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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Hometown Boys Seek Vegas Jackpot
Today it's all about sibling rivalry....
Mike Hembree  |  Posted February 28, 2010   Las Vegas, NV
Kyle Busch (Left) is the defending champion of the Shelby American Las Vegas NASCAR Sprint Cup series race, brother Kurt Busch (Right) will start from the pole today. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Kyle Busch got the hometown hoopla last year. A season later, Kurt Busch is looking to follow his younger brother into that environment.
Kyle Busch (Left) is the defending champion of the Shelby American Las Vegas NASCAR Sprint Cup series race, brother Kurt Busch (Right) will start from the pole today. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Kyle visited Sprint Cup victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Busch brothers’ home track, for the first time last year and quickly labeled the day as his best in racing.

No one would be surprised if Kyle repeats Sunday in the Shelby American race, but Kurt has been on a roll since Cup drivers arrived in Sin City this week.

Kurt won the pole for Sunday’s race with a record speed of 188.719 mph in Friday’s qualifying round. The previous record holder? That would be Kyle, whose record was 185.995.

The younger brother was only a click or two behind Kurt Friday with a time-trial speed of 188.153. He will start fifth Sunday.

Also in the top five on the starting grid are Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Oddly enough, one of the men responsible for Kyle Busch’s victory at LVMS last season was Steve Addington, then his crew chief. Addington left the Joe Gibbs Racing team in the offseason and now leads Kurt Busch’s Penske Racing team.

“Steve Addington definitely has his game on for this place,” Kurt Busch said.

Both Kurt and Kyle were near the top of the speed charts in Saturday’s practice sessions.

Although it’s early in the season, Sunday’s results could be quite significant as they relate to the rest of the year. With the first 26 races determining the cast of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, races early in the schedule gain in importance.

Entering Sunday’s race, several top drivers will be looking to boost their posture in points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 16th, Tony Stewart 17th, Denny Hamlin 21st, Jeff Gordon 22nd, Juan Pablo Montoya 23rd, Kasey Kahne 33rd and Ryan Newman 36th.

Stewart’s crew wrestled with his car through both of Saturday’s practices trying to find the proper balance.

Today’s race should be one of the fastest in the track’s history. Eighteen drivers broke the qualifying record Friday.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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