Making comparisons between NASCAR and stick-and-ball sports is a quick way to raise the ire of your rank-and-file race fans. Stock car racing, after all, is its very own discipline, and one where its most loyal of followers stick to their own discipline and hesitate to venture beyond it.
I understand it; I grew up as one of them. But when I try to put what Kyle Larson did on Sunday night in Kansas, I can't help but put it in the context of the four other major American sports.
Watching what Kyle Larson did on the final lap, prevailing by 0.001 over Chris Buescher in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, made me think of it as a legacy-creating moment for someone who is turning into a transcendent figure as a race car driver. The way Larson won -- splitting a gap that barely existed between Buescher and the outside wall, staying in the throttle and hanging onto his car as it slid sideways -- was virtually unaccomplishable for most all other race car drivers on Earth. Just as Michael Jordan did things that were impossible for other human beings on a basketball court, Tom Brady did such things on a football field, and Derek Jeter or Wayne Gretzky or any other sports hero of your choosing seized victory in rare ways that only they could manage by simply being the absolute best at what they did.
A finish for the history books. pic.twitter.com/8qAGdkKpWf
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 6, 2024
Larson pulling off a win in historic, next-to-impossible fashion, to me, felt like a Jordan or Brady moment from someone who will seek to prove later this month at Indianapolis that he is among the best race car drivers in all the world. And in this week's CBS Sports NASCAR Power Rankings, Larson has improved all the way to first, just above Denny Hamlin.
Here's a look at CBS Sports' updated NASCAR Power Rankings following Kansas:
| Rank | Driver | Change | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | The last photo finish Kyle Larson was involved in was a curious one, as he beat Elliott Sadler by 0.005 to win an Xfinity Series race at Daytona in July 2018. But that finish had initially been for second -- until NASCAR officials disallowed Justin Haley's winning move on the two of them for being just slightly below the double yellow line. | ||
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | Denny Hamlin came just short of getting two wins in a row and yet again putting himself in the same ranks as another NASCAR Hall of Famer. Hamlin's 55th career victory, whenever it comes, will tie him for 11th on the all-time wins list with Rusty Wallace. | ||
| 3 | Chase Elliott | Somewhat secondary to the finish between Larson and Buescher was that Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. were both charging hard just behind them and were only a breath away from getting alongside them by the checkered flag. We were about a couple hundred yards away from seeing a four-wide photo finish. Is it too late to move the Kansas finish line closer to Turn 1 like it is at Talladega? | ||
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | -- | Another late-race caution to deny Martin Truex Jr. his first win of the 2024 season. Truex did not have to save fuel over the final long run and was catching Denny Hamlin quickly for the lead, but Kyle Busch's spin with seven laps to go denied Truex a shot at the win just like the late caution at Richmond did. | |
| 5 | Noah Gragson | You could easily make a case that no driver in NASCAR is rolling the way Noah Gragson is right now, and it feels like there's a lot of areas where he and his team can still up their performance from where it is right now. Gragson has completely put a miserable rookie year behind him and once again looks like one of the best young talents in NASCAR. | ||
| 6 | Alex Bowman | Alex Bowman will run a throwback to Jimmie Johnson's Lowe's paint scheme from 2002 to 2005, and he'll hope that some of the speed that car once had rubs off on his car today. Johnson swept the 2004 season at Darlington, winning first in March and then winning the only Southern 500 ever run in November in the fall. | ||
| 7 | Kyle Busch | While the closest finish in Cup Series history made it all better in the end, I confess that I was very much looking forward to a fuel mileage race and was very annoyed when Kyle Busch spun out on his own to ruin it. Boo this man like that turncoat Saquon Barkley got booed by Knicks fans! (sarcasm but not the turncoat part) | ||
| 8 | Tyler Reddick | I guess the advantage the 23XI cars seemed to enjoy at Kansas could only last so long. Neither Tyler Reddick nor Bubba Wallace were really a factor at the front of the field, with Reddick's 20th-place finish being his worst since he finished 30th after crashing early at Bristol. | ||
| 9 | Ross Chastain | The changing track conditions from day to night seemed like they really hurt Ross Chastain as the race progressed. He led 43 laps early, but he was no longer a factor by night's end and finished midpack in 19th. | ||
| 10 | William Byron | William Byron had to start deep in the field at Kansas after brushing the wall in qualifying, and it looked early like he was going to take what had been a fast car before that right to the front of the field. But it wasn't to be, as Byron never really broke through the middle of the field and wound up finishing 23rd. | ||
| 11 | Ryan Blaney | I said last week that of all the Ford drivers, Ryan Blaney was probably the one most capable of getting the blue oval to Victory Lane for the first time in 2024. Then Chris Buescher comes as close as you possibly can to winning a race for Ford and not doing it. Shows what I know, I suppose. | ||
