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.

• John Newby,

• John Newby,

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

Larson edges Buescher in historic Kansas finish

Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher wheel nose-to-nose as the checkered flag waves in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, combining for the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history with a margin of 0.001 seconds.

.003 — Daniel Suarez wins 2024 Atlanta I over Ryan Blaney

Suarez comes out on top after epic finish

Marty Snider, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte review Daniel Suarez's Atlanta win in an instant classic after a three-wide race against Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch, resulting in the 3rd-closest margin of victory since 1993.

.012 — Ryan Blaney wins 2023 Talladega II over William Byron (Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line second but his car was later disqualified)

Blaney wins at Talladega in thrilling finish

Ryan Blaney edges Kevin Harvick by a nose to win the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway and advance to the Round of 8.

.036 — Austin Cindric wins 2022 Daytona 500 over Bubba Wallace

HLs: Cindric wins Daytona 500

Cup Series rookie Austin Cindric wins the Daytona 500 becoming the second-youngest driver to win the Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway.

.046 — Chase Elliott wins 2022 Talladega II over Ryan Blaney

Elliott wins at Talladega in riveting finish

On the final restart with two laps remaining, Chase Elliott makes the right move at the right time to edge Ryan Blaney at the line and win the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Talladega to advance to the Round of 8.

.082 — Kyle Larson wins 2023 Las Vegas II over Christopher Bell

Larson holds Bell at bay for Las Vegas win

Kyle Larson edges Christopher Bell at the line after an exciting battle to the finish to win the Round of 8 playoff opener at Las Vegas and advance to the Championship 4.

.098 — Chris Buescher wins 2023 Daytona II over Brad Keselowski

Buescher wins regular season finale in OT

Chris Buescher starts from the outside line to the side of Kevin Harvick and stays in front of Brad Keselowski and the field to win the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

.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