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NASCAR Ford On Wrong End Of Closest Finish In History: Video

Victory was quite literally less than one inch away for The Blue Oval at Kansas Speedway on May 5th, 2024, but unfortunately, Christ Buescher’s No. 17 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse was on the wrong side of the line when the checkered flag waved. In fact, he’ll go down in history as the one who lost the closest finish in NASCAR history to date.

When Kyle Busch spun the No. 8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 out with just six laps left on the board, the field was slowed under caution, setting the stage for a NASCAR Overtime finish. After the frontrunners elected to pit, Buescher shot forward, pacing the No. 5 Camaro of Kyle Larson as they streaked toward the checkered flag. The two race cars banged doors twice but managed to hold it together.

With the stripe in sight, Buescher threw the No. 17 NASCAR Ford low, dipping onto the apron as Larson stuck to a higher line. The two race cars were locked in a drag race to the finish, and while Buescher’s transponder initially showed him in the lead at the finish line, a photo finish review showed the splitter of Larson’s No. 5 Camaro ahead just slightly.

The margin of victory? Just 0.001 seconds. And thus, Ford’s winless streak continues.

“That sucks to be that close,” said Buescher after the race. “It was a great finish for us, a really strong day. A lot of speed in this Castrol Edge Ford Mustang, and we really needed that. Needed a win more, and I thought might have had that one.

He added, “Had a lot of speed there firing off. We were really good really all day, and really proud of that. Had some good strategy to get us back up there and tried to cover what I could and gave him half a lane too much, I suppose, but good hard race right there down to the line. But, yeah, it just hurts.”

NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, Kansas Speedway, May 5, 2024
Finish Start Car Number Driver Team Laps Run Laps Led Car
1 4 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 268 64 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
2 12 17 Chris Buescher Castrol Edge Ford 268 53 Ford Mustang
3 9 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
4 13 19 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
5 14 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 268 71 Toyota TRD Camry
6 1 20 Christopher Bell Yahoo! Toyota 268 5 Toyota TRD Camry
7 18 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
8 5 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 268 14 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
9 3 10 Noah Gragson Bass Pro Shops Winchester Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
10 8 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
11 30 6 Brad Keselowski Consumer Cellular Ford 268 1 Ford Mustang
12 26 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
13 29 42 John Hunter Nemechek Family Dollar Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
14 25 38 Todd Gilliland Long John Silver's Ford 268 4 Ford Mustang
15 17 4 Josh Berry # Overstock.com Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
16 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Minute Rice Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
17 23 23 Bubba Wallace MoneyLion Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
18 35 51 Justin Haley Children's Mercy Hospital Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
19 2 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Crocs Chevrolet 268 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
20 15 45 Tyler Reddick Monster Energy Toyota 268 7 Toyota TRD Camry
21 10 14 Chase Briscoe Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
22 20 43 Corey Heim(i) Dollar Tree Toyota 268 0 Toyota TRD Camry
23 36 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
24 22 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life/Creative One Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
25 16 3 Austin Dillon Get Bioethanol Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
26 28 7 Corey LaJoie Gainbridge Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
27 27 99 Daniel Suarez Choice Privileges Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
28 32 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 268 0 Ford Mustang
29 24 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
30 33 31 Daniel Hemric LA Golf Chevrolet 268 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
31 38 16 Derek Kraus projectwyoming.com Chevrolet 268 6 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
32 6 54 Ty Gibbs SiriusXM Toyota 267 0 Toyota TRD Camry
33 34 33 * Austin Hill(i) United Rentals Chevrolet 267 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
34 11 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 266 0 Ford Mustang
35 37 15 Riley Herbst(i) Monster Energy Zero Sugar Ford 266 0 Ford Mustang
36 31 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 262 0 Ford Mustang
37 7 2 Austin Cindric Snap on Ford 184 0 Ford Mustang
38 19 84 * Jimmie Johnson AdventHealth Toyota 175 0 Toyota TRD Camry

# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver

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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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