Another season of NASCAR racing is in the books. While the year ended on a controversial note, overall, it gave us some fantastic moments and iconic finishes. The finishes alone are enough to fill a highlight reel for the season. Let’s dive into the five best finishes of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Kicking off this list is the most recent. Homestead-Miami Speedway is widely considered one of the best tracks on the schedule. The 2024 Straight Talk Wireless 400 was no exception. It had everything, from fantastic battles to championship-altering moments. But what everyone remembered was the final two laps between Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin. Reddick is trying to back up his regular-season championship. Blaney looking to defend his title, and Hamlin trying to win his first title. All three of them below the cutline with just one race to go in the Round of 8.
Hamlin led with two laps to go, but Blaney took the lead in turns one and two. Reddick was sitting in third and was running out of time, while Blaney set sail to lock up his spot in the Championship 4. On the white flag, Reddick moved up to second but still had to get by Blaney with half a lap to go. He’s one of the best drivers at running the top at Homestead and he showed it. When Blaney left the top open in Turn 3, Reddick ripped the fence to clear Blaney and take home the win. No one saw it coming, let alone expect Reddick to make it stick, but with that move, Homestead added another moment to its catalog and one of the best finishes of the year.
This year’s playoffs gave us some of the season’s most iconic moments. The first playoff race at Watkins Glen was no exception. What’s crazy is that the two protagonists, Chris Buescher and Shane Van Gisbergen, weren’t playoff drivers but still raced as hard as any driver in the field. SVG was NASCAR’s new road course king, and Buescher just missed out on a chance for the championship. And yet, we were treated to one of the best finishes of the season.
SVG had roughed up Buescher on an earlier restart to take the lead, but the No. 17 saved his moment for the final lap. Coming out of the bus stop, Buescher got inside SVG and repaid the favor to take the lead out of the carousel. Shades of Marcos Ambrose and Brad Keselowski in 2012, and the road course king was dethroned, Buescher avenged his championship hopes by scoring his first and only win of the season. The crowd was on their feet, the broadcast was hyped, and Watkins Glen made the most of its first playoff race with a phenomenal finish.
The final race of the regular season. One final chance at making the playoffs. That’s what was on the line during the 2024 Southern 500. With so much at stake, the race and finish did not disappoint. It came down to two drivers: Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch. Both drivers needed a win to advance, but each had unique storylines. Busch wanted to extend his winning streak to 20 years, while Briscoe was looking for one final win for Stewart-Haas Racing. The culmination resulted in one of the best finishes of the year.
The two were no strangers to racing each other at Darlington. In 2020, Busch and Briscoe battled for the win in the Xfinity Series, with Briscoe coming out on top. Round two was just as thrilling as the first, and just like in 2020, Briscoe came away with the win. Four years ago, Briscoe and his wife had a miscarriage just before the race. In 2024, he celebrated with his twin boys in victory lane and gave SHR one last chance at a championship. It had everything, just as the end of the regular season should.
Three-wide finish! It looked like it came straight out of the movie Cars! All of this in just the second race of the season. The first race at Atlanta did not disappoint with its finish. Busch, Blaney, and Daniel Suarez three-wide for half a lap, with just the horsepower and fate to decide who won. By thousands of a second, it was Suarez who came away with his second career win.
Seriously, who wasn’t up off their seat on the final lap? Atlanta has produced better racing with every race under the new configuration, culminating in this finish. Anytime we get a photo finish, we are treated to something special. The second race at Atlanta was no different.
The closest finish in Cup Series history. We can leave it at that, and no one would question it. But there’s so much more to the finish of the spring Kansas race. Similar to Blaney and Reddick, Buescher looked to run away with the victory, but going into Turn 3, Larson sent it on the high side and made it stick. Buescher kept pace with the No. 5 coming out of Turn 4, with the two making contact multiple times coming to the checkered. With Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. on their tails, Larson barely edged out Buescher by 0.001 seconds.
It looked like Buescher won at first, but after further review, Larson just got him by half a splitter. What’s crazier is that the Kentucky Derby had a similar photo finish just the day before. Someone should call that weekend “The Weekend of Photo Finishes.” Kansas has become one of the best tracks in the Next Gen Era. That finish was enough for many, to solidify it as THE best the Cup Series goes to. This wasn’t just one of the best finishes all year; it was one of the best finishes of all time.
What do you think about all this? Let us know on Discord or X what your take is, and don’t forget you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
