Kevin Harvick weighs in on Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher photo finish, fires back at critics of finish line paint job

Kevin Harvick took some time to weigh in on the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, which took place over the weekend at Kansas Speedway, with Kyle Larson edging Chris Buescher at the line.

Originally, Harvick and the FOX Sports crew believed Buescher was the winner, but after reviewing the footage and using the technology available, it was determined Larson won the race. During the latest episode of his Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, the former NASCAR champion elaborated on what was going through his mind at the time.

“Well, it was — originally, we called it as Chris Buescher winning the race,” Harvick stated. “Because that’s what the timing and scoring showed. But it showed 0.000, as the increment. So we were just talking about an exciting finish, and then we started to show the emotion of the No. 17 pit box. Then, we showed (Kyle Larson’s crew chief) Cliff Daniels’ reaction, and then all of a sudden, his reaction changed. He was the winner of the race, and everything just kind of got crazy there, at the end of the race.

“But what a finish, to the end of this race. You see Kyle Larson just get up on the outside of Chris Buescher there, and just never even thought about doing something different. You see him banging fenders right here, and at that point I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re going to wreck, and Chase Elliott or Martin Truex are going to win this race,’ but four cars, 0.008 apart. Winner is 0.001 apart.”

Of course, Harvick was exhilarated by how the race turned out, like the fans in attendance and watching at home were, as well. One thing Harvick did take issue with was the notion that NASCAR used a singular photo to determine the winner, so he decided to clap-back at the haters.

“Obviously, we see the picture there of the start-finish-line. For those of you actually wondering, that’s not how the race is actually officiated,” Harvick added. “There’s actually a camera, with an actually, perfectly straight line through it, that shows the noses of the car, and those pictures, it’s like 1000 pictures at once. It’s like 1000 frames a second. So that one frame, there’s a lot happening right there.

“But the start-finish-line has absolutely nothing to do with it. In those circumstances, there’s actually a camera set up, with a line drawn on it, to show who the winner is.”

Kevin Harvick’s only been in the FOX booth for one season, but he’s already seen some incredible finishes, like what we saw between Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher over the weekend.