Kurt Busch Outruns Kyle Busch At Atlanta
The elder Busch had a little help from a well-positioned teammate.
Jared C. TiltonGetty Images
Today was a rarity: A back-and-forth NASCAR Cup Series race decided between two drivers in what seemed to be equally-matched cars from different teams that could not get away from one another for an entire race. It just so happens that those two drivers, Kyle and Kurt Busch, are also both brothers and former series champions.
Kyle Busch was in control early, leading 91 laps and even winning the first stage, but it was his brother that took control for the majority of the race. Kurt Busch led a race-high 144 laps on his way to a stage 2 win and only surrendered that lead when his brother beat him by a few seconds over a final cycle of stops under green. The younger Busch's own narrow lead disappeared quickly in lap traffic, but the now-famous effects of the current high downforce, low horsepower package meant that the elder Busch still could not make an easy pass.