Kurt and Kyle Busch put on one heck of a show in the closing laps of last year's Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart NASCAR Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway.
The two brothers came charging toward the checkered flag on the final lap of an overtime finish and fans were on the edge of their seats.
A few weeks earlier the two had a similar finish at Bristol Motor Speedway which was won by Kyle and Kurt had said afterwards if he had the position on the closing laps heading into turns 3 and 4 that he would've wrecked his younger brother to get the victory. Was he kidding?
That's what everyone was thinking as the two headed to the finish side-by-side with sparks flying in the Bluegrass State.
Kurt mashed the throttle and refused to lift. Kyle bobbled just enough to give Kurt the advantage. Kurt evened the score from Bristol and let out a huge "Hell Yeah!" in Victory Lane following the win, his first at Kentucky and also the first in the Cup Series for Chevrolet at the 1.5-mile speedway.
"I put it all out there on the line against my little brother to challenge him and it seemed like we even challenged our brotherhood of who was going to lift first," Kurt said. "It ended up where I was able to make him crack the throttle just a little bit and it was because I just wanted to stay on his outside, to be in that position off turn four coming to the checkered (flag)."
Following the race Kyle said he was happy that the fans were treated to a barn-burner of a finish. He wasn't so thrilled personally.
"I'm glad it was a thriller," Kyle Busch said. "Unfortunately we were on the wrong end of the deal. It's obviously cool to put on great races and great finishes and been a part of a lot of them and none with my brother like that, so that was a first. You know, no hard feelings, and we move on."
Many are looking forward to see what transpires on Sunday July 12 when the NASCAR Cup Series stars return to Kentucky Speedway for the 2020 Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart. The race will air on FS1, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio starting at 2:30 p.m.
Will Kyle, a two-time Cup Series winner at the track, get his revenge over his older brother?
Or will Kurt successfully defend his victory there, and become only the second driver to win back to back Cup races at the only NASCAR Cup Series track located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky?
"Kentucky is one of the fun ones that drivers look forward to going to," Kurt said.
"It's going to be good to go to Kentucky where we've won and (teammate Matt) Kenseth has won there," Kurt continued, "and I hope that creates the stability we're looking for with the track, the car, the setup, and the feel."
If either one of the Busch brothers is going to grab another Quaker State 400 victory they will need to hold off a tough challenge from a host of talented drivers. There are three other past winners of the race in the field, including Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. Another favorite includes Jimmie Johnson, who will be making his final start in the event and has come close but has never won at Kentucky. Others to watch include recent winners Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman.
The race weekend includes an action-packed five events. In addition to Sunday's Quaker State 400, the NASCAR Xfinity Series stars will take part in a rare weekend doubleheader when they hit the track on Thursday at 8 p.m. for the Shady Rays 200 and then again on Friday at 8 p.m. for the Alsco 300. On Saturday, the drivers in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will headline the action with the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 at 6 p.m. and will be preceded by the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150 at 2:30 p.m. Each of those races will be televised live on FS1. PRN will broadcast the Xfinity Series races, while MRN will carry the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race.