Vettel thwarts Busch brothers
German seizes Nations Cup crown
In a contest of America MIAMI vs. everyone else, the world had a solid day, despite the best efforts of Kurt and Kyle Busch.
Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel defended his Nations Cup title for Germany, and Norwegian former World Rally champion Petter Solberg romped Scott Speed by 2.1 seconds in the decisive final of the “America vs. the World” competition in the Race of Champions at Marlins Park.
The Nations Cup final pitted the Busch brothers and their Team NASCAR vs. Vettel, who was up to the challenge in winning for a record seventh time, beating the former NASCAR Cup champions single-handedly. He beat Kurt Busch in a buggy by 1.2 seconds in the final and Kyle Busch by 0.22 in a rally car.
The Busch brothers also were crucial in the unique second event, in which a team of Americans competed against a world contingent in a series of best-of-threes, with points awarded for each win.
Kurt Busch won one of his two events and his younger brother both, including a sweep of F1 driver Jensen Button that gave the Americans a two-point lead entering the final. But Solberg ’s win against Speed was worth three points, giving the global team an 8-5 triumph.
Kurt Busch described the camaraderie among drivers as “a very controlled group of guys in a frat house.” Erstwhile NASCAR driver Brian Vickers, a Florida resident drafted by organizer Fredrik Johnsson as U.S. captain, described wrangling his drivers and car assignments for the Sunday competition as enjoyable chaos.
A 1 a.m. text to Kurt Busch bloomed into a massive group text as the Americans haggled over which cars to drive.
“We went backwards,” Vickers grinned.
“Brian pretty much threw his hands up 20 minutes into a 30minute deal,” Kyle Busch laughed. “But he sorted of came back at the end and reorganized and finished it up.”
But then the captain regained control.
“He’s solid. He’s great. He should be our president,” Busch joked. “He lost control of the group twice, but the third time he put his foot down hard.”
Still, there was enough frenzy in filling out a roster in a prerace drivers meeting to completely amuse Canadian IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe.
“Watching them fill out that paper was hilarious,” he said.