Kyle Busch, facing camera, gets a hug from brother Kurt Busch after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kyle Busch was in the race Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, so he won, of course.
Busch earned his third Cup Series win of the season, his eighth overall at Bristol and his 10th this year spanning all three of NASCAR’s national series. He beat his older brother Kurt, who said if given the chance in Sunday’s race, he would have wrecked his younger brother if it meant winning.
“He told me in victory lane,” Kyle said, “and I told him ‘You can’t tell people you’re going to wreck them before you do it, because when roles are reversed that person is going to wreck you because you already told them you were going to wreck them.’ So I guess if I’m ever running second to Kurt, I’m going to wreck him. I’m glad it didn’t turn out that way.”
The Busch brothers lined up side by side on the final restart, but Kurt had nothing to slow Kyle’s steamrolling of the competition this year in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. They had inherited the lead as the first in line not to pit for tires during the 11th caution of the afternoon, and it set up a final shootout between Bristol’s two winningest active drivers.
“He gave it one hell of a fight,” Kyle said of Kurt. “Busch and Bristol, sounds familiar.”