Texas: Kurt replaces Kyle

Kyle Busch came very close to the feat of winning the three races of Nascar during the Texas weekend. Winner in the Camping World Trucks Series on Friday and in the Nationwide Series on Saturday, the young prodigy had the opportunity to score a hat-trick that would have made him a place in the annals. Kyle Busch even led more than two thirds of the race and could have been the first driver to win, on the same weekend, in all three Nascar disciplines.

From the start, given by the ZZ Top, three drivers compete for the lead, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch. On the third lap, the leader of the general classification, Jimmie Johnson, went sideways and damaged the front of his Chevrolet. He returns to the pits, remains immobilized for a long time and can return to the track.

Kyle Busch gets back to the front of the race and joins his brother. The two Buschs overtook Gordon and found themselves at the head of the Dickies 500, with an advantage for the elder. On the 58th lap, the younger Kyle passed his brother and took the lead, for a good while. Shortly after, he took a turn on Jamie McMurray, who won last week at Talladega.

On the 114th lap, Jimmie Johnson can return to the track, for the honor and glean a few points which could prove essential in two weeks. Kyle Busch still leads the race, little disturbed by the neutralizations. Jeff Gordon will put an end to this period of calm by making a mistake on the 165th lap. The restart was given on the 172nd lap with Kyle Busch in the lead but, a few seconds later, Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Motoya collided. Twenty laps later, it was Reed Sorenson who brought out the yellow flag, for what would be the last neutralization.

After more than 200 laps, Kyle Busch still leads and maintains his advantage over his brother Kurt. The latter takes control on the 269th lap but the younger brother quickly takes the lead. While he complains of vibrations, the Las Vegas native is reassured by Joe Gibbs Racing. On the other hand, as he approaches 300 laps, he is forced to slow down to save fuel, even though the end of the race is not very far away.

Unfortunately, three laps from the finish, Kyle Busch informed his team that he was running out of fuel and had to return to his pit box (watch the end of the race on video). His brother Kurt took the opportunity to take the lead and fly to victory, ahead of Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin. His brother Kyle finally finished in eleventh place. As for Jimmie Johnson, he ranks 38th and collects 49 points. He is still leading the general classification but is only 71 points ahead of Mark Martin, with two races remaining.