| 12 | Chris Buescher | The closest three times Ford has come to winning a race in one of NASCAR's national series in 2024: Lost by 0.003 at Atlanta. Lost an Xfinity race by 0.002 at Texas. Lost by 0.001 in the closest Cup finish ever at Kansas. Who at Ford Motor Company pissed the racing gods off this bad, exactly? | ||
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | In 2014, Brad Keselowski lost the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona by 0.013 to Regan Smith. Smith, now a pit reporter for Fox, was the one who interviewed Chris Buescher -- who drives for Keselowski at RFK -- after the checkered flag. The relatively insular nature of NASCAR makes for some oddly poetic occurrences such as this. | ||
| 14 | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs showed some of his early-season form at Kansas, battling inside the top five and seemingly on his way to a top-10 finish before having to come to pit road late in the going. The timing of the final caution really hurt him, and he finished one lap down in 32nd. | ||
| 15 | Bubba Wallace | The Next Gen car has become much lighter with more crush zones since it was introduced, but Bubba Wallace was probably glad that its tank-like quality came into play when he got collected in a crash with Austin Cindric. Wallace was able to get away without sustaining major damage, eventually finishing 17th to break a two-race DNF streak. | ||
| 16 | Chase Briscoe | Another week of speed in qualifying but not as much on race day for Chase Briscoe and his team. Briscoe qualified 10th, but seemed to just miss it in terms of race trim and ran 21st. | ||
| 17 | Joey Logano | Joey Logano has had a lot of issues with single car spins leaving him stuck on the racetrack because of flat tires since the Next Gen car got introduced. At least this time (from what we could gather) he didn't cuss out a tow truck worker like he did at Pocono last year. | ||
| 18 | Todd Gilliland | Todd Gilliland took the lead for four laps at Kansas on strategy, giving him 95 laps led in five different races on the season so far. For reference, Gilliland had only led 11 laps in four different races in his career entering 2024. | ||
| 19 | Austin Cindric | -- | Kansas turned into a disappointment for Austin Cindric, as he got taken out in a crash that occurred because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time while otherwise having a good run. Things feel like they'll turn for Cindric and the rest of the Penske drivers at some point, but not right now. | |
| 20 | Carson Hocevar | Carson Hocevar ran inside the top 10 at times at Kansas, but that's not the story of his week. Using Cameo to fool other drivers into endorsing you for the All-Star Race Fan Vote is absolutely immaculate, galaxy brain-level trolling and should be recognized as such. | ||
| 21 | Josh Berry | Another top-15 finish for Josh Berry, who finished 15th at Kansas. He feels like a driver who could stand out at Darlington, as Berry has two top fives and four top 10s there in Xfinity competition. | ||
| 22 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | A 16th-place finish at Kansas for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Kansas wasn't my big takeaway for him so much as a very funny tweet lampooning the design of his Minute Rice paint scheme. "So it takes 47 minutes to cook rice?" | ||
| 23 | Christopher Bell | After weeks of plummeting downward, the rollercoaster that is Christopher Bell's 2024 season finally started climbing up again at Kansas. Bell won the pole and finished sixth for his first top 10 since Richmond. | ||
| 24 | Daniel Hemric | It was back to reality for Daniel Hemric after two-straight top 10s at Talladega and Dover. Hemric and his team were far off all weekend, starting 33rd and finishing 30th. | ||
| 25 | Michael McDowell | Something good finally happened for Michael McDowell. Despite getting collected in a crash, the No. 34 team was able to repair its car and get some track position, and McDowell managed to wheel it to his third top-10 finish all year. | ||
| 26 | John Hunter Nemechek | John Hunter Nemechek is starting to piece together a nice little streak of good finishes. A 13th-place run at Kansas was his first finish inside the top 15 since he ran a career-best sixth at Bristol in March. | ||
| 27 | Justin Haley | Justin Haley finished 18th at Kansas, but he could've had an even better finish had it not been for the final caution. Haley was able to hold onto track position he gained on strategy nicely, and he was just outside of the top 10 when the final caution came out. | ||
| 28 | Daniel Suarez | Daniel Suarez had a rough weekend at Kansas, starting and finishing 27th, but that shouldn't take away from what was a great week for him personally. Suarez passed his U.S. citizenship test and has been approved to become a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico. | ||
| 29 | Corey LaJoie | Corey LaJoie would probably admit himself that running over Jimmie Johnson is not the best way to endear himself to NASCAR fans. Johnson's race at Kansas came to an end when he checked up for something happening in front of him and LaJoie, who was running just behind the seven-time Cup champ, did not. | ||
| 30 | Ryan Preece | In response to a story about a study group among the drivers at Stewart-Haas Racing, Ryan Preece replied that the existence of such a study group was news to him. Awkward, and I expect SHR is going to have to smooth that over with the driver of the No. 41. |
