Kyle Larson’s spotter on Kansas finish: ‘Closest race I’ve ever been apart of’

Kyle Larson’s spotter Tyler Monn was elated to play a role in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, and one that the No. 5 was on the right side of.

Larson edged Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team out at the line by 0.001 seconds. It’s a finish that’ll live on for many, many years, and Monn simply couldn’t believe it when it happened, as he explained while speaking with NASCAR’s Jessie Punch afterwards.

“It was super close,” Monn stated. “You know, looking at the pylon, (Kyle Larson’s crew chief) Cliff [Daniels] came over the radio and was like, ‘Man, the No. 17 got us. Good effort.’ And then NASCAR came over my radio and was like, ‘The No. 5 beat the No. 17.’ I was like, ‘No, we won! We won!’ You know, screaming over the radio. So I really thought, you know, it was close, and I looked at the pylon, and on our timing and scoring you know, it said 0.000. Then, it obviously went to the 0.001 there at the end.

“But yeah, it’s the closest race I’ve ever been a part of and seen, and it’s the closest race in history, and it was pretty cool. I was kind of, ‘Alright, that’s alright. Finished second.’ Kind of heartbroken. But once they told us we won, it was all the emotions out.”

Alas, it was the closest race Monn has ever been apart of, and the closest race anybody in NASCAR has ever seen in the Cup Series. That’s pretty awesome, to be able to have your name etched in the history books like that.

It stings for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team, but Tyler Monn and Kyle Larson, along with the entire No. 5 team, were able to celebrate on Sunday, and now they’ll be able to keep the moment as a feather in their cap moving forward.

Denny Hamlin takes issue with 0.001 margin of victory for Kyle Larson over Chris Buescher

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin is doing some sleuthing, believing the 0.001 seconds that separated Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher on the final lap at Kansas Speedway seems a little fishy.

During his latest Actions Detrimental podcast episode, Hamlin explained why he believes NASCAR simply made up the margin of victory, and that the No. 5 and the No. 17 might’ve finished in a dead-tie, unwilling to trust the photo produced by the governing body.

“I almost feel like the 0.001 is just a made up number at this point,” Hamlin exclaimed. “Like, how can they say it’s 0.001, if the electronics say the other way around? [It showed 0.000] on my bus, as well. I have timing and scoring in my bus, right by my couch, so I can kind of watch races and watch lap times, and pay attention to some things. It said triple zeros on mine, as well. That’s what I’m saying. I think it’s just made up. … You can’t tell time by a by a single photo. You can’t. 

“You see an inch, but you don’t know. You can’t quantify that. That’s why I’m saying — if timing and scoring showed triple zeros, as a tie, like I think they just add the one on the end, just to say it was closer. Because they can’t say it’s triple zeros, because then people would say, ‘We got a tie then, it’s a tie.’ … It was pretty close to it, for sure.”

That’s certainly interesting commentary from Hamlin, especially when you consider Buescher and Larson were tied according to many scoring loops. Still, NASCAR determined via photographic evidence, using lasers as well, that Larson was the winner, and there’s no going back on that.