ATYL: CLOSEST FINISH IN NASCAR HISTORY | Gragson is SHR’s Future | Kansas is King (Race Analysis)

The closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history happened on Sunday in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway! Can you believe that?

Yet again, the Gen 7 (Next Gen) car produced phenomenal racing in the heartland, something that has become expected since the 2022 season. Throughout all 402 miles of the race (the race distance was extended by one lap due to an overtime finish), there were intense battles and insane four-to-five-wide moves for position. As the laps were ticking away, leaders Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, and Denny Hamlin were running out of fuel, and things were shaping up for a fuel strategy fight to the finish.

However, a caution for a spin by Kyle Busch in the No. 8 Chevrolet ended the fuel mileage strategy, and gave these drivers a green-white-checkered finish to settle it all.

With Hamlin and Buescher on the front row and Larson behind in third, Larson dove his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro to the bottom of the race track, and took the battle to Buescher. After aggressive blocking and door slamming to the line, Larson won by a margin of .001 seconds, the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Though Buescher came in second, the Prosper, TX. native did show the consistent speed the Dark Horse Mustang’s can have. Even more promising, Noah Gragson was yet another Ford driver that was able to maintain top-10 pace all day long. With his consistent performance, he is quickly proving to be Stewart-Haas Racing’s future.

Join Taylor Kitchen to discuss it all in a new episode of Above The Yellow Line!

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Taylor Kitchen

Taylor Kitchen found her passion for motorsports after watching a NASCAR Xfinity Series race with her grandma in 2016. The following year, she would attend her first race at Kentucky Speedway. The smell of the gas and roar of the engines filling her ears was enough to solidify her love of the sport. She spent the next few years working her way into the NASCAR online community and researching as much as she could to gain a vast knowledge of the sport. However, something was bothering her. At the time, Taylor struggled to find content within the space that was female-led and came from the perspective of a new fan. This inspired her to create her own media outlet, “Above The Yellow Line” in 2021. On this platform, Taylor writes, films, edits, and markets high-quality videos discussing the latest news and events from the sport. In April of 2022, her company partnered with the prominent NASCAR media outlet TobyChristie.com to provide them social media content and to report on location during select race weekends. Since then, Taylor has been able to help build TobyChristie.com's YouTube audience to well over four thousand subscribers and continues to help expand the company's social reach with her team. 2022 marked a new era for the brand as Taylor expanded ATYL’s capabilities to help various drivers with their communications, public relations, digital media, and marketing. In June of that year, she was hired by ARCA Series Champion, Austin Theriault to work for his driver development program, "AT Racing Development". As the organization's Director of Digital Marketing and Media, she produces and directs her clients tailor-made social media strategies. She also takes part in marketing efforts for her drivers. In May of 2023, Austin Theriault of AT Racing Development partnered with Team Hornaday Development and brought Taylor to the team as their Communications Manager. Working with Ron and Candice Hornaday, Taylor helps direct their drivers social media strategy and PR efforts. She also partakes in company and driver marketing and recruiting efforts