Busch Brothers Battle for Atlanta Victory
The NASCAR Cup Series held its 115th race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, but this was the first time in 11 years that the series raced at the track twice in the same season, with Ryan Blaney winning the first race in March.
The beloved, worn-out asphalt surface at Atlanta is the second-oldest in the series behind Dover International Speedway’s concrete track. Following the race, the speedway announced it would begin construction for a total track makeover that will debut in the 2022 season. However, the old surface gave fans one final fantastic race which will not be forgotten anytime soon.
LAP 1: Georgia-native Chase Elliott started on pole after winning last weekend’s race at Road America. The #18 of Kyle Busch started beside him on the front row. When the green flag waved, Elliott rocketed ahead of Busch to claim the lead.
LAP 17: Elliott’s #9 Chevrolet Camaro began to struggle and the tires began to fade, allowing Kyle Busch to sneak past on the high line. Elliott slipped further when the #11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin passed him for 2nd.
CAUTION – LAP 25: The yellow flag flew for the competition caution so teams could check tire wear and make adjustments. Elliott overshot his pitbox and had to reverse, which cost time and several spots, causing him to restart in 19th place while Kyle Busch continued in the top spot.
CAUTION – LAP 30: On the restart following the competiton caution, a multi-car wreck took place at the back of the pack. While racing 4-wide at the exit of Turn 2, the #51 of Cody ware got loose and collected the #47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr and the #99 of Daniel Suarez.
STAGE 1 END – LAP 80: Kyle Busch won his fourth stage of the season and collected a playoff point. His older brother, Kurt Busch, finished second, while Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick rounded out the Top 5 at the end of the segment. Kyle Busch won the race off pit road and restarted beside Kurt.
LAP 84: Kurt’s #1 Chevrolet Camaro took the lead away from Kyle and began to pull away.
STAGE 2 END – LAP 160: Kurt Busch won the stage and picked up a playoff point. Kyle Busch finished second, while Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamin completed the Top 5. The race was then red-flagged for 20 minutes due to track repairs on the frontstretch. When the race restarted, it was Kurt and Kyle in P1 and P2 respectively.
LAP 213: With less than 50 laps to go, the field began the final round of green-flag pitstops. Kyle Busch pitted a lap before his brother in an attempt to undercut, which initally worked, however Kurt was still within striking distance.
LAP 236: With only 24 laps remaining, Kurt passed Kyle which ramped up the intensity as the brothers battled for the lead. Kyle put on a great show consisting of crossover moves and numerous attempts at trying to run his brother down.
CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 260: Kurt Busch held on, crossing the line only 0.8 seconds ahead of his brother, to claim his first win of the 2020 season. This victory locks him into the playoffs. In his post-race interview, Kurt said: “Hell yeah, we beat Kyle! I just asked the track today for the last time on your old asphalt can I have an old guy win, and she answered.”
RESULTS:
- Kurt Busch
- Kyle Busch
- Martin Truex Jr
- Alex Bowman
- Ryan Blaney
- Tyler Reddick
- Chase Elliott
- Christopher Bell
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Brad Keselowski
- Kevin Harvick
- Austin Dillon
- Denny Hamlin
- Bubba Wallace
- Chase Briscoe
- Chris Buescher
- Cole Custer
- Kyle Larson
- Joey Logano
- William Byron
- Ross Chastain
- Corey Lajoie
- Aric Almirola
- Erik Jones
- Ryan Preece
- Anothy Alfredo
- Michael McDowell
- Ryan Newman
- Justin Haley
- BJ McLeod
- Garrett Smithley
- Bayley Currey
- Cody Ware
- Josh Bilicki
- Quin Houff
- Daniel Suarez
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
