FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, July 13th, 2019

NOTES AND QUOTES – KURT BUSCH BEATS KYLE BUSCH IN THRILLING FINISH TO QUAKER STATE 400 AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY ON NBCSN

They’re two of the best that we’ve had in our sport, and they’ve given us their best, the best show we’ve ever seen at Kentucky.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. on battle between Kurt Busch & Kyle Busch

“Think about what happened to that team last week. That is redemption.” – Jeff Burton on Kurt Busch’s win

“What a race. What a great job by the speedway, all the track prep they did, this rules package, it’s been breathtaking.” – Steve Letarte

Kyle Busch Will Guest Host Wednesday’s Edition of NASCAR America Motormouths on NBCSN

SPARTA, Ky. – July 13, 2019 – Kurt Busch edged out brother Kyle Busch in a thrilling finish to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway from Sparta, Ky., on NBCSN on Saturday night to register his first win of the 2019 season.

NBC Sports’ Rick Allen called the action alongside Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte. Twenty-one-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton and racing legend and two-time Daytona 500 Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from a second booth. Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns and Parker Kligerman reported from pit road.

Kyle Busch will be a guest host on Wednesday’s edition of NASCAR America Motormouths at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN alongside Rutledge Wood and Kyle Petty.

Coverage on NBCSN began at 6 p.m. ET with NASCAR America, hosted by Krista Voda from NBC Sports’ “Peacock Pit Box” alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett. Pre-race coverage on NBCSN included:

RACE RESULTS

Position Driver Car#
1 Kurt Busch 1
2 Kyle Busch 18
3 Erik Jones 20
4 Kyle Larson 42
5 Denny Hamlin 11

 

The following are highlights from this afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race coverage on NBC and NBCSN:

Earnhardt Jr. on last lap battle between Kurt and Kyle Busch: “They’re two of the best that we’ve had in our sport, and they’ve given us their best, the best show we’ve ever seen at Kentucky.”

Kurt Busch to Snider following the win: “Racing your little brother and watching him win a lot, I’m proud of him, but I’m proud of him that he gave me a little room on the outside. He could have clobbered us against the wall and third place probably would have gotten it. What an awesome run.”

Kyle Busch to Stavast following his second-place finish: “Glad it was a thriller, unfortunately we were on the wrong end of the deal…. great races and great finishes, been a part of a lot of them, not very many, actually none with my brother like that, so that was a first.”

Burton on redemption for Kurt Busch: “Think about what happened to that team last week – lead the race and pitted, then lighting came out. Then they come back this week and to win the race – that is redemption.”

Allen on battle between Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch: “It wasn’t many races back when Kurt Busch was trying to catch his brother, and he said, ‘If I caught him I would have wrecked him for the win.’ Well right there, those two fought as cleanly as you can fight for a win. What an incredible battle we just saw between Kurt and Kyle.”

Earnhardt Jr.: “I love it when it comes down to those two. They know each other better than anybody.”

Letarte on win for Kurt Busch’s crew chief Matt McCall: “He tried to play it off, but you could hear the emotion coming in. I’ve been there. I’ve been the guy that’s judged for making a poor pit decision. He played it off all week. His owner, his team, everyone supported him, and he bounced back by giving Kurt Busch the chance.”

Earnhardt Jr. on restart: “I don’t know if I can pick one that has an advantage but this might be the restart – this might be the most pressure-packed restart all season long. You’re going to have to be mean on this restart. You’re going to have to be willing to have to do whatever it takes.”

Letarte on quality of race: “37 laps to go – what a race. What a great job by the speedway, all the track prep they did, this rules package, it’s been breathtaking.”

Letarte on hard racing between Logano and Busch: “This is ridiculous, these guys are driving like it’s the rental go-kart place at 185 miles an hour.”

Burton on Clint Bowyer’s driving style with 95 laps to go: “It sounds like that’s a long way away, but we have seen how hard it is to pass. Clint Bowyer knows he needs to win a race to get in the Playoffs. He’s going to act like this is just a few laps left to go. He is going to do everything he can to keep William Byron behind him.”

Allen on stage winners: “The Busch brothers have dominated in Kentucky. Kurt Busch won stage one, and Kyle Busch won stage two.”

–NBC SPORTS–