0.010 seconds. That was the difference between Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson while qualifying for the South Point 400 this weekend. Pole winner Bell started on the outside and Hendrick Motorsports‘ #5 driver chased him on the inside in Lap 1 of the playoff race in Las Vegas. But the situation dramatically flipped on Lap 267.

Joe Gibbs Racing‘s #20 driver gave it his all to surpass Larson in the last lap of the first Round of 8 race. The thrilling tussle for the Championship 4 spot in Phoenix resulted in Bell trailing behind race winner Kyle Larson as the runner-up. The difference? 0.082 seconds! The only thing more interesting than these razor-thin margins was their explanation given by veteran racer and analyst Jeff Burton.

NASCAR analyst Jeff Burton revealed the fascinating reason behind Las Vegas’s photo finish

The South Point 400 brought out the cut-throat side of every racer in NASCAR’s premier series. The playoff contenders vied for stage points and the non-playoff drivers had nothing to lose and fought hard for a Cup Series win. None of the cautions affected other drivers and spectators witnessed the pleasure of pure driving skills to fight for each of the Top 10 spots. Former NASCAR driver and NBC analyst got the bird’s-eye view of the hair-length gap between racers from his vantage point as a commentator. Speaking to writer Nate Ryan, Burton described,

“I’m sitting in the booth last night and I look and I see Kyle Larson. He was running; he was leading the race. I looked at his lap time right and I looked down and I looked out the window and I saw there was a really good race with four cars racing for 17th. I looked at their time and it was one ten of a second difference. It was one-tenth of a second difference from the car leading the race to the guy running 17-18 was 0.12, just over a tenth of a second. That’s why it’s hard to pass.”

“It’s so close! Competition has stepped it, it’s so competitive.

Christopher Bell‘s heartbreaking loss becomes even more poignant when placed in the context of Burton’s explanation. Elaborating upon the increased challenges of the main race as opposed to the qualifying laps, Burton said, “What’s crazy about how competitive it is, it’s more competitive in the race than it is in qualifying. If you look at the difference in speed from first to 30th or 28th and 30th in qualifying versus first to that in the race, it’s closer in the race than it is in qualifying.”

And the analyst had a simple explanation for that: science. “Aerodynamically, a car behind another car is not going to be as good. You’ll never fix physics,” Burton declared, speaking in the importance of track position. Moreover, he further dismissed the popular consensus of racing being better in the 80s era of NASCAR.

Watch This Story: Christopher Bell Had Kyle Larson’s Heart in His Mouth During Lucky Championship 4 Escape

80s racer Jeff Burton hailed Next Gen cars over the Generation 3 cars of his time

Trending

Joe Gibbs Racing Potentially Blocking Truck Series Phenom on Denny Hamlin’s Radar After On-Track Bad Blood

After Dale Jr., Joey Logano Blames NASCAR for Creating ‘Bulldozers’, Destroying ‘Respect’ in Cup Series

NASCAR Fans Back Kyle Busch’s Son’s Desperate Plea Amidst Denny Hamlin’s ‘Bad Luck’ Reluctance

“My Body Needed Time”: Tony Stewart’s Wife, Leah, Discloses Her Roadblocks to Motherhood Amid Racing Dilemma

Reality Struck Shane van Gisbergen Has His Playoffs Chances Cut Short Even Before His Full Time Debut in 2025

The 80s immediately conjure glimpses of the legends of NASCAR. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, and Rusty Wallace, all competed together in Generation 3 cars. Jeff Burton himself began his successful NASCAR career in 1988. The distinguished racer is uniquely qualified to comment on the engineering technology in the 80s. And he had disappointing news for the racing community.

Burton announced, “I don’t give a damn what anybody says. Going back to a splitter, going back to a valance, going back to side skirts, going back to whatever the hell you think was the magic in the 80s, will not fix the problem [of passing] because we’re going faster. We now understand right, we didn’t understand how to take advantage of the air, now we do. It’s not going away.”

He further reasoned, “It’s just hard to pass. And when you have that many people running that close of speeds, it’s going to be.” No one could understand that better than Larson, who got the advantage of timely cautions to race to the pit stops to maintain his lead. All his fans would resonate with Jeff Burton’s sentiments when the veteran exclaimed, “It is crazy how competitive and why pit stops matter so much, why everything matters because everything is so close.”

The next two races would also keep viewers on the edge of their seats as the remaining 7 playoff contestants will endeavor to join Kyle Larson at Phoenix Raceway for the championship trophy.

Read More: Amid Chase Elliott’s Horrendous Start in Vegas, Fans Point Out the Silver Lining of His Qualifying Debacle