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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Busch Vs. Busch For The Title?
Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch are back to back in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted September 28, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Kyle Busch (Left) leads older brother Kurt Busch (Right) by 14 points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
As Kurt Busch points out, it’s a little early to speculate on such a situation, but the possibility is nevertheless intriguing: There could be a Busch vs. Busch battle for the Sprint Cup championship in this Chase.

Entering the Price Chopper 400, the third race of the Chase, Kyle Busch is third in points, and older brother Kurt is fourth, 14 behind Kyle. Kurt gave the standings a back-to-back Busch flavor Sunday by moving from fifth to fourth while Kyle stayed in third.

“Neither one of us would shy away from that challenge,” Kurt said Tuesday. “It’s a little early. Right now there are still 12 very competitive cars. There’s not just one guy you have to focus on. You do the best job you can to beat as many as you can.

“I think the chance for me and Kyle to race for the championship is its best in years. We’ll see how it shakes out. We’re right there – three and four.”

Although the Busch brothers have been competitive with each other virtually since Kyle came home from the hospital, the fact that Kurt is seven years older has limited their interaction within the same racing series for most of their careers. This year, they could tangle on the biggest stage of all.

“He’s my little brother,” Kurt said. “We’re teammates in one aspect. We’re competitors in another.

“I’m the bigger brother, so, at the end of the day I want to win. He’s a tough challenge on the track, and he’s definitely in championship form. I want to beat him, but, at the same time, I want to see him win.”

Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway will be a test for both brothers – and for virtually everyone else in the Chase. It’s the first of four 1.5-mile tracks in the 10-race run to the championship, and good performance at Kansas could translate to positive results at similar tracks – Charlotte, Texas and Homestead.

Kurt needs a boost at Kansas. He has no top-five finishes at the track, and his average finish there in nine races is a very unspectacular 19.7. His best finish there – a sixth – occurred during his 2004 championship run.

“It’s a challenging track, made even more so because we race there only once a year,” Busch said. “It’s a little of an uneasy feeling going there if you don’t have a good notebook.
Kurt Busch left Dover fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

“The one and a half mile tracks do make up the largest quantity of a certain style of track, but Kansas is pretty different compared to Texas, Charlotte and Homestead.”

The key this week, Busch said, is to be aggressively smart.

“I started off too aggressive at New Hampshire and ended up spinning the car while running for third place,” he said. “You have to remember it’s 10 weeks and you have to settle in, but, at the same time you’re amped up, and every position counts.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.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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