Chris Buescher has now achieved the second closest finish in NASCAR history. The RFK Racing team, which had a heartbreaking outcome, finished in the worst position a driver could find themselves in at the end of the event. Buescher came in second place, just 0.001 seconds behind the winner, who secured his second victory of the 2024 season with HMS, using aggressive tactics against the Ford driver.
Until the race went into overtime due to a late spin by another driver, Kyle Larson was not the main competitor for the win against Chris Buescher. It was the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, with whom the No:17 Ford had consistently been losing the lead throughout the race. However, in the final restart, Hamlin found himself at a disadvantage.
In the overtime restart, Hamlin chose the inside lane and Buescher chose the outside lane, while Larson’s No:5 Chevy chose the bottom lane. The JGR driver could not keep up and fell to fifth place by the end of the race. Buescher, despite losing to Larson due to aggressive side contact, praised Hamlin for racing fairly with him throughout the race.
“As much as you may receive criticism, @dennyhamlin, you always raced fairly with me. It was a great battle today.”
Fans quickly assumed that Chris Buescher was taking a dig at Kyle Larson with his comment about clean racing. In response, the Ford driver clarified in a post that his comments were not aimed at Larson and emphasized that the No:5 Chevy driver did what was necessary to secure the win.
“Just to clarify for everyone… no shade towards @KyleLarsonRacin. We were competing fiercely until the checkered flag. He is an amazing driver, and it was just two drivers fighting for the trophy.”
If RFK Racing can continue to have fast cars, the battle between these three drivers could become a regular occurrence. Hamlin and Larson have fought some exciting battles this season, and with consistent performance, Buescher has the potential to join this elite group.
