SPARTA, Ky. — Kurt Busch finally beat his little brother in a head-to-head NASCAR finish and took his new team to victory lane a week after they coughed away their first win.
The downside of Busch’s big win Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway?
Kyle Busch didn’t stick around to give his older brother a promised ride home.
“I was supposed to fly home with him and now I’m looking for a plane ride,” Kurt Busch laughed. “That’s Kyle. He won’t even wait.”
Kurt Busch certainly wanted to flaunt his trophy after beating his brother in a door-to-door overtime battle. Kurt Busch was the victor — the first time in three 1-2 finishes for the Busch Brothers that Kyle did not win — and earned a playoff spot with his first win for Chip Ganassi Racing.
“My little brother gave me just enough room. It was like ‘You gonna lift? I ain’t gonna lift. You gonna lift? I ain’t gonna lift.’ And we had a duel,” Busch said. “We had a duel going down through (turns) 3 and 4, and I didn’t know who was going to come out on top.”
Kyle Busch settled for second after a dramatic ending in which the brothers banged their cars and both nearly lost control as they hurtled toward the checkered flag.
“I’m glad it was a thriller, just unfortunately we were on the wrong end of the deal,” Kyle Busch said. “It’s obviously cool to put on great races and great finishes, and been a part of a lot of them … none with my brother like that, so that was a first.
“You know, no hard feelings, and we move on.”
Joey Logano had the victory in hand until a spin by Bubba Wallace with six laps remaining sent the race into overtime.
Logano and Kyle Busch lined up side-by-side on the restart for what was expected to be a race for the victory, but both Erik Jones and Kurt Busch shoved their cars into the mix for an intense final two laps. Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch touched as they raced for the lead, both cars wiggled, and it appeared Kurt Busch was headed into the wall.
But he recovered to squeeze past his brother right before the checkered flag.
UP NEXT — NASCAR travels to Loudon, New Hampshire next Sunday, where Kevin Harvick nudged Kyle Busch late to win last July.
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