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11 months ago

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  • ESPN News Services

May 5, 2024, 10:03 PM ET

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson came roaring around the outside of Chris Buescher on the final lap at Kansas Speedway, banging doors with him all the way to the finish line, only to be told by his team over the radio that everything he had given was not quite enough.

It wasn’t until Larson was in Turn 3 of the cool-down lap that he saw his spotter, Tyler Monn, dancing high above the track.

In the closest finish in NASCAR history, one that only became official with a grainy black-and-white photo at the line, the No. 5 car was declared the winner by a thousandth of a second — every bit as close as the Kentucky Derby a day earlier, and an even more dramatic finish than the three-at-the-line conclusion to the Cup Series race at Atlanta earlier this season.

“Had no clue if I won or not,” Larson said, “but honestly didn’t really care. I was like, ‘Man, that was frickin’ awesome.'”

Not so awesome for Buescher’s team, which had begun celebrating before the result became official. His crew chief, Scott Graves, asked to meet with NASCAR officials in their hauler. Shown the finish-line photo, he accepted the outcome.

“I don’t know what to say right now,” Buescher said, shaking his head while standing beside his No. 17 car. “I haven’t seen a replay other than just the picture, and I sure can’t see in that picture. That sucks to be that close.”

The edge-of-your-seat finish came after a caution for Kyle Busch‘s spin forced the green-white-checkered finish. Larson had pulled behind Buescher on the backstretch of the last lap, then came around him in the final corner. To the naked eye, Buescher looked as if he had edged ahead, and even Larson had started to congratulate his team on a strong second-place run.

A few minutes later, he was doing a celebratory burnout on the front stretch.

It was a brilliant start to a busy month of May for Larson, who will attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day Memorial Day weekend. The win was his second of the season for Hendrick Motorsports, and it gave him a bit of retribution after finishing second to Denny Hamlin last week at Dover and in the spring race at Kansas a year ago.

Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth Sunday and Hamlin, who had the lead on the final restart, faded back to fifth place.

“Had a great view of the finish,” Hamlin said with a smile.

Making the finish an even bigger bummer for Buescher was the fact that he had overcome a big miscue midway through the race. He had just won the second stage and led the field to pit road when a crew member came over the wall early. The penalty sent him to the rear, and Buescher had to spend much of the final stage working his way back to the front.

Ultimately, Buescher’s team opted for a different pit strategy than the other leaders. So did Hamlin’s team, which had survived its own share of pit problems. And it might have worked out for both of them had the race finished under green.

Instead, the late caution forced the leaders to pit, and set up a finish that went down in NASCAR history.

Buescher later joked on social media that he should’ve replicated a move pulled in Pixar’s “Cars” to have gotten the edge.

“I mean, I’ll always remember this, for sure,” Larson said. “There’s definitely wins that you can kind of get lost in the distance a little bit, but when you finish and have the closest finish in Cup Series history, I don’t think you’re ever going to forget about it, even if it gets broken someday. Great to be on this side of it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Makar 9th NHL blueliner with 30 goals in season

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3 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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Makar 9th NHL blueliner with 30 goals in season

  • ESPN News Services

Apr 3, 2025, 10:14 PM ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Avalanche star Cale Makar scored against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night to become the ninth defenseman in the NHL, and the first with Colorado, to score 30 goals in a season.

The sixth-year player is the NHL’s first defenseman to reach the 30-goal mark since Mike Green of the Washington Capitals had 31 in 2008-09.

Makar put the Avalanche up 5-2 by scoring a power-play goal with 38 seconds left in the second period. He was set up in the left circle for a one-timer by a pass from Nathan MacKinnon. He also had two assists as the Avalanche won, 7-3, to clinch their eighth consecutive playoff appearance.

Overall, NHL blue liners have now combined to reach 30 goals 18 times, led by Bobby Orr, who had five 30-goal seasons. Paul Coffey (four) and Denis Potvin (three) are the only others to have had multiple 30-goal seasons. The list is rounded out by Ray Bourque, Kevin Hatcher, Phil Housley and Doug Wilson.

With the goal and two assists, the 26-year-old Makar also increased his point total to 90, matching the franchise record for defenseman he set last season. In doing so, he became the NHL’s fifth defenseman to produce consecutive 90-point seasons, and first since Coffey (1988-89 to 1990-91) and Al MacInnis (1989-90 to 1990-91).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Oilers keep pace for home ice, but lose Draisaitl

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3 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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Oilers keep pace for home ice, but lose Draisaitl

  • Associated Press

Apr 4, 2025, 12:41 AM ET

SAN JOSE, Calif. — NHL leading goal scorer Leon Draisaitl left the Edmonton Oilers‘ game against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in the second period because of an undisclosed injury and didn’t return.

Draisaitl appeared to be injured midway through the second period and skated gingerly to the bench before leaving for the dressing room. Coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game that he had no update on the severity of the injury.

Jeff Skinner scored the tiebreaking goal shortly after Draisaitl left the game, giving the Oilers a 3-2 victory that kept them within two points of the Los Angeles Kings in the race for second place in the Pacific Division and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“Obviously we’ve had some injuries to key guys,” Skinner said. “It’s a lot of opportunity for other guys to step up and I think guys have done a good job so far. We’re going to have to continue that and keep working together to get the results we want.”

Draisaitl had an assist earlier in the second period. He leads the NHL with 52 goals and is third in the league with 106 points.

Draisaitl sat out four games last month because of an undisclosed injury.

The Oilers are already without star center Connor McDavid, who has been sidelined since colliding with Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey on March 20. McDavid has resumed skating with the team in a noncontact jersey but there is no timetable for his return.

The playoffs begin in just over two weeks.

“You never want to miss those guys,” Knoblauch said. “You never want your top players not to play because every time they’re not in, it decreases your chances of winning because they are good players, obviously. But what happens is other guys have some opportunities to play, get some confidence, hopefully score some goals, because we’re going to need them.”

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Blues’ Holloway exits with lower-body injury

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3 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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Blues' Holloway exits with lower-body injury

  • Associated Press

Apr 3, 2025, 09:28 PM ET

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis forward Dylan Holloway left the Blues’ 5-4 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first period Thursday night because of a lower-body injury.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery had no additional information on the injury after the game.

“We’ll have more, I’m sure, tomorrow,” Montgomery said.

The team announced the injury during the first intermission and said he would not return to the game. It was not clear when Holloway was injured.

Holloway had eight shifts in the first period.

Holloway has been a driving force in the Blues’ 11-game winning streak, which ties a franchise record. He has 26 goals and 37 assists in 77 games this season.

“Obviously, that’s an elite player for us, someone who plays in all situations, and, you know, a really important piece to our team,” forward Jake Neighbours said. “We had to focus on the task at hand. … it sucked losing Dylan, and just hope he’s OK.”

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