Denny Hamlin calls for NASCAR to upgrade cameras, take longer to declare winner after Kyle Larson-Chris Buescher photo finish
Denny Hamlin is calling on NASCAR to upgrade its camera quality following the finish to Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in which Kyle Larson edged out Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds to steal the victory.
Speaking on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin argued that because of where Larson was on the racetrack during the photo finish, it was difficult to make a decision on who won the race in the photo NASCAR pumped out to its social media channels.
“I agree we should upgrade the camera slightly,” Hamlin said. “I think you could have said too close to call. It should have taken longer to [decide the winner] because first thing is how do they call that? … Since the 5 [Larson] is on the banking, there’s a reflection on the front of that splitter that is blurred forward…
“I think they got it right. I’m just saying what’s the harm in us upgrading our camera? … 100% right, you can upgrade it. … Upgrade the camera because we’re not done with photo finishes. Just for the sake of the photos that they pass around social media, you would like to be clearer, yes, or no? That’s why it’s worth the investment.”
Kyle Larson beats Chris Buescher to checkered line at Kansas
The finish was the closest in NASCAR history, dethroning Ricky Craven’s two-thousandths of a second-margin victory over Kurt Busch in the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington. Buescher initially thought he scored the victory, his team erupting into celebration on pit road. Upon further review, it was Larson by the narrowest of margins who crossed the checkered line first.
“That was wild. I was obviously thankful for that caution. We were dying pretty bad,” Larson said after the race, via NBC Sports. “Was happy to come out third, and figured my best shot was me choose bottom and try and split three wide to the inside. Worked out my car turned well and was able to get some runs. Got through [Turns] 1 and 2 really good down the backstretch and had a big tow on Chris, and got him to kind of enter shallow, and I just committed really hard up top.
“Wasn’t quite sure if we were going to make it out the other side. I got super loose in the center, and then we’re just trying to — I’m trying not to get too far ahead of him to where he can side draft and then I was just trying to kill his run. It was crazy.”