There are two races left in the Cup season, but it has already been a memorable year for the number of fantastic finishes.
Six races saw a pass for the lead on the final lap – the most ever in a Cup season.
This season there have also been five races with a margin of victory of a tenth of a second or less. Only one season has had more such finishes since the advent of electronic timing and scoring in 1993. The 2007 season had six finishes with a margin of victory of a tenth of a second or less.
Perhaps the list will grow with the conclusion of the Round of 16 this weekend at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC) and the Nov. 10 championship race at Phoenix.
For now, here are the five best results of the season:
1. Homestead – Tyler Reddick’s Spectacular Rally
Tyler Reddick moved from third to first on the final lap to win Sunday’s round of 16 playoffs and advance to the Championship 4 for the first time in his Cup career.
What makes him No. 1 in a season of exceptional finishes is that Reddick did it on tires that were a few laps longer than the leaders. In most places that doesn’t mean much, but it does in Homestead.
Christopher Bell called Reddick’s victory “pretty remarkable” because Reddick was successful on older tires.
Ryan Blaney led the final lap and went down a lane in Turn 3. He wanted to prevent Reddick from diving onto the track and sliding in front of him. Instead, Reddick ran near the wall and blasted Blaney.
“If I drove so deep that I hit the wall and tore off the right side, so be it,” Reddick told NBC Sports of his approach entering Turn 3.
Reddick’s lap time was more than half a second faster than Blaney’s on the final circuit.
“The little kid went wild,” 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns of Reddick.
2. Kansas I — Kyle Larson earns the closest finish in Cup history
Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher engaged in one of the most exciting duels of the final lap. Buescher led when the white flag waved, but Larson came up on the outside of Buescher in Turn 3.
Coming out of Turn 4, they made contact twice before Larson beat Buescher by 0.001 seconds at the finish line.
“It hurts to be so close and miss the opportunity,” Buescher said.
Larson said, “I’ve seen so many times in NASCAR where if the guy has a race, you can just gate him and it kind of stops him. That’s what happened, and I arrived at the start-finish line, not knowing if I had won or not.
“I guess I cared, but honestly, I didn’t care because I was just like, man, that was really awesome. I think I asked if I won or not or if I got it. …Then my observer went crazy shortly after. Yeah, just amazing.
3. Atlanta I — Daniel Suarez wins three-way race
Daniel Suarez edged out Ryan Blaney by 0.003 seconds and Kyle Busch by 0.007 seconds in the closest three-car finish in series history.
Blaney led when the white flag waved, but Suarez charged from the outside lane in Turns 3 and 4. Busch was in the middle and Blaney was on the inside. Suarez gained enough momentum to beat Blaney (and Busch) to the finish line.
“I was just trying to time the side draft on (Busch),” Suarez said of getting to the finish line. “I didn’t know where (Blaney) was. I couldn’t see (Blaney). I knew, I thought I had (Busch). I knew it was close. But I had no idea about (Blaney). No idea.
4. Talladega II – Ricky Stenhouse triumphs in tight final
Brad Keselowski led coming out of Turn 4, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was pushed by William Byron and moved past Keselowski, crossing the finish line ahead of Keselowski by 0.006 seconds.
It was the third-closest finish of the season and tied for the seventh-closest in series history.
“We lost a few inches here, so it was cool to gain one,” Stenhouse said.
5. Daytona II — The Spectacular Return of the Wood Brothers to Victory Lane
Kyle Busch led down the stretch on the final lap and was on pace to claim a victory for a record 20th consecutive season before Parker Retzlaff pushed Harrison Burton into the lead.
Burton blocked Busch in Turn 4 and earned his first career Cup victory and the 100th for Wood Brothers Racing.
“The biggest moment was when I got out of the car and turned around,” Burton said of getting out of the car near the start/finish line.
“Everyone who has put their finger on this race car, has put their finger on the media side, the management side, on my life up to my education, my fiancée has been on my side, I turn around, they are very good there.
“Seeing them all come out and celebrate with me was awesome.”
