NASCAR's closest finishes in Next Gen era
Kyle Larson’s victory over Chris Buescher in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history continues Larson’s dominance in tight races during the Next Gen era.
Larson beat Buescher by .001 seconds Sunday night at Kansas Speedway.
“I'll always remember it for sure,” Larson said Sunday night of his Kansas victory. “I think there's definitely wins that you can kind of get lost in the distance a little bit, but when you finish and have the closest, to this point, finish in Cup Series history, I don't think you're ever going to forget about it, even if it gets broken some day. Yeah, just great to be on this side of it. I probably would still remember it, though, if I ran second.”
What drivers said after Sunday night’s Cup race at Kansas
Thirty-one Cup drivers finished on the lead lap at Kansas Speedway.
The previous closest Cup finish was .002 seconds. Ricky Craven beat Kurt Busch by that margin to win at Darlington in March 2003. Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer by that margin to win at Talladega in April 2011.
Twenty-nine of the 84 Cup races (34.5%) in the Next Gen era have had a margin of victory of half a second or less. Larson has been involved in seven of those 29 finishes (24.1%).
Larson has won five of those races. No driver has won more races with a margin of victory of a half a second or less in the Next Gen era.
Buescher is tied for second behind Larson in such close wins in the Next Gen era. Buescher has three victories. He’s tied with William Byron and Denny Hamlin.
Tyler Reddick has been involved in six such finishes in the Next Gen era. He’s finished second four times. Reddick is tied with Ryan Blaney for the most runner-up finishes in such finishes in the Next Gen era.
Closest Next Gen era finishes
Here are the 29 Next Gen era races that have had a margin of victory of half a second or less.
.001 — Kyle Larson wins 2024 Kansas I over Chris Buescher
.003 — Daniel Suarez wins 2024 Atlanta I over Ryan Blaney
.012 — Ryan Blaney wins 2023 Talladega II over William Byron (Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line second but his car was later disqualified)
.036 — Austin Cindric wins 2022 Daytona 500 over Bubba Wallace
.046 — Chase Elliott wins 2022 Talladega II over Ryan Blaney
.082 — Kyle Larson wins 2023 Las Vegas II over Christopher Bell
.098 — Chris Buescher wins 2023 Daytona II over Brad Keselowski
.105 — Ross Chastain wins 2022 Talladega I over Austin Dillon
.119 — Denny Hamlin wins 2022 Coca-Cola 600 over Kyle Busch
.128 — Austin Dillon wins 2022 Daytona II over Tyler Reddick
.145 — William Byron wins 2022 Atlanta I over Ross Chastain
.152 — Chris Buescher wins 2023 Michigan over Martin Truex Jr.
.178 — Alex Bowman wins 2022 Las Vegas I over Kyle Larson
.193 — Joey Logano wins 2023 Atlanta I over Brad Keselowski
.195 — Kyle Larson wins 2022 Fontana race over Austin Dillon
.208 — Tyler Reddick wins 2024 Talladega I over Brad Keselowski
.252 — Erik Jones wins 2022 Southern 500 over Denny Hamlin
.256 — Denny Hamlin wins 2024 Dover over Kyle Larson
.269 — Denny Hamlin wins 2024 Richmond I over Joey Logano
.301 — Joey Logano wins 2022 Phoenix II over Ryan Blaney
.303 — William Byron wins 2022 Martinsville I over Joey Logano
.327 — Tyler Reddick wins 2023 Kansas II over Denny Hamlin
.330 — Kyle Busch wins 2022 Bristol Dirt over Tyler Reddick
.330 — William Byron wins 2023 Phoenix I over Ryan Blaney
.396 — Martin Truex Jr. wins 2023 New Hampshire over Joey Logano
.441 — Kevin Harvick wins 2022 Richmond II over Christopher Bell
.441 — Kyle Larson wins 2024 Las Vegas I over Tyler Reddick
.447 — Kyle Larson wins the 2023 Southern 500 over Tyler Reddick
.458 — Chris Buescher wins 2022 Bristol II over Chase Elliott
All-time closest Cup finishes
(Since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993)
.001 — Kyle Larson wins 2024 Kansas I over Chris Buescher
.002 — Ricky Carven wins 2003 Darlington I race over Kurt Busch
.002 — Jimmie Johnson wins 2011 Talladega I over Clint Bowyer
.003 — Daniel Suarez wins 2024 Atlanta I over Ryan Blaney
.005 — Jamie McMurray wins 2007 Daytona I over Kyle Busch
.005 — Dale Earnhardt wins 1993 Talladega I over Ernie Irvan
.006 — Kevin Harvick wins 2001 Atlanta I over Jeff Gordon
.007 — Ryan Blaney wins 2019 Talladega II over Ryan Newman
.007 — Ryan Blaney wins 2020 Talladega I over Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
.008 — Jimmy Spencer wins 1994 Daytona II over Ernie Irvan
