Oh, brother: Kurt beats Kyle to line
SPARTA, Ky. — Kurt Busch finally beat his younger brother in a head-to-head finish in a NASCAR Cup Series race and took his new team to victory lane a week after they coughed away what would have been their first win together.
The downside of the triumph late 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 said with a laugh. “That’s Kyle. He won’t even wait.”
Kurt, 40, certainly wanted to flaunt his trophy after beating his brother in a door-to-door overtime battle. He was the victor — the first time in three 1-2 Cup Series finishes for the Busch brothers that Kyle did not win — and earned a playoff spot with his first win in his first season with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“My little brother gave me just enough room. It was like ‘You going to lift (your foot off the gas pedal)? I ain’t going to lift. You going to lift? I ain’t going to lift.’ And we had a duel,” Kurt 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 settled for second after a dramatic ending in which the Las Vegas natives 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, 34, 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.”
The showdown came six days after Kurt lost at Daytona International Speedway because he pitted from the lead moments before weather suspended the race. It was eventually called without the cars returning to the track, giving 20-year-old Justin Haley a victory in just his third start on the top-tier circuit.
That pit call haunted Busch and his crew chief all week, but a late call for four tires at Kentucky gave the No. 1 team a shot at redemption.
Reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano, who held the season points lead heading to Kentucky, 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. The brothers’ cars — Kurt in the No. 1 Chevrolet, Kyle in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota — touched as
they raced for the lead, then wiggled, and it appeared Kurt was headed into the wall.
But big brother, the 2004 Cup Series champion, recovered to squeeze past little brother, the 2015 champ, immediately before the checkered flag.
“He could have clobbered us against the wall, and third place probably would have got it,” Kurt said of the contact with Kyle. “What an awesome run.”
The victory was the third straight of the season for Chevrolet and first in nine races at Kentucky. It ended a two-race winning streak at the 1.5-mile track for Martin Truex Jr. and Toyota.
Kyle was joined by two JGR teammates in the top five, with Jones third and Denny Hamlin fifth. Fourth place went to Kurt’s CGR teammate Kyle Larson, who won the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race in May, which does not count in the points race.
Pagenaud wins in Toronto
TORONTO — Simon Pagenaud earned his third win of the season as IndyCar’s championship fight tightened in Toronto.
The win on the streets around Exhibition Place is the Team Penske driver’s first this year away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 35-year-old Frenchman won the IndyCar Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 in May.
Pagenaud, who started in pole position, had to save fuel in the waning laps to hold off 2018 series champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing, but Penske teammate Will Power caused a caution on the final lap and Pagenaud was able to coast to the finish in the No. 22 Chevrolet for the 14th win of his IndyCar career.
Alexander Rossi finished third for Andretti Autosport, one spot ahead of season points leader Josef Newgarden. The two began the race separated by just seven points, and Rossi cut the deficit to four points. Pagenaud is third, another 35 points behind.
‘Perfect timing’ for Hamilton
SILVERSTONE, England — Lewis Hamilton added to his lead in the Formula One points standings by winning a record-breaking sixth British Grand Prix title, jumping ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas on the Silverstone Circuit by taking advantage of the safety car being deployed.
The British driver made the decisive move to the front in the 20th of 52 laps by pitting to get new tires. With the safety car still out after Antonio Giovinazzi spun off in his Alfa Romeo, Hamilton rejoined ahead of Bottas, who had started in pole position.
Hamilton, who called it “perfect timing,” had initially attacked Bottas on the fourth lap, overtaking but failing to keep position. He ended up winning by almost 25 seconds over Bottas, who is second in the season standings but fell 39 points behind Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the podium after Sebastian Vettel crashed into the back of Max Verstappen on the 38th lap while fighting for third position.
Hamilton, 34, moved ahead of Jim Clark and Alain Prost to take sole possession of the record for British GP victories. It’s the 80th win of his F1 career and his seventh in 10 races this year.