Times wires
Friday, March 4, 2011
LAS VEGAS — A seven-year age gap prevented Kurt and Kyle Busch from racing against each other for championships as they were growing up in Las Vegas.
Now stars in NASCAR, their early season results have many wondering if this could be the year the Busch brothers battle for the Sprint Cup title.
They returned to their home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, on Friday ranked first and second in the standings, with Kyle holding a three-point lead over his older brother. They are the only two drivers to nab top-10 finishes in the season's first two races.
"I think it would be great for us two to battle each other," Kurt said. "Every time there is a Chase we are involved in together, it seems to draw more attention. If we could do this for a season-long battle, it definitely would draw more attention to what two brothers are doing out there on the racetrack. You see the Williams sisters play against each other in tennis, you see every now and then the (Mannings) play against each other. There's all that extra attention and hype around it."
The brothers have yet to be at the same level at the same time in NASCAR. Kurt won the inaugural 2004 Chase for the Championship. Kyle has flirted with the Cup but has yet to put together a complete 10-race Chase. The closest they've ever been in final points was 2007, when Kyle finished fifth and Kurt seventh.
But Kyle, 25, has emerged as an annual title contender, racking up 16 races over the past four years to Kurt's seven victories.
One of those wins was at Las Vegas in 2008, when Kyle became the first Busch to visit Victory Lane here. It was a monumental moment for the Busch family, who as children watched the track develop..
Kurt, 32, who is winless at Las Vegas, admitted Friday that there's a twinge of resentment that his little brother was the victor.
"The fact that he's won here, yeah, it stings a little bit," Kurt said. "I've been on pole here, he's been on pole, and it's Vegas, one of the top five marquee events of the year. With him winning here, it was great for our family and all the friends who have supported us over the years.
"I just want to be able to do it as well."
There has been hope that the brothers would stage a showdown in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400 in pursuit of the victory. But Kurt downplayed that possibility because his Dodge was less than impressive all day Friday.
"It just seems like we've been off since we unloaded the car," he said. "We're just heading back with everything to how we ran this race one year ago. Maybe that's something we need to do, just get back to some of the basics. This has been a tough track for me over the years, with engine failures and getting caught up in wrecks. We just hope for a nice smooth run this time around."
Kurt's average finish at Las Vegas is 21.9, and he hasn't finished higher than 23rd the past four years. He qualified 22nd in Friday's session, marking the lowest qualifying effort of his 10 previous visits home.
Kyle, meanwhile, qualified fifth, then took a moment to note the significance of this weekend for his family.
"Coming to Vegas and leading the points … it's cool, it's a great opportunity for both of us to be leading coming to the hometown," Kyle said. "I don't know that there's any added pressure, but there's definitely some resilience there where we're feeling blessed to be in the position we're in."