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closeWRECK NEAR THE FINISH
Busch vs. Busch ends badly
Brothers Kurt and Kyle both shooting to win, cancel each other out
RON GREEN JR. / The Charlotte Observer
Sunday, May. 20, 2007
CONCORD -- Kurt Busch stood a few feet away from his mangled bronze race car late Saturday night, still almost dazed by how quickly and how bitterly his run at winning the Nextel All-Star Challenge had gone away.
One moment Busch was rushing toward the front and that's when he caught a glimpse of a car beside him on the inside.
It was his brother, Kyle, and suddenly they were tangled up. Sheet metal rubbed, sparks flew and two nights ended the wrong way for the Busch brothers.
"I've been waiting for the day" Kurt Busch started after climbing from his car, working to subdue the frustration of a fractured night.
Waiting for the day when he and his brother ran into each other at the wrong time.
That time came Saturday night in the final segment of the big-money race when both brothers had the idea they could win a race that ultimately belonged to Kevin Harvick.
"Inevitably, the Busch brothers had to get together," Kurt said. "We did it in an all-star race. A million bucks were up for grabs and I'm sure that's why he didn't lift and I'm sure that's why I didn't give an inch. We wrecked two good race cars."
Kurt Busch was about to move around Jeff Burton when his brother roared up beside him. He was surprised by the aggressive move by his brother on the second lap of the final segment. "It startled me," Kurt said.
For an instant, it looked as if both drivers might escape with nothing more than a scare, but it didn't happen. Once Kyle Busch's blue car started sliding up the banking in the first turn, there was no saving either Busch brother.
"Maybe I should have given an inch and maybe he shouldn't have taken that inch," Kurt said. "I'm pretty sure we'll discuss this. We can't just let it go.
"He's wrecked a lot of Busch (series) cars right now. I've got to say that. I've been trying to tell him to calm down a little bit and back off. Instead of running 100 percent maybe he should run at 98. He was at 102 right there."
Not far away, Kyle Busch's car sat behind his team's transporter. The rear end was almost gone. A saw was out and crew members were cutting through what was left of the machine that been among the fastest cars throughout the evening.
There wasn't much left to save.
"I really didn't know it was him, but I knew it was a pretty aggressive move underneath me," Kurt Busch said. "Guys race on the track all the time and cars run into each other.
"We were running the high groove making sure we didn't get in a wreck and, lo and behold, we got into a wreck."
Will there be any hard feelings?
"I don't think I'll be eating Kellogg's anytime soon," Kurt said, referencing the sponsor of his brother's car.