After the AdventHealth 400, it’s safe to say the 2024 Cup Series season is truly reminiscent of NASCAR’s golden age. But as Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher recreated Johnny Beauchamp and Lee Petty’s iconic photo finish, the race at Kansas also observed a similar controversy to the 1959 Daytona 500. Only this time around, it was Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski who got to experience Beauchamp’s short-lived euphoria.

Kyle Larson was announced as the official winner on the radio only moments after Buescher was crowned victor by the FOX pylon. This decision didn’t sit too well with RFK Racing owing to one factor; the start/finish line wasn’t completely straight! This is where we see a major difference to the 1959 controversy, as NASCAR has learned from its past mistakes and immediately revealed why Kyle Larson was the winner to insiders and fans alike.

Jeff Gluck shares revealing insights into Kyle Larson’s record-breaking win

As soon as the green-white-checkered restart commenced, Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher had leapfrogged the others and slotted into the lead. In fact, for a majority of the last two laps, it looked like Buescher and the #17 RFK Racing Darkhorse were going to secure the first win of their season. But as the battle between Larson and Buescher heated up, the duo banged doors and were neck and neck until the finish line.

In the end, cheers could be heard from the #17 RFK Racing garage since Chris Buescher was declared the winner, at least according to the scoring pylons. But when the tables were immediately turned and Kyle Larson was cited as the winner instead, RFK Racing wasted no time to highlight the faults in the start/finish line. Quite evidently, the lower portion of the S/F line was not in tune with the top half.

This led many to believe that the finish at Kansas had been marred in controversy once again. If the line was closer to Larson’s Chevy owing to the faults in construction, would that not mean Buescher was the clear winner? Fortunately for Larson and rather unfortunately for RFK Racing, NASCAR wasted no time dismissing these claims by releasing footage from the high-speed camera present on the track.

But keen-eyed fans noticed one strange detail. Why was the camera resolution so low? And what did the two (red and black) lines signify? Although NASCAR’s official statement didn’t spill further details, veteran insider Jeff Gluck did some digging and put the community at ease with their qualms.

The veteran shared a video on X of himself at the S/F line, showing fans how the line had been repainted owing to various burnout marks and degradation. Even in Gluck’s video, the line was visibly crooked. But this is when the veteran made a startling revelation for many new fans. He stated, “So, I talked to NASCAR, and this line that you see here, I’m not gonna say it’s ceremonial, but it’s not the real finish line.” 

That’s right. With how modern technology has allowed NASCAR to innovate in all directions, the same has been the case for deciding and assessing race finishes. Compared to the older times when NASCAR relied on broadcast coverage and in-field photographers to decide on the winner, the installation of a high-speed camera made that process instantaneous.

According to Gluck, the painted white S/F line wasn’t used to dictate the finishes at all! Instead, it was the high-speed camera that was the accurate judge. The veteran further explained, “The real finish line basically, it’s the camera down there, a high-speed camera that overlays its own line over basically right here, right? So these lines, because of people’s burnouts, because of rubber build-up, they’re getting touched up on the weekends, you know, over time.”

The high-speed camera is placed in such a position that it keeps a minimal angle to the painted S/F line. This in turn allows NASCAR to have line overlays on the display, which will be a more accurate indicator than the painted white line can ever be. Reflecting on the same, Gluck dismissed Buescher being out in front of other claims coming from RFK Racing fans and supporters.

He concluded, “The camera down there is overlaying an exact finish line right here, so it doesn’t matter that Buescher, you know… Larson beat Buescher to that line, the exact line. Yes, it is crooked here, but this line doesn’t even have to be here necessarily for that (high-speed camera) to have determined the exact finish line.” 

After this detailed explanation by Jeff Gluck reached the feeds of NASCAR fans on X, the community immediately jumped in to highlight NASCAR’s swift response to prevent the controversy from rising further.

The NASCAR community largely accepts the Kansas ruling, but highlights one major drawback for fans

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After X(formerly known as Twitter) erupted with RFK supporters and Hendrick Motorsports naysayers about how Buescher deserved the win, the community was waiting in anticipation for any developments from NASCAR’s side on the result. And while many expected it to take a few hours at least, fans were pleasantly surprised when the official result was dropped within minutes.

One fan shared their witty response, “NASCAR said not today Twitter.” whereas another fan highlighted their pro-activeness to get on top of the allegations being thrown around; “Lmao they saw two tweets about that crooked ass white line and got ahead of it”

But that wasn’t all. Even if NASCAR had revealed the true winner of the race with significant proof, the reality on the ground at Kansas didn’t help. After all, to fans, the line was crooked, and many felt this was rather deceiving. A user shared their grievance on X, “Can you imagine if the NFL or any other sport like that had crocked goal lines or out of bounds, etc, foul territory? Sports has trained us to use visuals not the “trust us our camera got it scenarios” 

But with the nature of racing and how the tarmac degrades, some users felt this was an unrealistic ask. A fan siding with NASCAR shared; “In dirt racing there is never a finish line at the end of an event, and they survive. Eldora just had a photo finish Friday night. Y’all need to put the tinfoil hat down. Understand Larson is better than your favorite driver, and get some sleep.” 

But this is when a collected and neutral fan tried to pacify the situation. According to them, the solution was rather simple. They stated. “If a finish is close enough to cause a stir like this, then nothing should be official immediately. Let both drivers go to the checkered flag, interview them, review the tape, and then once you definitely know for sure without any doubt, announce the winner.”

After taking a look at how Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher’s photo finish riled up the NASCAR community, do you think we’re truly heading toward the golden ages once again?