It may have followed an unfortunate last-minute collision caused by his brother, but Saturday night's race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a triumphant one for Kurt Busch.
The veteran, who entered the race fourth in points standings and needing a victory to pad his entry into the NASCAR Playoffs, stayed in front of Kyle Larson over the track's final 13 laps to claim Bristol's race. He initially took the lead after overcoming Clint Bowyer on a restart, then raced past Bowyer on the final restart of the night, securing his first victory since the 2017 Daytona 500.
Martin Truex Jr. seemed headed for second place in a race with Busch's brother, Kyle, but that was before Kyle clipped his left rear tire, as Yahoo! Sports reported. The collision forced Truex into a spin and into the wall, and it ultimately left him with a 29th-place score after he exited the race. Kyle has since apologized for the collision, although he's also taken heat from Bristol fans and Truex's girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, who took to Twitter to criticize the clipping.
Caution. Kyle Busch has had a rough night. pic.twitter.com/2Z86tLeOih — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) August 19, 2018
WOW. Kyle Busch gets into the back of Martin Truex Jr., sending the No. 78 into the inside wall at @BMSUpdates!
Less than 100 to go at BRISTOL! Watch on @NBCSN or stream here: https://t.co/WTwvY7sMVl pic.twitter.com/7S3NU43dgW — NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 19, 2018
All of that followed a race in which there were countless lead changes and intensity throughout -- an atmosphere that prompted Larson to say, "Let's build more Bristols" after the race.
Busch, Truex and Kevin Harvick entered the weekend leading the NASCAR Cup Series in anticipation of the Playoffs. "The Big 3" of Harvick, Kyle Busch and Truex had already secured playoff spots alongside Bowyer, Joey Logano, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon.
Be sure to relive all of Saturday night's action by checking out our live blog of the race:
Kurt Busch won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday, his first win of the season, but there are other implications from the race as well. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Saturday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway:
1. Kurt Busch in the driver’s seat for a championship berth
With how dominant Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. have been to date this season – they’ve collected 17 of this season’s first 24 Cup Series wins – there’s no doubting those three as championship favorites. But the lingering question has been: Who could join them? And while Kyle Larson or Clint Bowyer or even Chase Elliott have flashed at times, Kurt Busch’s victory on Saturday feels like an answer to that unknown. He’s been the most consistent driver yet to win, and now that he has that? He’s fourth in the playoff standings, right behind the Big 3... and the new favorite to join them in Homestead as one of the Championship 4.
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An uninspiring end result for the Big 3 at Bristol included Kyle Busch crashing out of the race. Wade Payne AP
2. An underwhelming night for the Big 3 doesn’t change anything
Kyle Busch had an ... eventful, evening, part of which included wrecking Truex midway through the third stage. Then with about 18 laps to go, karma got back at Busch as he also crashed out of the race. Meanwhile, Harvick got caught in traffic and dealt with some problems himself, middling in the pack most of the night before ultimately finishing 10th. Overall, it was an uninspiring end result for the Big 3. It also doesn’t really matter. In the grand scheme of things, the Big 3 are so far ahead of everyone else that they can afford minor hiccups such as Bristol. And unlike in other sports where momentum can carry, the Big 3 will still be favorites at every track the rest of this year.
After Saturday night’s win, Kyle (left) and Kurt Busch are now the first brothers in NASCAR history with 30 wins apiece. Paul Sancya AP File Photo
3. The lasting legacy for the Busch family name?
After Saturday night’s win, Kurt and Kyle Busch are now the first brothers in NASCAR history with 30 wins apiece. That’s no small feat. Now, whenever people think of the Pettys or the Allisons in terms of legendary racing brothers, the Busch brothers have to be included. They’ve also both won Cup Series championships, so this isn’t exactly a new revelation. Rather, Saturday night was a fine reminder that Kyle Busch isn’t the only brother worth mentioning still – one day, both will find their way to the Hall of Fame, too.
Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
The full race results, from the Associated Press:
Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tenn.
Lap length: 0.533 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (9) Kurt Busch, Ford, 500 laps, 46 points.
2. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 5048.
3. (2) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 500, 50.
4. (19) Joey Logano, Ford, 500, 45.
5. (14) Erik Jones, Toyota, 500, 39.
6. (16) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 500, 44.
7. (10) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 500, 46.
8. (22) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 500, 30.
9. (13) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 500, 32.
10. (6) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 500, 36.
11. (23) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 500, 26.
12. (24) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 500, 25.
13. (18) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 500, 24.
14. (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 500, 23.
15. (26) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 500, 22.
16. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 499, 21.
17. (15) David Ragan, Ford, 499, 20.
18. (21) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 499, 19.
19. (28) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 499, 18.
20. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 497, 17.
21. (32) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 496, 16.
22. (29) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 496, 15.
23. (5) William Byron, Chevrolet, 496, 14.
24. (12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 495, 13.
25. (39) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 493, 12.
26. (35) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 492, 0.
27. (40) Blake Jones, Toyota, 485, 10.
28. (37) Timmy Hill, Ford, 481, 0.
29. (20) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 435, 8.
30. (17) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, accident, 431, 7.
31. (8) Aric Almirola, Ford, 428, 19.
32. (34) JJ Yeley, Toyota, accident, 423, 0.
33. (36) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, accident, 338, 4.
34. (30) Corey Lajoie, Chevrolet, electrical, 234, 3.
35. (33) Jesse Little, Toyota, accident, 59, 0.
36. (4) Paul Menard, Ford, accident, 28, 1.
37. (31) Michael McDowell, Ford, accident, 10, 1.
38. (27) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, accident, 3, 1.
39. (25) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, accident, 1, 1.
40. (38) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, accident, 1, 1.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 89.543 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 58 minutes, 35 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.367 seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 70 laps.
Lead Changes: 19 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K.Larson 1-13; K.Harvick 14-15; K.Larson 16; R.Blaney 17-62; K.Larson 63; R.Blaney 64-130; A.Almirola 131; K.Harvick 132-137; C.Elliott 138-191; R.Blaney 192-199; A.Almirola 200; J.Logano 201-254; K.Larson 255; J.Logano 256-296; C.Elliott 297-354; K.Larson 355; C.Bowyer 356-441; R.Newman 442; C.Bowyer 443-476; Ku.Busch 477-500
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): R.Blaney, 3 times for 118 laps; C.Bowyer, 2 times for 118 laps; C.Elliott, 2 times for 110 laps; J.Logano, 2 times for 93 laps; Ku.Busch, 1 time for 23 laps; K.Larson, 5 times for 12 laps; K.Harvick, 2 times for 6 laps; A.Almirola, 2 times for 0 laps; R.Newman, 1 time for 0 laps.
Sarah Crabill | Getty Images
Before the bumping and banging begins in Bristol’s Night Race, fans always enjoy the driver introductions like no other. Here are this year’s picks.
