HAMPTON, Ga. – Kurt and Kyle Busch bid farewell to Atlanta Motor Speedway’s current configuration and asphalt with a thrilling battle during Sunday’s Quaker State 400.
In the end it was the elder of the two brothers, Kurt Busch, emerging with his first victory of the season in a battle for supremacy between the Las Vegas natives that lasted all day at the 1.5-mile speedway.
“Hell yeah, we beat Kyle,” Kurt Busch exclaimed after emerging from his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
RESULTS: Cup Series Quaker State 400
The brothers split the first two stages of the race, with Kyle Busch winning stage one and Kurt Busch winning stage two. Kurt Busch started stage two at the front of the field with Kyle Busch giving chase.
Kurt Busch maintained his lead through the first half of the final stage despite being briefly challenged by his younger brother just past the lap 200 mark. Pit stops began roughly 10 laps later, with Kyle Busch pitting on lap 212 while Kurt Busch pitted one lap later.
The one lap difference paid dividends for Kyle Busch, who cycled into the lead by roughly one second ahead of his older brother once the pit stop cycle was complete.
After losing the lead during the pit cycle Kurt Busch refused to give up and began running his younger brother back down. Kurt Busch was within half a second of Kyle Busch when the brothers came upon the car of Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate.
With 25 laps left Chastain filled the high groove that Kyle Busch had been running, allowing Kurt Busch to get a massive run on his younger brother. Suddenly the battle for the lead was now on.
Kurt Busch drove to the inside of Kyle Busch and they raced side-by-side for nearly a lap before Kurt Busch pulled clear of his younger brother coming out of turn four with 24 laps left.
“The 42 (Chastain), he did his job as a teammate,” Kurt Busch said. “Ross is going to get a little flak for it, but that’s what it takes to be a good teammate at the right moment, so I couldn’t be more proud of Ross Chastain.”
Once clear Kurt Busch built a lead of nearly a second, but the race wasn’t over yet.
With 15 laps left Kyle Busch began to reel Kurt Busch back in and with 11 laps left the two brothers were within a few car lengths of each other as they worked through traffic. With seven laps left Kyle Busch fired his shot, diving to the inside as they raced into turn one.
Kurt Busch held strong on the top of the track and was able to hang on to the lead once they exited turn two. Kyle Busch slipped back into second and began to loose ground to his older brother after his last gasp effort to get the lead back.
When the checkered flag waved it was Kurt Busch claiming the victory, the 33rd of his career, his fourth at Atlanta, his first this season and the first this year for Chip Ganassi Racing. The victory locks Kurt Busch into the playoffs and leaves four playoffs spots available to drivers based on points.
“What a battle. What a genuine, awesome, old-school race track,” Kurt Busch said. “I just asked the track today, last time here on your old asphalt, can I have an old guy win, and she answered. Thank you, Atlanta Motor Speedway.”
Kyle Busch admitted that he felt like his older brother had the better car Sunday afternoon, but also said that Chastain played a pivotal role in the outcome of the race.
“I had everything I had early in the run and then just smoked it behind the 42 (Chastain),” Kyle Busch said. “It shows you what kind of driver he is. Just tried to fight hard after that when I got passed and had one valiant effort off of (turn) two, but didn’t have enough momentum to drag him down and make him go high in (turns) three and four, and after that the tires were smoked.
“Guys gave me a great piece. We were fast. The No. 1 (Kurt Busch) was definitely better than us today. I just thought I had him. And we did. But racing just didn’t play out that way for us.”
Martin Truex Jr. finished third after starting from the rear of the field due to multiple pre-race inspection failures. Alex Bowman was fourth and Ryan Blaney, who won at Atlanta earlier this year, finished fifth.
The race was briefly red flagged prior to the start of stage two due to part of the track coming apart in the dogleg on the frontstretch. Track workers were able to repair the damage and the race resumed after a 19-minute red flag.
Sunday’s race was the final event at Atlanta Motor Speedway before the track begins a repave and reprofile project that will see the banking in the turns increased by four degrees and the racing surface narrowed.