Kyle Larson recaps the emotions of thinking he lost, to knowing he won at Kansas

When Kyle Larson crossed the finish line on Sunday night, he thought that he had won over Chris Buescher in an exciting sprint to the end. However, all within a matter of a minute, if that, Larson experienced the uncertainty of a NASCAR photo finish, the pain of losing, and the triumph of victory.

Kyle Larson was unsure what happened at the line. He thought he had won, but it was too close to call. Hell, it was too close to call for anyone and that includes the digital timing. It all came down to the high-speed camera photos.

At first, Buescher was briefly named the winner. His number went to the top of the scoring pylon and his team celebrated on pit road. Then, the official call came down from NASCAR.

In his post-race press conference, Larson, the points leader, talked about the rollercoaster of emotions he went through.

“Yeah, so I got across the line,” Larson said. “Initially when we hit the stripe I was like, I think I got him. So I’m like, did we get him, did we get him, and he’s like, no, it doesn’t look like we got him. He was pretty calm so I was like, we definitely didn’t win. I was like, whatever, good job today, team, great day. Was kind of silent down the backstretch for a second, and I’m still kinda like, man, I hope I won. Then Tyler is like we won, we won, we won, going crazy. So then I’m going crazy, screaming, banging my head off the head rest, all of that, just going nuts.

“I wanted to do some crazy burnouts and stuff, but we had a fresh build engine so couldn’t do that. So I’m like pumping the crowd up. I look ahead, like oh, s---, Buescher is on the frontstretch. I hope they didn’t reverse the call and I’m over here looking like an idiot.”

The Kansas track gave us another thriller of a race. Even Kyle Larson admitted he wouldn’t have been upset to lose because of how fun it was racing throughout the day. But, of course, winning feels best.

“Then I saw him driving away, so I’m like, well, he must have just got the call that he didn’t win,” Kyle Larson explained. “Then I’m like excited again. It was just wild. I’ve never been a part of a finish like that in a stock car. Just really cool.

“You see those finishes happen a lot at like Daytona, Talladega, and I’m never in the running for those. Go figure it happens on a mile-and-a-half.”

The closest finish ever in NASCAR history, Kyle Larson comes out victorious. What a race, what a night. I can’t wait to get back to Kansas this season.