Analysis: A love letter to the heartland's incredible racing at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — To the 1.5-mile oval sitting in America’s heartland, the following is a love letter to you, the darling known as Kansas Speedway.

Somehow, some way, NASCAR racing at Kansas Speedway keeps getting better. But there may be no topping the action we were treated to Sunday.

We were just witness to the closest margin of victory in NASCAR Cup Series history — a literal photo finish. Side-by-side racing from green flag to checkered. Two-wide, three-wide, four-wide, five-wide? You bet. Four cars across the checkered flag within 0.074 seconds of each other at an intermediate track.

What we were privileged to be privy to Sunday was an all-time classic that will etch Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher into NASCAR lore for eternity after No. 5 stole the win by 0.001 seconds, besting any of the tightest finishes the top level of stock-car racing has ever seen.

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“That race from start to finish was amazing,” Larson told FOX Sports after collecting the checkered. “That first stage was incredible. The second stage at the end was fun, and then that whole last stage with the wrecks and cautions and then fuel strategy and tires running long and all that was wild.

“You guys (the fans) got your money‘s worth today, and I‘m just proud to be a part of the show.”

And what a show it was. Drivers continuously crossed each other over, diving left and right to make moves and capitalize on the runs built from using different lanes around the track. Those battles ranged from the lead all the way back throughout the field — highlighted by exceptional, close-quarters racing between Larson and Ross Chastain in Stage 1.

“That was just incredible racing,” Larson said. “Way stressful racing for me, not really in the race, but that‘s what you get with stages and stage points and a playoff on the line. You wouldn‘t have seen us racing that hard (with a) previous era (of) points. So that was a lot of fun.

“I was obviously frustrated at myself — and I‘m sure Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) was too — with how hard we were all racing, but when I got done with that stage, I gave Ross a big thumbs up, and we gave each other a big thumbs up under that caution because it was just fun, clean racing, and it was just a blast. It was that way, it felt like, the whole race.”

While Daniels was able to play a pivotal role in managing the adjustments needed for Larson’s car to perform, he was left as a spectator while his No. 5 Chevrolet darted through traffic in the fight for the win.

“It’s exciting and stressful, which is just what you want,” Daniels told NASCAR.com. “That’s what we want for the excitement in our sport. And with this car right now, I think the intermediate-style tracks are clearly far and above the best races that we produce.”

But why is Kansas continuing to deliver some of the best action — if not the best action — on the Cup Series schedule?

“I think there‘s a lot more tools in the toolbox for the driver and the crew chief here,” Daniels said. “Air-pressure changes are sensitive; wedge and height changes are sensitive to the car; track position is very sensitive to the balance of the car; lanes can be very sensitive. Having the tools in the toolbox of the driver where he can change the inputs of the car and there‘s a lot more that he can work with and really similar for the teams, I just think it opens up the options so much more to advance yourself or to kind of punish your tires and maybe punish yourself.”

There are also features about the track’s configuration, Larson added, that help contribute to the insane moves seen Sunday — like Buescher’s daring five-wide split up the middle while racing for second.

“I think from my perspective, it‘s got grip, but it‘s got progressive banking, so you kind of move your angles around and stuff,” Larson said. “The way this car is, you can get good drafts and all that. The leader is typically at a disadvantage, I feel like, on these mile-and-a-halfs because it seems as though you abuse your right-rear tire more, so it‘s hard to get away. You‘ve got the draft plus you‘re abusing your tires more. So it just keeps the field bunched up. I think with the old car, we‘d probably get out to like an eight-second lead here. The couple-second lead that I got in the second stage was as big as you‘d probably see in the Next Gen era on a mile-and-a-half.

“It‘s always been good, though. Even with the other car it was always a good track. I think a lot of it has to do with the progressive banking and how that kind of affects the handling of the car.”

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Denny Hamlin, a three-time winner this season, came home fifth, the first car behind the mad dash to the finish line off Turn 4 in overtime. Despite coming just short of what could have been a fourth victory of the year thanks to a late caution, Hamlin was enamored with what Kansas provided — especially after an hours-long rain delay dampened the early afternoon.

“I felt the racing was fantastic. This race track is just built for this car,” Hamlin said. “I mean, it’s one that you can move around and certainly make some moves when you need to. And so I’m really happy for the fans that stayed to get to see great finish like that. That’s what they stayed here for and glad we got to reward them with that.

“It’s just a perfect place for the Next Gen car because you can avoid the wake. We obviously can’t run behind each other, but this is a track where you can maneuver your car around and make speed. You know, I thought that even though we got put to the teens most of the day, we were able to drive back up to the front every single time.”

Sunday’s finish will live in NASCAR history forever. The beauty of it, though?

We get another trip to Kansas in the playoffs come September.

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