Chris Buescher’s No. 17 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse was in the wrong place at the right time when the checkered flag waved over the Cup Series race at Kansas on May 5th, 2024. He lost by a splitter in the closest finish to date, just 0.001 seconds behind winner Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Chevy Camaro ZL1. To say Buescher was heartbroken would be an understatement, and he opened up about the devastating loss in a postrace interview with NASCAR.com.
Photo used by NASCAR to determine Kansas finishing order
When told that he’d been beat by the smallest margin in Cup Series history, Buescher said he was still trying to understand the grainy photo of the finish that officials used to determine the winner.
“That explains why I can’t make sense of the photo right now,” he said. “I can’t even look at it and understand. It was so close and on top of that, it looks like it was taken with a potato phone. I don’t even know what to make out of it right now.”
Buescher led 53 laps during the race, trading the lead back and forth quite a few times, but proved that his No. 17 NASCAR Ford had enough speed to be a threat at the line. Unfortunately, though, while initial timing and scoring results had him on top, the aforementioned photo shows Larson just ahead.
Some users on social media commented that the start/finish line appeared crooked, pointing out that Larson’s splitter only seemed to be leading because his splitter was touching the uneven stripe. However, timing and scoring does not rely on the painted line itself, and finishing order is determined by a complicated network of scoring loops, cameras and lasers. As disappointing as it is for Buescher, Larson broke the line first.
“Now, I’m just gonna sit here and be haunted about what I could’ve done different to try and win that one,” Buescher said. “This one is going to burn for a while.”
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