Kurt beats Kyle in battle of the Bushes
Brothers complete sweep in Georgia
HAMPTON, Ga. — Kurt Busch passed brother Kyle with 24 laps left and won the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday to complete a sibling weekend sweep at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Kurt Busch raced to his first victory of the season, 33rd overall and the fourth of his career at Atlanta.
He locked up a spot in the playoffs and possibly improved his chances of securing a new ride next season.
“Hell yeah, we beat Kyle!” Kurt Busch said.
Kyle Busch reclaimed the lead with 47 laps remaining, but couldn’t hold off his older brother on Lap 236. Kurt Busch took advantage of lapped traffic to pass his brother.
Kyle Busch pushed for the lead with eight laps remaining, but 42-year-old Kurt pulled away in the final laps to win by 1.237 seconds.
Kyle Busch won the Xfinity Series race Saturday, giving him five wins in his maximum five races in the series this season. He said he doesn’t plan to return to the Xfinity Series next season.
Kurt Busch’s contract with Chip Ganassi Racing expires at the end of the year, and Ganassi sold the team to Track house Racing owner Justin Marks this month.
It was the final race for the current surface on the Atlanta Motor Speedway track. It was installed in 1997 and is the oldest on the NASCAR circuit. Construction on a repaving and reprofile project will begin immediately.
“Just going to put that much emphasis on winning that last one today because it will be that old nostalgic feel,” Kurt Busch said before the race.
Atlanta Motor Speedway president Brandon Hutchinson said the resurfacing was overdue.
Proof of the poor condition of the old asphalt came when holes which developed on the front straightaway had to be repaired following the second stage.
The race was delayed for 19 minutes during a red-flag stoppage as a crew filled the gaps in the track with caulk.
Martin Truex Jr. finished third after starting at the back of the pack. Alex Bowman was fourth, followed by Ryan Blaney.
Pole-sitter Chase Elliott finished seventh. Elliott fell back after his brakes locked, causing him to miss his pit box, on a competition caution on Lap 27. Elliott struggled to make up ground and remained winless in seven starts at his Atlanta home track.
Light rain, and the threat of a heavier downpour, affected strategy late in the second stage.
Some drivers were instructed to delay pit stops and remain on the track in case rain forced a delay or early end to the race. There was no weather delay.
THE TRACK: Following up on Kyle Busch’s explosive comments Saturday about the planned changes to Atlanta Motor Speedway, multiple NASCAR drivers said Sunday that they were similarly opposed to the track’s reprofiling project.
“I sure am glad to win the final Xfinity Series race on a real Atlanta racetrack,” Busch said Saturday. “Because the next one is just going to be a showpiece, and it’s going to be (expletive).”
In addition to repaving the surface for the first time since 1997, the track will also be narrowed from 55 feet to 40 feet (52 feet on the front stretch, 42 feet on the back stretch and 40 feet in the turns).
Banking will widen from 24 degrees to 28 degrees.
Austin Dillon, like Busch, said he’s in favor solely of a repave rather than the reconfiguration. He’s of the opinion that NASCAR, Atlanta Motor Speedway and track operator Speedway Motorsports Inc. shouldn’t mess with something good.