his second win of the season.
Now, with the NASCAR extravaganza heading back to Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 11 for the AdventHealth 400, it’s the perfect time to relive the Hendrick Motorsports star’s thrilling win.
The Kansas Thriller: Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, and the Blink-of-an-Eye Victory
The race originally set for 267 laps was sent to overtime after two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch spun on lap 261. Seizing the moment, Buescher charged hard and took the lead on the restart of the two-lap shootout.
The scene became electric in the closing laps, with the field becoming lively – every racer hunting for the win. Busch’s late spin meant that there was no fuel-saving measure. The lead-lap cars pitted en masse on Lap 263, with most drivers opting for fresh right-side tires while Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Martin Truex Jr. went for all four.
Soon, the scene became electric for a thriller. Denny Hamlin rolled off the pit road first and chose the bottom lane for the restart. Larson was right behind him, tailing the No. 11 Toyota and Buescher on his side.
Then came the pivotal move. Abandoning Hamlin, allowing the RFK Ford to surge ahead, the No. 5 driver ducked to the inside into turn 1. Buescher held his ground until the final stretch with the No. 5 Chevy getting on the outside to go neck and neck with the No. 17 Ford for the finish.
0.001 seconds at the line. Forever in the history books.
It can't get any closer than last year's @kansasspeedway finish. pic.twitter.com/gEUv6z33aF
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 9, 2025
For a split second, it looked as if the Chevy and the Ford crossed the finish line at the exact same time. Fans held their breath, and even the broadcast booth was stunned. “NASCAR on FOX” announcer Kevin Harvick initially believed Buescher had edged out Larson by a whisker, then came the official word from NASCAR, after an intense review.
Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, had snatched the win by just 0.001 seconds. The razor-thin margin left Harvick speechless, managing a stunned, “Holy cow!”
And just like that, in emphatic fashion, the Elk Grove native delivered Hendrick Motorsports its sixth win of the season. Now, as the action returns to the tri-oval, Larson remains grounded despite his thrilling win.
Recently, Larson remarked how it was “pretty neat” to be part of such a legendary finish, one he achieved by a thousandth of a second. He expressed confidence in the strength of Toyota cars at Kansas Speedway.
“The Toyotas-they’re still the best there, I think, anyway,” Larson said, via Reid Spencer. “We’ve chipped away at it and gotten better, I think. I’ve led lots of laps there since we’ve gone there with the Next Gen. I just hadn’t gotten the win until last year. But you always work to get better every time you go to a track.”
On that note, Hamlin leads all active drivers with four wins at Kansas, followed by Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick.