The Closest NASCAR Cup Series Finishes At Las Vegas Motor Speedway

By Gary Gastelu |

Feb 26, 2024

close las vegas — (NASCAR via Getty Images)

The racing was hot in Atlanta on Sunday night.

Daniel Suarez won the Ambetter Health 400 in a photo finish.

The Trackhouse Racing driver crossed the line just .003 seconds ahead of Ryan Blaney, which was the second-closest margin in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Only the 2003 Darlington and 2011 Talladega spring races were a tick closer, both at .002 seconds.

AUSTIN HILL WINS NASCAR ATLANTA XFINITY SERIES FUEL ECONOMY RUN

3-WIDE AT THE LINE! WHAT A FINISH. Repost to congratulate Daniel SuÃ¡rez on his Atlanta Motor Speedway WIN! pic.twitter.com/RdewRqJiwg
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 26, 2024

Kyle Bush was just .007 seconds behind in third at Atlanta, which would have tied for the 10th closest finish had Blaney not been in the mix.

NASCAR moved the Atlanta race to immediately after the Daytona 500 this year in the hopes that casual fans who watched its biggest race of the season would be more engaged by another drafting track race if they tuned in again the following week.

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Whether or not it worked is yet to be determined, but everyone was treated to a historic event.

Beyond the three-wide finish, the race had the most lead changes in Atlanta history at 48 and the largest-ever crash, with a wreck on Lap Two damaging 16 cars.

Now the series moves on to Las Vegas, but will the show be nearly as entertaining?

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Unlike Daytona and Atlanta, Phoenix is an intermediate track without the sort of pack racing that dominates the list of closest margins of victory, but that’s not to say Las Vegas isn’t an exciting track.

The 2006 spring race saw Jimmie Johnson making a final-turn move on Matt Kenseth to win by .045 seconds. That is less than a car length at the venue, which had been redesigned for that season and remains in the same configuration.

Last year’s October playoff race was another nail-biter as Kyle Larson held off a charging Christopher Bell in the closing laps to win by .082 seconds.

Both races and hundreds of others can be viewed on the NASCAR Classics free streaming service.

The Pennzoil 400 Presented By Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on March 3.

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